When I was 16. I babysat every day after school and all day for a whole summer for a lovely little girl.. who is so not little anymore which makes me feel SO very old. And across the street lived a VERY cute boy who was a senior and just... hot. Her back yard was very hilly so we would play in the front yard and in the driveway and in the garage.
She was actually the first one that noticed him. In the house across the street. Looking out a window. Watching. Now had this happened in THIS day and age I would have worried about my young charge's safety. Maybe he was looking at HER. But this was the mid-90s and well, like I said, I was 16. Young, thin, pretty and boy-crazy like nobody's business. I was boy-crazy like it was my JOB. My friends and I could have lead a multi-billon dollar boy crazy corporation. *I* knew what he was looking at and I was quite satisfied with myself because of it. Sometimes he'd play basketball in his driveway and after awhile he'd sit on the ball, leaning against his house and just watch us... or me, I guess. Yeah, subtlety was not his forte.
Don't think I wasn't mindful of the young life I was responsible for. I was. And she wasn't like an infant. She was 8. So it wasn't a huge deal and she and I had tons of fun. She was like the little sister I never had. All under the watchful gaze of the guy across the street.
I did talk to him. Twice. On the phone once and one time after babysitting I went and sat on his front yard with him and we talked. That was it.
Time went on. One day he was gone. Joined the military, my kid I babysat got older, school started back up and the job was over.
I talked to him years later. I once asked him why nothing ever happened. Why didn't he ask me out... what was the DEAL with all the watching? He told me after talking to me that day he knew I was too nice to get involved with the likes of him. He was right.
But it was a fun summer we'd had. Me and my faux little sister. And the ever present watcher across the street.
***This post written as part of Mama Kat's Writing Prompts - Write about a time that you believed someone was watching you.***
5 comments:
Ok, now I have that Rockwell song running through my head. Great post - glad that he was self-aware enough to spare you heartache!
Nice of him to let you avoid the unpleasantness he'd have given you...hope he straightened out!
Fun story. I used to babysit a girl about that same age, and we had an encounter with a lurker that totally did not end well. The girls mom had to call the police! Yikes. I haven't thought about that in years. I'm so glad that your story of being watched was completely different, and innocent!
Boy Crazy Corporation! YES! I would have been at LEAST your Secretary.
Ah yes, I remember being 16 and boy crazy. Cute story!
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