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I collected things I thought I would need to baby-sit. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson had to work, as did my parents. The school gave us a long weekend, and Mrs. Peterson didn’t want the hassle of taking her kids to childcare. She was bringing them upstairs to our complex, along with Alek, who was going to help me. Adam and Yasuo were still asleep when the doorbell rang. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson stood there, smiling. She held Emily while he held Annie. Tess was holding onto Alek’s hand, sleepily rubbing her eyes.
“Come in, come in,” I said quietly, ushering the family in the door. I had set up the pullout couch, where Tess, Annie, and Emily were laid.
“Thank you so much, Nami,” Mrs. Peterson said, smiling tiredly at me. I nodded.
“It’s nothing. You guys should get going. Alek and I can handle this,” I reassured her. She handed me Emily’s diaper bag and left, Mr. Peterson following closely behind. I sank into the nearest chair, looking at the peaceful faces of the sleeping girls.
“Now what?” Alek asked.
“We wait,” I replied, yawning.
“For what?”
“For them to wake up. And Adam should be awake right about…now.” Sure enough, Adam came wandering into the sitting room, rubbing his eyes. He looked at me, at Alek, and at the girls, before he turned around and went back to his room. He got friendly with a couple of walls, but went back to his room nonetheless. Alek stared at me, amazed.
“How did you know that?” he asked. I shrugged.
“It’s Adam. He always does that on weekends.” I stood and went to the kitchen.
“Are you hungry?” I asked Alek, pulling oatmeal out of a cabinet. I found a pot in another. Alek nodded.
“Where’s your sister, by the way?” he asked.
“At a friends’ house. And I personally think it’s for the better. Caddie would be of no use, anyway,” I said. Alek chuckled a little. He leaned against the counter, while I started on the oatmeal. I tried not to drop anything in my state of half-awareness.

Soon, all of the kids were awake and eating. They all looked like zombies. Even Yasuo began to fall back to sleep with his spoon halfway in his mouth. When they were done, I made them go back to sleep. Except for Emily. She refused to sleep. She sat bouncing in my lap, cooing and making other baby noises.
“She likes you,” Alek stated, confusion in his voice.
“And?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
“Emily would usually be making a fuss. She never lets anyone touch her, except for Mom…” Emily grabbed my finger and stuffed it in her mouth. I winced for a minute at the pain, but it quickly receded and I got used to it. I shrugged.
“Then that means I’m different,” I said. Alek smiled and nodded. Emily quickly got bored of chewing on my finger and proceeded to grab at random body parts. That included parts of my face, my arms, and finally my breasts. She seemed to take a liking to them, and squeezed like there was no tomorrow. Alek’s face began to turn red as he saw what Emily was doing.
“Stop staring at my chest,” I demanded.
“Why are you letting her do that?” he asked.
“Emily is a baby. Babies do that kind of thing.”
“But…doesn’t it hurt?” I shook my head. Emily began to pound on my chest, giggling. She finally stopped and just laid her head against me and closed her eyes. I sighed.
“Is she going to fall asleep on me?” I asked. Alek rocked his head back and forth, considering the possibilities.
“She might.” I sighed, and yawed at the same time.

“No, Annie!” She was pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets, and climbed into them. I went after her and pulled her back out. I sat her on the couch, next to Yasuo. They grinned at each other. Alek had gone downstairs to get something for Emily. Her walker, apparently. That left me with five kids. I picked up Emily and went to find our fence. I needed to keep the smaller kids out of the kitchen. I found it hidden at the top of the front closet. I set it up at the entrance of the kitchen. When I finished, I sighed and pushed my bangs from my face. Alek knocked at the door right then, and I was more than happy to have him back. I flung the door open only to hit Adam in the head.
“Crap! I’m sorry, Adam! Are you okay?” He clutched at his forehead, whimpering. Alek walked in holding Emily’s walker. He looked concerned at me, and then noticed how chaotic the house was. Tess jumped on a chair, whooping, claiming that she was Indian. Annie was attempting to climb over the fence I put up, and Yasuo was helping her. Alek put the walker down, placed Emily in it, and began to get to work. He pulled Annie and Yasuo off of the fence, sat them both down on separate chairs, and then sat Tess down.
“Don’t move. One inch, or else Nami and I won’t take you to the park,” he said. Immediately, all of the kids shut up, and were completely still. Even Emily. I directed my attention back to Adam. His forehead was a little scratched, but he was otherwise okay. I sat him next to Yasuo.
“Thank you, Alek,” I said. He nodded. I noticed how much taller he was compared to me. He had to have at least nine inches on me. Tess squirmed on the chair she sat on.
“Alek?” she asked.
“What is it, Tess?”
“I have to pee.” Alek sighed and nodded. She jumped from the chair and ran to the bathroom. I watched her go.
“Are we really going to the park?” Adam asked.
“Only if you guys behave,” Alek answered. All of the kids nodded in unison. Alek and I exchanged glances. We both knew it wasn’t going to happen. We got them rounded up and took them anyway. After Tess came out of the bathroom. We stopped at the Peterson complex first, to get Emily’s stroller.

“How were they?” Mrs. Peterson asked.
“Tiring,” I answered, smiling. I had fun. But five children can wear anyone out. Even with two babysitters. And they were coming back tomorrow. Damn these long weekends.
“Bye, Nami!” Tess and Annie exclaimed, hugging my legs. Emily even reached out for me.
“Bye, you guys. I’ll see you back here tomorrow,” I said, smiling. I patted their heads as they let go of me. They waved as their mother guided them to the stairs to their own apartment complex. I closed the door and leaned my back against it. I closed my eyes, trying to appreciate the quiet. Then, of course, someone had to break it.
“Where’s my goodbye, Nami?” I looked up at Alek, jumping from the surprise.
“What are you still doing here?” I hissed, tired.
“Waiting for my goodbye,” he responded. I opened the door.
“Goodbye, Alek,” I said, pushing him out of the door. He grinned at me. I, in turn, shut the door. I sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day…

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