Not In A Princess’s Job Description
Flicka von Hannover
You want to know what real terror is?
Being alone with an angry toddler.
“No!”Flicka yelled at Dieter as he was walking toward the door of the townhouse. “Don’t do it. I’m serious. If you walk out that door—”
Dieter’s sheepish grin pissed her off all the more. Damn those dimples! He said, “I’m sorry, but Tinashehas the flu. We don’t want Alina to get it. Trust me on this one.”
“I do not know what the hell could be so important that you would leavemealone with a toddler. Babysitting isnotin the princess job description.”
“Neither is bartending, but you seem to be doing an admirable job of that. I can’t believe they gave you a promotion after only two weeks.”
“Bartending is obviously a professionvery near royalty. Handing out alcohol and listening to drunks are two of our major job skills.”
“Babysitting is just like bartending. Pour a glass of wine and babble back whatever nonsense she says.”
Flicka crossed her arms tightly over her chest in absolute rage, and she snarled, “You might as well leave her with a slavering, rabid dog.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“This is parental neglect.”
“Lether eat some goldfish crackers and watch some cartoons.”
“Screen time is bad for little kids. Even I know that.”
“An episode or two on PBS will not destroy her chances of getting into an Ivy League university.”
“How awful of a parent are you that you’re suggesting I sit her in front of the television and turn her little brain to mush?”
He turned the doorknob. “It’s only for an hour or two.”
“Do you know all the terrible things that could happen to her in just an hour or two? Let me tell you all of them.”
“I obsessed about them when she was little. Now I reduce the odds and live my life. You’ll be fine.”
Flicka yanked the door out of his hand and grabbed the front of his shirt. Warm autumn air rolled through the open doorway behind him like an open oven. “You get right back in here.”
“I have to do this for Wulfram, and I don’t want the ISP address to be anywhere near here. I’ve got access to an anonymous WiFi, and I’ll use a series of VPNs to disguise where we are. Just in case it doesn’t work, I don’t want a bright arrow leading them back here.”
“They already know we’re in Las Vegas,” Flicka said. “They’ve tried to get us twice. Thus, there is absolutely no reason for youto leave me alone with your toddler.”
“You’ll be fine. It’s just for an hour or so.” Dieter glanced at the sun-drenched street outside and pried Flicka’s clenched fist off of his shirt. “The car is here. I’ll be back soon. Bye-bye, Alina!” he called over Flicka’s head.
Alina raised her chubby hand from where she was sitting on the floor and flapped her fingers before she went back to trying toforce a square block into a round hole.
“DieterSomethingSchwarz, you come back here!” Flicka screamed after him.
But that jackass was already sprinting for the car.
“I don’t even know your middle name! You have to come back here and tell me your middle name so I can yell at you properly!”
“Valerian,” he called from the curb and hopped in the car.
“What kind of a stupid name is Valerian!”she called after the car as it sped down the small street and turned the corner at the end of the row of townhouses.“And I thought it was Leo!”
But he was gone.
She turned back to the townhouse’s small living room.
Alina turned the small toy over, looking for a hole that the square block would fit. When she saw Flicka staring at her, the toddler screwed up her face and screamed her frustration,banging the heavy peg on her foot, which made her cry harder.
This afternoon was going to end with both of them in tears. Flicka just knew it.
