Dawn licked her lips nervously. She knew

what was coming. "We're, uh . . . going to rent a video, I think."

"Perfect!" Mr. Schafer clapped his hands. "You and the kids can all watch the video together."

Dawn looked at him. The idea of a little baby watching a video was so ridiculous she didn't know what to say. "You mean you want me to baby-sit the kids?" she said tightly.

"Well, you're not doing anything anyway," Mr. Schafer said, looking very pleased.

"Oh, could you?" Carol said, jumping to her feet. "That would be wonderful!"

"And I'll pay you," Mr. Schafer said.

"Well ..."

"Then it's all settled." Mr. Schafer reached for Carol's hand. "Wait till you see what we're cooking on the grill tonight. . . ."

"This is not my idea of a great evening," Jeff said a few hours later. He was trying to watch an Indiana Jones movie, but Gregory was crying. He was making more noise than the soundtrack. "What do you think is wrong with him, anyway?"

"Carol said he has colic," Dawn replied. She really felt sorry for Gregory, because she knew he was in pain. His legs were doubled up and

he seemed to howl no matter what she did. She had tried even/thing, rocking him, singing to him, but he cried louder than ever. The only thing that really worked was pacing up and down the floor with him.

It was a baby-sitter's nightmare, and she knew she wasn't being fair to Julie, who was wandering around the living room with nothing to do.

"Oh, let's watch this tomorrow," Jeff said, rewinding the video. He looked at Julie, who was staring blankly out the window. "Hey, Julie," he said suddenly. "How about a game?"

"We don't have any kiddie games," Dawn reminded him. Naturally Carol hadn't brought any toys for the kids.

"We have a deck of cards," Jeff answered.

"She's too young for cards."

"Cards," Julie repeated, walking over to him.