Date Night: The Best Man Holiday

I was more than happy to babysit my niece and nephew while my sister and brother-in-law enjoyed a much-needed date night to see The Best Man Holiday. I loved those children, as if they were my own. Little Phillip was three-years-old (such a tender age) and my niece, Madison was ten. The three of us sat on the couch and said good-bye to their parents and encouraged them to have a great time. My sister reminded me of Phillip’s bed time and told me not to allow either of the kids to have too many snacks. Even at the age of three, Phillip was a night owl and would stay up until 2 am if I allowed him, but I planned to be firm. I told myself I wouldn’t fall for his tricks of telling me a hundred times that he needed to go potty in order to get out of bed. 

The evening began pleasantly. I allowed the kids to pick a movie on Netflix. We ate popcorn and laughed. Phillip became bored half way through the movie and asked if he could watch Despicable Me on the iPad. I wasn’t sure if his parents were okay with him using the iPad, but I didn’t want to call and bother them, so I agreed he could use the iPad, but only to watch the cartoon. 

Approximately an hour later, the doorbell rang. I asked Madison if they were expecting company. She said ‘no’. Her expression was as perplexed as mine. I told the kids to wait in the living room while I checked to see who was at the door. I looked through the peep hole and saw my brother-in-law’s best friend, Ricky. I was a relieved. I figured my brother-in-law had asked him to stop by and check on us. When I opened the door, I immediately realized that it wasn’t Ricky, but a guy who looked a lot like Ricky, through the peephole. I could have kicked myself for opening the door without confirming the man’s identity. 

“Is Phillip here?” he asked.
 

Why was this grown man looking for Phillip? 

He went on to say, “I saw his ad on Craigslist about the PS4 for sale.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Thoughts and questions were racing through my mind. How did Phillip get a PS4? How does a three-year-old know how to post ads on Craigslist? I had only taken my eyes off of him for a moment. I thought he was watching Despicable Me, but apparently he was toggling to Craigslist when I wasn’t watching. 

Phillip met us at the door. He was holding the PS4. I was furious. I grabbed the box from his hands and yelled for him to return to the living room while I handled the situation. 

When Phillip was out of sight, the man pulled out 10- one hundred dollar bills and asked if we could quickly complete the transaction because he had somewhere to be. I couldn’t believe my nephew had made a one thousand dollar sale at three-years-old. I didn’t know if I should have been angry or extremely proud. The man and I made the switch. He walked away with a new PS4 and I was one thousand dollars richer. 

I returned to the living room to see Madison has fallen asleep on the couch and Phillip was nowhere to be found. Suddenly the smell of fried chicken filled my nostrils. I walked into the kitchen to see my nephew standing on a step stool frying chicken in a shallow skillet. 

“Look Son-you, I’m cooking,” he advised, proudly. (He never pronounced my name correctly. Instead of Sonja, he said Son-you. But that was the least of my worries at that moment.)

I shrieked loudly as grease began to spill over the edge of the skillet and onto the gas stove. I leaped towards my nephew and knocked him onto the floor, milliseconds before a huge flame ignited. I picked him up and ran into the living room to alert Madison and we all ran out the house. 

The three of us watched as the house went up in flames. Neighbors began to come out of their homes to watch in horror. The sirens of the fire truck and police cars blared loudly. Less than a minute later, the news crew had arrived. 

The reporter advised viewers, “We are outside of home in a Dallas suburb where a babysitter apparently allowed the children to burn the house down.”

It all happened so fast. But at least no one was hurt, I was a thousand dollars richer, and my sister and brother-in-law enjoyed a wonderful movie. I heard The Best Man Holiday was really good. 

All is well that ends well.