Soccer Queen
by Andrew ( anr )
Chapter 20

As they sat watching TV, Gail suddenly remembered what she and Samantha were discussing at lunch.

"Samantha, do you think we could really get together to provide baby-sitting ?"

Samantha roused at the sound of her name. Her normal reaction when she watched afternoon soaps was to fall into a kind of daydream where she became one of the glamorous people portrayed by the actresses.

"Huh ? Oh, the baby-sitting thing. Yeah, let's talk about it. Have you ever done any baby-sitting before ?"

"No, but it doesn't seem too hard. After all, we'll be older than the kids we are watching. We just have to tell them what to do."

"It's not that simple. For example, do you know how to change a diaper ?"

"A what ?"

"A diaper; you know the things you put on babies to stop them making a mess all over the floor."

"Oh, a nappy. No, I've never done that. Doesn't seem too hard, though."

"It isn't, but it does take practice. Do you have any dolls here - you know, the large baby kind."

"We're still waiting for our stuff to arrive from Scotland. Don't think I have any of those dolls left. I gave them away when my guide troop help a jumble sale."

"OK, come next door, and I'll show you what I mean. But first let's go to the store, we need to get some diapers."

"What will we use for money ? We're all broke, remember."

"Davina still has the change from the groceries. We can use that. Davina!"

David had almost fallen asleep, the soap was so boring. He roused at the sound of his name, even if it was the feminine version. He had been getting used to it over the last week and a half.

"Huh ? Whassup ?"

"Do you still have any money left from your groceries ?"

"Yes, it's in the kitchen on top of the till receipt. What do you want it for ?"

"We need to get some diapers to practice for baby-sitting. I'm going to show Gail how to change one. I'll teach you as well - you never know when you'll need to know how to do it. You'll make a wonderful mother someday."

David got a funny feeling inside when he heard this; all his life he had thought he would be a father someday. Now, Samantha was telling him that he would make a good _mother_. He supposed that as he became more feminine, that was increasingly likely.

"OK, just write a note telling Mum what you want the money for. If the change and the till slip don't add up, I'm in deep trouble."

Samantha was tempted to "forget" to write a note, but decided that would be too cruel. She asked David for a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a quick note telling Mrs McCall what she wanted the money for. At the bottom, she wrote a quick explanation of where the money had come from, and the amount her mother had lent.

Collecting her purse, she threw the strap over her shoulder as she called "Come on, let's go" to her friends.

David and Gail both collected their handbags and followed Samantha out of the house, David making sure that he locked the door behind them. Replacing the key in his handbag, he followed Samantha and Gail to the store.

Samantha collected a box of the smallest size diapers and took them to the checkout to pay. She just had enough money; there was only two cents left.

Returning to her house with her purchase, she showed David and Gail into her room. On the way through, she went into the front room and told her Mom what she had bought and why.

Mrs Davis was used to Samantha getting an idea into her head and acting on it. The usually ended up costing her a lot of money, and if it only cost her for a box of diapers this time she would be happy.

She remembered the time a much younger Samantha had decided a neighbour's pet would look pretty with pink nail polish on. Although funny at first, the poor hound had licked so much polish off that it had ended up costing her over $100 for vet's bills to treat the animal.

This time it seemed that Samantha was actually starting to act responsibly, and trying to earn some money. Mrs Davis chose to treat Samantha's purchase as an investment in her future, and let it pass for now.

Samantha was just as happy that her mother was not screaming at her this time. She took this as a good sign and went to her bedroom to join her friends.

Once there, she searched in her old toy chest for her old crying baby doll. It was still there, so she got it out and broke open the box of diapers.

"Here, watch what I'm doing," she said as she took the first diaper out of the box and carried it and the doll over to her bed. She wrapped it round the doll as if it were a real baby and attached the tabs.

"Of course, when it's real, it might be wet or worse. Don't be offended - we all smelled like that at that age. You just have to wipe the baby to make sure she is clean and dry. Apply a little talcum powder to prevent diaper rash. You try, Gail."

Gail took a diaper out of the box and picked up the doll. Removing the diaper Samantha had put on the doll, she tried to copy what Samantha had done as she struggled to put the new one on. Of course, it fell off.

David and Samantha broke up, their giggles causing Gail to turn a fiery red. "Here!" she screamed at David, throwing the doll at him. "Let's see you do it, Miss Wonderful."

David shrugged, and got another diaper out of the box. Gail's attempt having fallen off, he only had to put the new one on. After struggling for a few minutes, he got it wrapped round the doll, but could not place the tabs properly. Again it fell off.

Mrs. Davis stuck her head round the door when she heard Gail's shout, and asked "Everything OK, girls ?" She saw Gail's attempt with a diaper and started chuckling, and watched with interest as David struggled with the diaper.

Samantha was almost falling off the bed she was laughing so hard, and Gail had started giggling too. David got a sheepish look on his face as he shrugged and said "Well, it's harder than it looks".

Looking at the giggling girls, Mrs Davis said "Here, let me show you," as she picked up a diaper and proceeded to competently put it on the doll. She described what she was doing as she did it, allowing David and Gail to see what each stage of the process was.

David and Gail were both still red-faced from their previous failures. Gail picked up the doll, and tried to replicate Mrs Davis's actions. This time she nearly succeeded, leaving the diaper just about snug round the doll's body. Seeing what his sister did, David proceeded to copy her actions and to get the diaper on the doll.

