They Blinded Me With Science – 1.5 – As Time Goes By

I was really thrilled about my new job so it was hard not to beam when I went into the grocery store to quit. Mrs. Bee–or rather, Elouia as she asked to be called–told me I’d be starting in about eight days. I apologized to the manager about the short notice and promised to finish out my week. The manager seemed a bit sad but wished me luck with my new job.

That evening I went to Elouia’s house and she happily introduced her family.

“This is my husband, Edgar, our daughter, Mallory, and our son, Doug,” Elouia said, her eyes crinkling with joy. Edgar shook my hand and Doug seemed pretty stoked to meet me, but Mallory just rolled her eyes and went into the other room.

Elouia sighed. “Teenagers…”

She took me into the other room and sat me down, giving me a little guidebook to read, some more forms to fill out, and a uniform to wear. She then handed me two files for my first two kids. “Willard and Glen are both sweet and the parents are pretty easy going…” Elouia looked up at me and smiled. “It’s great to have someone else on board with this! I only have three others working here and there are just too many toddlers and kids!”

“I’ll do the best I can,” I said. “I really want this to work out, too.”

~

The next week went by pretty quickly. Before I knew it, it was my first day on the job.

I was a bundle of nerves. I had cleaned my entire house, sweeping and scrubbing. I made sure I had bottles, food, and snacks so all that was left was for the kids to arrive.

Neither mother seemed too pleased that I was a guy, but at least Mrs. Keaton introduced herself and showed me a picture of her husband who would be picking Willard up.

After the mothers left, I turned to look at the kids. “Okay!” I said brightly. “What shall we do first?”

Both kids immediately broke into loud sobs. I reeled back, eyes huge. You can handle this, I told myself as I quickly picked up the closest baby. He had a dirty diaper. I changed him and gave him a bottle to occupy him while I checked on the other toddler. Also a dirty diaper. As soon as I got him fed and changed, the first one started crying for attention. This was going to be a very long day…

It wasn’t a long day, really. It went by very fast and before I knew it both kids were being picked up. The parents thanked me and I acted as cheerful as possible until the door was shut. As soon as I locked the door, I slumped down.

My entire body ached, my house was a mess, I smelled like various baby smells, and I was half-starved since I hadn’t gotten much of a chance to eat. But I was so tired that all I managed was a shower before I crawled into my sleeping bag with an apple. I didn’t even finish eating it before I fell asleep.

~

The days started going by fast. I worked from Monday to Thursday, from nine to seven. On Wednesday Glen’s father called me to let me know he’d be late. I didn’t realize that this would be a common thing, but since they gave me extra money I certainly didn’t complain.

On the weekend I blew some of my money on going out to a club to wind down.

It was an extravagance but worth it. The stress of my first week just melted away.

~

And that’s how I spent the rest of winter. On Christmas day I was alone, though I received several cards. Pauline, Ayesha, the Bees, and the parents of the toddlers I cared for. Even some of my old co-workers from the grocery store. Aiden had spent some of Christmas Eve with me and we had exchanged some gifts.

New Years was even worse. I went out clubbing again since there wasn’t much else to do and I tried to keep my mind on happy things but it wasn’t working well.

Everyone else at the club was having fun, but I just sat at the bar. The bartender was a bit annoyed since I didn’t order anything. I didn’t really want a drink, I just wanted… I wanted…

Company, I thought, propping my elbows up on the smooth surface of the bar. My dating life hadn’t gotten any better. If anything it had gotten worse, considering the fact I hadn’t even gone on any dates.

Am I ugly? I thought, looking over at the flashing lights. Is there something wrong with my personality?

I jumped slightly when my phone rang. I picked it up and wondered at the unfamiliar number. Only one way to find out who it was!

“Hello?”

“Um, uh, hello?” Whoever it was stuttered and sounded scared. But the voice sounded kinda familiar. “This is Jacob? I mean, is this Jacob? Danevbie?”

“Yep, that’s me,” I said, standing up and stepping a bit away from the bar. “Who’s this?”

“My name is–oh!” The voice stopped. Then suddenly sounded very monotone, as if reading a script. “I-am-a-representative-of-Landgraab-Facilities-and–“

“Stop!” I said quickly, trying not to laugh. “Is this the same person who talked to me a few months ago? About talking to Ayesha?” I thought I was remembering the voice right so it surprised me when they said no. “Well what do you need? Is it about–“

They cut me off. “It’s about something you can help us with.”

I sighed. “You want me to talk to someone again?”

“Nonono,” they said quickly. “We were wondering if you could, um, solve a puzzle for us.”

“A puzzle,” I replied blankly.

“Yes! We’ll pay for any expenses, of course.”

