30.1.09

new job

Tony had a new job for Dayton.

"It's not really that hard," Tony shrugged. It was going on three in the afternoon. "All you have to do is pick Hillary up after school."

"Hillary?" Dayton squinted. He hadn't heard anything about this kind of stuff.

"My daughter." Tony just stared at him. "Don't look at me that I'm too old to have kid."

Dayton looked away. Really, though, Tony was too old to have kid. Dayton just pushed his fingers back through his hair wondering just what this was about.

"Do I have to babysit? Me?" This was freaking him out.

"Only for a couple of hours," Tony smiled.

"A couple of hours?" Dayton hadn't signed up for this. Things were going almost swell at the playhouse. He was learning a lot about carpentry and there was so much loading and unloading stuff especially when it came to dinner theater with the kitchen. He hadn't expected so much in one establishment.

"You think you can handle that?" Tony sounded as if it were a test.

"I guess so." Dayton couldn't think of anyway to get out of it.

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite," Tony said. "She's only a sixth grader."

"Sixth grade?" Dayton could hardly remember sixth grade.

"Eleven."

"Well, can't she take care of herself?" Dayton wondered if something was wrong with her. That's all he needed, a handicapped kid to look after.

"I just feel safer if somebody is there for her after school. Not long ago there was an African American girl who was snatched right off the bus, and it was months before they ever found her."

Dayton remembered on the news how that story ended, and it wasn't good. She'd been found in a shallow grave in the park.

"OK," Dayton said. "I see your point. But I don't even know your daughter. She might-" Dayton flinched slightly. "She might run the other way if she sees me."

Tony just grinned. "I told her who to look out for. Told her she couldn't miss you."

"I see." Dayton pushed his palms in the back pockets of his jeans. He was actually scared of an eleven year old.

7 comments:

Fizah said...

Wow. What a surprise.

Good going! Keep it up.

Cate said...

Oh, I wasn't expecting Tony to have a kid. Let alone one that needs to be picked up from school ^^ I wonder if that is a coincidence. Dayton is being confronted with kids from all sides at the moment :)
Oh, 11-year-old girls tend to be especially bitchy.
I didn't expect Dayton to be "concerned Dad". When I was 11, nobody picked me up from school. And I read all the reports in the newspapers about rapists, so I was
very careful.

cady said...

Dayton strikes again! I seriously love him. He's so selfish and his perspective on things makes me smile.

taffy. said...

Hahah! This will be goood.

Anonymous said...

So wait?! Dayton is with Geoff right???

ellie said...

I like that he's scared.

Unknown said...

i feel his pain. i don't like babysitting, either.