6. alarm, but not exactly

//Review Chapter 5//

It was not like him to speak without thinking, and this was the third time in less than three hours he had. Richard had no need for a babysitter. He worked as a certified public accountant out of the first floor bedroom, which he'd furnished with a desk and called an office. He did not leave in the evenings unless it was to the grocery store or to the movie theater where he had taken Phillip twice before. What would he do? Where would he go? Would the girl need a ride? If she did, what would they discuss in the car?

"Um," the girl responded. Phillip's hand was still in hers.

Richard read her face. Confusion.

"Not normally," she continued, and then cleared her throat. "It's not, uh…"

"This is my address," Richard said, abruptly, pulling the READ bookmark out of Phillip's library bag. He penned his address in hasty block letters along the side and handed it to Dolores, feeling suddenly very bold. "I have need for babysitting services tomorrow evening from 7:00 to 9:00. I will pay you fairly. Will you need a ride?"

Dolores dropped Phillip's hand and stared at the bookmark. Richard tried to read her face, but it had changed, and the expression was unfamiliar. Alarm, perhaps, but not exactly.

"You…" she began. "How is this…" She shook her head.

The large side door of a mini-van, parallel parked along the street, slid open, and delivered three teenage boys and a football.

"No," said Dolores.

"But, I will pay you," countered Richard.

"No, I don't need a ride." She looked again at the bookmark, shook her head, and slipped it into her back pocket. "I'll see you tomorrow at 7:00." She smoothed Phillip's hair.