"Martin, Ann M - BSC052 - Mary Anne And Too Many Babies" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)
Logan peered worriedly inside the bag. "Take care of our child," he said. "Be particularly careful during gym. Why don't you give her to me at lunch and I'll watch her for the rest of the day?"
"Oh, no," I said. "You are not putting our daughter in your backpack. This afternoon we'll get together and figure out a way to carry her around. I don't mind watching her today."
I had thought I might feel silly worrying about our child all day. I mean, how was I supposed to explain to my gym teacher that I needed to keep my purse nearby during aerobics so that I could baby-sit for an egg? But of course I wasn't the only student with that problem. A bunch of other girls who had also attended their Modern Living classes earlier that day were in the same situation. And I saw a couple of them just set their eggs on the floor and leave them. How would they be able
to tell them apart at the end of class?
"Logan!" I exclaimed, when I met him in the cafeteria at lunch time. "We have to mark our baby or something. What if she got lost? We wouldn't be able to tell her from any other egg. I mean, baby."
"This afternoon we'll paint her with food coloring," said Logan. "It's painless and non-toxic. You have to think of those things."
I nodded. "Listen, I'm sure she's hungry by now. Why don't you eat while I feed her? Then I'll eat while you finish feeding her. We should probably feed her again at . . ."
Chapter 6.
Well, of all things. Alan Gray has been Kristy's enemy (okay, her pest) for as long as I can remember. And who does she wind up marrying in her Modern Living class? Alan. How unfair.
How unfortunate. Kristy had a cow.
But that was on the day they got married. On the day they became parents, Kristy changed her mind about Alan. He turned out to be a pretty good father. First of all, he named Izzy.
"A son called Izzy," he had said dreamily to Kristy as he'd held his child for the first time.
"Izzy?" repeated Kristy. "What kind of name is that? Especially for a boy. I never heard of a boy named Izzy."
"It's short for, um . . ."
"It's short for Isabelle or Isadora or Elizabeth," said Kristy.
"Oh, it must be short for some boy's name," said Alan offhandedly. "Anyway, don't you think it's a nice name?"
"It is sort of cute," Kristy had agreed, pleased that Alan was at least taking an interest in the project.
By Tuesday, the day of Kristy's job at the Papadakises', both she and Alan were taking more than a little interest in Izzy. They had
fixed this elaborate "environment" for him in a shoe box. The box was lined with pieces of flannel so Izzy would always be comfortable. The sides of the box were covered with felt so Izzy wouldn't hurt himself if he bumped into a wall. Alan had placed a tiny music box in the environment so Izzy would feel comforted and develop an appreciation for music. And Kristy had stuck tiny charts and pictures on the felt so Izzy's learning cells would be stimulated. She claimed she read aloud to him at night, but I don't know.
Also, unlike a lot of the couples in Modern Living, Kristy and Alan fought over who got to take their child home after school (as opposed to who got stuck with him after school). They were conscientious parents. Which is why Kristy never even considered leaving Izzy at her house while she went to the Papadak-ises'. Of course he went along with her.
The Papadakis kids are good friends of Kristy's younger brothers and sisters. Linny, who's nine, plays with David Michael. Han-nie, who's seven, is one of Karen's two best friends. And Sari, the little one, sometimes plays with Emily. Kristy and the kids are pals. So Kristy decided that her first order of babysitting business should be to explain Izzy to them.
As Mrs. Papadakis backed down the drive-
way, Kristy sat at the kitchen table with Linny and Hannie. Sari, who had just woken up from a nap, was sitting sleepily in her high chair.
Kristy placed Izzy's environment on the table. She pointed to her son. "This," she said, "is Izzy Thomas-Gray."
"Well, yes," answered Kristy. "Only he isn't Ч "
"He?" interrupted Linny.
" Ч he isn't just an egg," Kristy continued. "He's my son."
"You mean your pretend son . . . don't you?" asked Hannie. She peered into the shoe box and stared at Izzy.
"Well, yes. My pretend son," Kristy agreed. Then she tried to explain Mrs. Boy den's Modern Living project to the kids.
"Okay, so you're pretend-married," said Linny, "and this egg is your pretend son. And you're baby-sitting for him, plus us. Right?"
"Right."
"Where is Izzy's food?" asked Hannie.
"The food is pretend, too," Kristy answered. "I just have to spend time with Izzy as if I were feeding him. Kind of like when you play with your dolls. You don't give them real food. Only with Izzy I have to remember
to feed him every day, as often as Ч "
Ring, ring!
Linny bounded to his feet and made a grab for the phone. "I'll get it!" he cried. He picked up the receiver and said politely, "Hello, Pa-padakises' residence. Who's calling, please? ... For Kristy? . . . Okay." Linny held the phone toward Kristy. "For you. I think it's your pretend husband."
"Hello?" said Kristy. "Alan? What's up?"
"I'm just checking on Izzy," he replied. "I was sitting here thinking about him, and . . . Is everything okay?"
"Oh, sure. Fine. Izzy's napping."
"Napping? Shouldn't he be eating? I don't think he eats enough. We don't want him to get scrawny."
"Alan, trust me. He's fine," said Kristy. "Um, except for Ч "
"WHAT?" exclaimed Alan. "Except for what?"
"He seems kind of nervous here."
"I thought he was asleep."
"He is now. But when we first got to the Papadakises', he was really shy."
"Well, you know, new faces."
"Yeah, but I'm concerned that he's not socializing right."
Kristy and Alan discussed Izzy's social development. They talked for quite awhile. They
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