✅2️⃣ Testing the Babysitter

Twentieth-eighth Test: Testing my Compassion

Adam took a deep breath, still not sure what he had to say. Lorelei was just a kid, she couldn't outwit him now. Not when she had to obey orders too. But somehow he was still nervous. He could have done anything, taken any kind of revenge after what she'd made him do through the day. He wante to be a good person, but the thought still crossed his mind. And just as quickly he dismissed it, because almost anything he might have done would mean forcing her to obey, and then there was no way it would be so easy to give her the extract again. Whatever he did, it would make life harder for Claudia, and he didn't want to do that. Even demanding her to take back the orders she'd given would make her realise that she was no longer in control.

He didn't want to do that to her, not when it could cause more trouble within the family. And not with a sometimes-sweet kid the day before her birthday. He couldn't be a heel like that. Still, he was standing outside her room for several minutes, wondering what he could say to her. He thought about all the terrible things she might try to do, and he thought about what Claudia might be planning for him afterwards. But neither of those were really serious thoughts. The reason for his nervous was worrying about what he might do, if his self-control wasn't as strong as he thought.

Eventually he took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

"Lorelei?"

"Adam!" she squealed, waving from her bed. "Can I stay up more?"

"You don't want to miss your birthday, do you?" he asked, saying the first thing that came to mind. He realised right away that the words made no sense, but she didn't seem to notice. In some ways, maybe, she was just like any other small child. "You have to get to sleep so you can wake up in the morning and be older.Can you go to sleep like a good girl?"

Lorelei nodded, wriggling a little under a tangled duvet. She had a toy in her arms, a teddy bear that Adam was sure he should have remembered the name of from his last visit. Somehow, that was almost as embarrassing as anything else today; he didn't like to disappoint his friends, and it wasn't a big thing to remember.

"Did you enjoy today?" he asked, and he was sure he could see that she was getting sleepy as she nodded her response this time. Her eyes were almost closed already. "Then cuddle your little friend and go to sleep, and you can have a good day tomorrow as well."

He lifted up the top of the duvet, and straightened it around her. He gave both the child and the bear a pat on their heads, which seemed like the right thing to do. And when he looked again her eyes were already closed. He didn't know if she was asleep already, but it looked like she was trying. That was all he could ask for; and he hoped that she really would have a good birthday. She looked so innocent when she was asleep, and now it was impossible to think of her as the monster who had terrorised every babysitter for the last few years.

"Good night," he mumbled, so quietly that she almost certainly didn't hear. "And good girl."

Adam closed the door slowly, and took a deep breath before turning towards the staircase with Claudia's room at the top. And right away he stopped, frozen in momentary surprise. She was already standing there at the top of the stairs, just waiting for him.

"Good girl," she said with a little chuckle. "You can be sweet when you want to, you know?"

"Hey, I... it's her birthday. Of course I hope she's going to sleep well and have a good time in the morning."

"Even when she's a bit mean to you?"

"I... yes. She's not done anything wrong today, and if she has she doesn't know any better. I mean..." there was so much more he wanted to say, but he held his tongue until he got to the top of the stairs. He felt like he'd done well at putting Lorelei to bed, and he didn't want to wake her again so quickly.

When he got there, he soon realised that he still couldn't say anything. She'd told him to keep quiet, pretend it hadn't happened, and not to tell Claudia. That was the whole problem. He settled for the most generic comment he could think of.

"If a kid misbehaves, they need to learn. Being angry over every little thing won't help. Like I bet she's been taught her whole life to be a good girl, and do what your mum tells her, right? So in a situation where she's in charge, different rules apply. That's the problem with teaching a kid that certain things are okay or forbidden, it makes it harder for her to know what to do when the situation changes. If older people can demand whatever they want of her, then when she's not the little one anymore it's understandable for her to try doing whatever she wants. She'll need help, not punishment, if she's going to learn to treat other people like people."

"Wow, that's... surprisingly deep. And I kind of agree, Mum's discipline is always an appeal to authority. Do what I say, not what I do. She's not good at setting an example. So you'd really like to be sure Lori has a good time?"

"Sure. Happy family is always the best outcome, right?"

"Does that mean you'd be willing to babysit again? Or even be her baby doll?"

"Perhaps," he mumbled, "If it's not going to go too far. I think she could be a sweet kid with a good role model to follow."

"I don't think I'm setting her a good example either," Claudia answered. "And once you find out about my plans for tonight I think you'll agree. You still want to come in here and learn about my inner control freak?"

Adam didn't answer, he didn't need to. Stepping forward and closing the door behind him said more than mere words ever could.