Waving my hands in the air, I interrupted her to say "Sure, I can keep an eye on them for a night; that's not a problem. Don't worry about getting them fed, either. Go take your test and get certified for whatever, so you can get that promotion and start making a little more money. I know you have a hard time keeping up with everything, sometimes."

From the look on her face, I knew that she still thought she was asking me a big favor (she wasn't), and that she was grateful that I was willing to help her out that way. It didn't take us long to work out the details; I had only my bed at my place, so me going over to her house so the girls could sleep in their own beds was a no-brainer. I agreed to let Andrea cook supper for us before she left, so that all we'd have to do would be heat it up when we were hungry. Despite her assurances that it was fine for me to use her bed, I told her I'd just sleep on the couch, since it was easily large and comfortable enough for me. Emma and Gail would be informed in no uncertain terms that whatever I said was law until she got home, just to make sure they behaved themselves; I knew they would, anyway, but it made Andrea feel better to tell me that she'd say it. There were a couple of other things, but they were fairly trivial and easily dealt with. Andrea was going to call to make her appointment to take the test the next day; when she got home, she'd be able to tell me when I'd be pulling Substitute Parent duty.

We chatted a little bit longer before she told me that she needed to get home again. On her way out, she thanked me again (a couple of times) for agreeing to help her out.