We waited for the phone to ring.

We'd lined up three jobs when, at 5:50, the phone rang for a fourth time. I answered it. "Hello, Baby-sitters Club." "Hello," said an unfamiliar voice. "My name is Mrs. Felder." "Oh, Mrs. Felder," I said. "This is Kristy Thomas. I used to live around the corner from you." (Even though I didn't really remember Mrs. Felder, maybe she remembered me.) "Hi, Kristy," she replied warmly. "I'm calling because I heard how wonderful your babysitting business is. And I've got a daughter, Susan. She's handicapped - autistic actually - and she's been living at a special school, but now she's home for a month, waiting to be transferred to a new school. I don't work, but I'd like a break from Susan three afternoons a week if possible. Just for a couple of hours each time so I can get out and go to the store, that sort of thing. Do you think any of you would be able to take on a job like that?" "I'll have to check," I told Mrs. Felder. "I'll call you right back." I hung up the phone and explained the job to my friends.

"Gosh," said Mary Anne, "that's going to be tough, scheduling-wise." "What did you say is wrong with Susan?" asked Jessi.

"She's autistic. I think that's the word Mrs. Felder used. But I'm not sure what it means." "Retarded?" suggested Claudia.

I shrugged.

"Well, anyway," said Mary Anne, "Kristy, it looks like you're the only one of us who could sit for Susan three times a week for a month. You don't have any lessons or anything, and if you went to the Felders on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you wouldn't even have to cancel a Krushers practice or the sitting jobs you've already got lined up." "Hmm," I said. "Charlie has to drive me over here for meetings on those days anyway. Maybe he could do it right after school instead of at five-thirty. Then he could pick me up at the regular time. Let me call Charlie." So I did, and he said he could work that into his schedule. Then he added, "For a small additional fee, of course," but it turned out he was only kidding.