A Very Good Day

A Very Good Day

“Alex let’s go inside now,” Sandy called.

“You aren’t the boss of me.”

Sandy was getting pretty tired of this, she’d been hearing it since his mother left. It was her first time day-caring Alex. But she really wanted this job to work out. Alex wasn’t a bad kid, he was just mad at his mother. Apparently he’d wanted to go somewhere else but his mother had to work unexpectedly. So he was angry, and Sandy was getting the brunt of it. She understood.

“Well, we can stay out if you want,” she said, “but you’ll need your raincoat,” that got his attention.

“Is it going to rain?” he asked, looking up at the completely blue sky.

“Well, maybe, but that’s not why.”

He looked confused, and finally distracted from his grumpiness, “Why do I need my raincoat then?”

“Well, it’s too cold to go under the hose in your bathing suit, but it’s perfect weather to go under the hose in your raincoat and boots, with an umbrella. Unless you had other plans…”

He looked up at her with a giant grin, then turned and ran in the house. The morning went well. A tad muddy, but well. When they had had enough fake rain they ate lunch, then cookies and juice and talked about second grade. Alex wanted to know everything Sandy remembered about when she was in second grade. She tried to remember only good things.

By the time Mom got home they were watching TV.

“Did it rain here?” Mom asked, surprised?

“Sort of,” Alex said, watching Sandy walk home.

Mom decided not to press the issue, having Alex not mad at her anymore was worth whatever happened. She decided right then she would definitely hire Sandy permanently. It was a very good day, indeed.