"Adventures In Babysitting - Faucher, Elizabeth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Faucher Elizabeth)

Elizabeth Faucher: Adventures In Babysitting





Chapter 1



It was going to be a great night. In fact, maybe one of the best nights Chris Parker had had in her whole life. In fact Ч she smiled at her reflection in the mirror, fluffing her already twice-washed hair with a styling brush.

Her tape deck was playing so loudly that the perfume bottles on her dresser were shaking, but she turned the volume up even higher, singing along with the old Crystals' song "Then He Kissed Me." Which, with any luck, was an appropriate song for the night ahead.

Chris danced over to her closet, trying to decide which dress to wear. She had already tried on Ч and rejected Ч several, but Mike was going to be here any minute and Ч the blue one. Long and silky, sophisticated and elegant. A perfect dress to wear to the best French restaurant in the city.

She took her bathrobe off and slipped the dress on over her head, zipping it up the back, then danced over to the mirror to see how she looked. Pleased by the results, she took Mike's picture down from the corner of the mirror, smiling back at it. He was seriously handsome Ч maybe the most handsome guy she had ever seen. And tonight they were going to drive into Chicago to Le Ciel Bleu to celebrate their anniversary. She danced the picture over to her closet, looking for just the right pair of high heels.

Shoes selected, she danced over to her bed, carefully lying down to wait.

"This," she told her picture of Mike, "is going to be the greatest night of my life."

The doorbell rang, and she jumped up. He was here! They had been planning this date for days, and she knew he would be wearing a dinner jacket, maybe carrying some flowers for her, maybe Ч the doorbell rang again. She snapped off the tape deck, cheeked her reflection one last time, and ran downstairs to answer it.

Smiling in anticipation, she threw the door open to see Mike standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi!" she said, then saw that he was wearing an old, ripped sweat shirt and jeans. "Hi," she said again, uncertainly.

He didn't quite look at her. "Hi, Chris."

"I, uh," she touched her hair self-consciously, "I guess I'm overdressed."

"No, no, I Ч " He shifted his weight, still not looking at her. "It's just Ч I have to cancel."

She blinked. "But Ч it's our anniversary."

"Yeah, I know." He looked in the direction of his car: a red Firebird with the license plate "SO COOL." "I'm really sorry, I Ч see, my little sister got sick and my folks are going out tonight."

Chris tried to smile, wanting to be a good sport. "You have to stay home?"

He nodded. "She's got the flu or something. It's pretty bad. I was gonna call you, but" Ч he held up a small drugstore bag Ч "well, I had to get this for her, so Ч so I thought I'd drop by."

"I could come over there," Chris suggested. "Help out." She grinned. "We could make chicken soup or something."

Mike shook his head. "No, you don't wanna be there. It's contagious. And Ч and my Mom doesn't want anybody in the house."

"Oh." Chris leaned against the door jamb, hoping that he couldn't see how disappointed she was. It wasn't his fault his little sister was sick. "Tell your sister I hope she feels better."

"Sure." He gave her his most charming smile, the first time he'd really looked at her. "We'll do the French restaurant thing next week."