“What do you mean?”

“Um, well, the thing is… the puzzle is in China.”

I stared straight ahead and then burst into laughter. “China? CHINA?!” I doubled over, clutching my stomach. I couldn’t stop laughing. “China? China? Seriously?”

“Um, please stop laughing Jacob.”

“You’ve got to be joking.”

“It’s not a joke. We’ll pay for the trip and–“

“No,” I said, wiping a tear from my eye. “You guys must be psychotic over there at the lab. You call me up on a holiday and ask me to take a long trip to a different country for a… a puzzle?” I tried not to start laughing again. “No, no thank you.”

“But–“

“Sorry, but no! Goodnight!” I hung up and pocketed my phone. I sat back down at the bar and ordered a drink, feeling in a much better mood from that most amusing phone call.

~

Life became pretty routine over the next few weeks…

My meals didn’t change much, unless I went out to eat which was pretty rare. I was saving up for some more furniture.

Earning money had never been so fun. I loved my job! I enjoyed working, spending time with the kids. My heart ached as I played with the little tykes, though. I really wanted my own. In time, I kept telling myself. I needed to get married first!

I finally was able to buy a cheap table and two chairs. Erm, well, one chair and one stool. I was proud of them though. No more eating meals on the toilet!

If I didn’t spend my weekends with Aiden, I went out clubbing. I met some new friends but nobody interested in me. Not in that way. A lot of the adults in Sunset Valley were married. It was a bit lonely but at least that meant plenty of families. I knew my job wasn’t in danger!

Bills were annoying, sucking out quite a bit of my money. Nothing could be done about it, though. Bills were bills and they needed to be paid!

Soon winter turned into spring. I figured my luck had changed when I was asked out and this time my date did show up! However after only twenty minutes I realized my luck hadn’t changed. I was sneezed on, told what drink to order, and then had hands all over me. I was so uncomfortable that I pretended to faint in order to get home.

~

One of my new friends, surprisingly, was Ayesha. We usually just talked on the phone but eventually she invited me to one of her parties. When the weather got warmer we often went to the public pool.

We had plenty of breath-holding contests.

Which I usually lost. Still, it was a blast. I was enjoying my life… mostly. I mean, okay so I was super lonely. Especially at night when I curled up in my sleeping bag or sometimes when taking care of the kids. I tried ignoring these feelings but it was often difficult.

I gave up trying to even date and spent most of spring throwing myself into my work. I had a blast with the children and the parents started really liking me. Elouia told me one night over the phone that I was quickly becoming the top rated caregiver.

“Keep this up and you might have a promotion soon!”

~

“ARRRGH!” I yelled, stomping my feet and resisting the urge to punch my shower. Today was a really important day. Elouia hadn’t said anything but I knew that it was today that I’d find out if I got the promotion again or not. I couldn’t deal with a broken shower! But I couldn’t afford a repairman.

“Dang it all,” I grumbled as I stepped inside to work on it myself. I was scared of ruining the shower but from installing everything with Aiden I thought I could get it done, at least decently.

Maybe I don’t know what I’m doing, I thought miserably after an hour. But I was determined not to give up. I did have enough money to call someone to help but I was saving up for a bed. A proper bed, with proper sheets, and a proper blanket. So I grit my teeth and worked harder.

“Yes!” I shouted as I finally got it working right. I was on cloud nine now and whistled a tune as I began cleaning up the mess. In the middle of mopping, my phone rang…

This time I recognized the phone number. My voice was less than cheery when I answered. “Yes?” I asked in way of greeting.

“Hello Mr. Danevbie,” said that voice. I knew it was the first one who had called me since there was no stuttering, no trade of nerves that had been apparent the last time the science lab called me. “This is–“

“Landgraab, I know,” I said. “I’m not going to help you, okay? I’m really busy today. I’m not talking to anyone, I’m not going to China.”

“There’s a chess master coming into town, and–“

“No. No. No thank you.” I hung up the phone and went back to cleaning.

~

Elouia came to my house later that night. I knew by the look on her face it was to tell me I got the promotion.

“Congrats!” she said, giving me a big hug. “You’ll be taking care of three toddlers now. Think you’re up to it?” she added with a slight giggle.

I grinned back. “Bring it on!” I said, giving her a cheesy thumbs-up pose.

She stayed and talked for a bit before giving me another hug. I bid her farewell and then finished my chores for the night with a spring in my step.

By the time I got to ‘bed’ I was pretty tired. Still, it took me a while to fall asleep. Despite my elation I felt like there was something wrong. It was just a feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wound up staying awake fairly late, reading a library book until finally I grew sleepy enough. I turned off the lights and went to sleep, having no idea what happened that night in my own house.