"There," Dvid said. "We can at least put diapers on babies. But that isn't all you do when you're baby-sitting, surely."

"You'd better believe it.," Samantha replied. "Isn't that right, Mom ?"

Mrs. David looked at her daughter and said "You know most of what to do. Why don't you teach your friends ?"

"That's what I'm doing. Before Gail and I can start baby-sitting, we have to be able to look after the little monsters ... I mean darlings."

Mrs. Davis chuckled again and returned to her housework leaving the youngsters in peace. Samantha sighed and flopped down on her bed.

"At least she didn't scream at me for wasting money this time," she commented. "Now, as well as changing diapers on babies, you've got to know how to feed them"

As the afternoon progressed, she described all the techniques needed for baby-sitting. David, knowing that it was really Gail who was learning from this, excused himself at about 4 o' clock, saying he had to fix tea. Samantha looked puzzled and stated "It only takes a few minutes to make tea. Why do you have to go now ?"

David laughed and said "Tea is our evening meal. We usually have it when Mum comes home, and I have to go and cook it now."

Samantha said "Oh," in a small voice. Then louder "We call the evening meal dinner. Well, I'll see you later, then."

When he entered the kitchen, he looked at the food he had bought, and decided to make an old Scottish favourite, mince and tatties (potatoes). But since they were in a new country, he decided to add something extra with the herbs he had bought.

****

When Andrea got home that evening, she immediately noticed the distinctive smell of cooking mince. With a pleased smile on her face, she entered the kitchen just as David was serving the meal.

"That's nice, dear. Will your mince be as good as your mother made ? " *Giggle*

"Doubt it, mum, but I've tried something new for the new country."

They sat down to eat, and Andrea noticed the extra flavouring in the mince. As well as the carrots and onion, she detected some herbs and spices that gave the mince an exotic flavour.

"That's delicious, dear. What did you add to the mince ?"

David pointed to the jars on the counter, indicating how much of each he added. Andrea was very impressed and told him that he would be making the same dish again some time in the future.

"Mum," David began. " I've got a problem. "

"What, dear"

"I've applied for a job; I'm running out of money and I need to earn some. Oh, that reminds me. I had to borrow $10 from Mrs. Davis to get the groceries. The till receipt is on the counter there, but Samantha took the change. You'll have to pay her back, and in future could you please leave money for groceries if you want me to buy anything."

"OK. dear. I'll leave the money. Now, what's the problem with the job ?"

"Well, considering how I'm dressed and everything, I thought it best to apply as a girl. Now I'll need to provide ID to prove my name and age.

"The manager liked me, but said I could only get the job when I'm sixteen. When I told him I was sixteen on Saturday, he asked me to come back then and show him some ID.

"Now I've got until Saturday to figure some way out of this mess."

"Don't worry, dear. I'll help you all I can. Just wait until Saturday and you'll see what I mean."

David was intrigued, but knew that he would get no further information at this point. He just hoped that his mother was right and she could help him get this job. Going without money was no fun.

As the meal progressed, David suddenly remembered their visit to the hospital that afternoon. He told his mother about his experience when he found his father's room empty, and what the nurse told him.

"Yes, dear. That was what the surgeon was wanting to talk to me about this morning. I had to pop in at lunch time to sign some consent forms for the work. It's nothing for you to worry about. He'll be back in the room tomorrow and you can visit him then."

After tea, they were all sitting down to watch some TV when the doorbell rang. David ran to answer it and was pleased to see Samantha at the door.

"Do you and Gail want to come to a movie ?" she asked. "Becky's meeting us at the cinema. It'll be a girl's night out; the boys are all busy tonight."

"Well, we would like to, but we're both skint," David fell into colloquial English from Edinburgh, forgetting that Samantha would have no idea what he was talking about. "You saw that this afternoon."

"Skint ??"

"Sorry, me and my mouth. I mean we've got no money. I'll go see what Mum says. Come in just now."

They walked back to the living room where David asked his mother if he and Gail could go to the movies with Samantha.

"I thought you were out of money. How are you going to get into the theatre ?"

"You couldn't lend us the money, could you ? I'll pay you back my share if I get that job, and Gail and Samantha are looking into being a baby-sitting team."

Gail was listening to her mother and David talking. She wanted to go to the movies with Samantha, so hoped that David could persuade Mum to give them some money.

Andrea sighed and said "Since you are looking to get a job and this is just a loan, I suppose I can lend you something.

"Gail, how far have you taken this baby-sitting idea ? Do you have a place yet ?"

"No, Mum. Samantha and I are just planning it just now." She giggled and said "Samantha was showing Davina and I how to put nappies on babies You should have seen our first efforts!"

Her mother chuckled at the image that presented and turned to Samantha.

"Have you ever baby-sat before?"

"Yes, Mrs. McCall. I've done it lots, but I can't get a permanent place because of my commitments to the soccer team. So Gail and I are going to be a team; we can cover for each other when necessary."

"Well, I suppose that the two of you know what you are doing. Davina, I'll lend you $20, but that has to last you until the end of the week. You can pay me back when you get paid. If you need extra for next week, we'll see about it."

"Thanks Mum," Gail and David said at the same time. They looked at each other and giggled.

"Can we have some change for the bus, please" David added.

"I suppose so, just don't be back too late."

With money in his wallet, David led the way to the bus stop. They were on their way to see a movie, and it was a good feeling to be going out with his sister and Samantha. This looked like being an extremely interesting evening.

More Soccer Queen Soon!