That morning, Ben, my 6-year-old son, looked up at me and said he didn’t feel well enough for school and that’s when I called the babysitter.
I had an important meeting at work and couldn’t take a day off so I texted Ruby, our 19-year-old neighbor who babysat the neighbors’ kids whenever they needed.
Ruby, who was juggling between her studies and work, said she would be happy to spend the day with Ben. He was also thrilled with the idea of having her around.
“Ruby, I know Ben is in safe hands with you,” I said as I rushed out of the house not wanting to be late.
At around 2:25 p.m., I got a no-caller-ID call at work. When I picked up the phone, I heard Ben whispering, “Mommy, I’m afraid. Please come home.”
My heart sank. “What’s wrong, honey, where’s Ruby? Isn’t she by your side?”
But all Ben answered was, “Please, just hurry up.”
I got into the car right away and headed home. When I opened the door, I noticed a figure at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hey, who are you, and where’s my son?” I asked.
When the person lifted his head, I realized I had seen that man before. It was Lionel, Ruby’s older brother.
He didn’t live in the neighborhood and I had only seen him once or twice before.
“Are you Ruby’s brother?” I asked.
He kept calm and explained that Ruby had to leave due to an emergency and asked him to stay with Ben for just a half-an-hour, but Ben got scared when he saw him and hid in his room, saying he wasn’t allowed to talk to strangers.
“Why didn’t Ruby call me?” I asked, and Lionel explained that she did try to contact me, but couldn’t reach me.
I found Ben curled up on the floor of his room.
“Ben, mommy’s here,” I said, trying to comfort him.
It didn’t take long for Ruby arrived. It turned out that one of her closest friends got involved in a car crash, and she was listed as an emergency contact. Luckily, it wasn’t anything serious.
Ruby tried to apologize for the inconvenience she caused.
Honestly, I did understand she needed to leave urgently, but I didn’t like that she didn’t alert me and scared my son.
We talked and decided to part ways for some time.
However, as time passed by, Ben started asking about her.
“Mom, why isn’t Ruby stopping by any more?”
That evening, I texted her.
She was still a babysitter, still working, and still apologizing.
“If you are still babysitting, we would like to have you the next time we need someone to keep an eye on Ben while we are away,” I said.
This experience taught me that trust can be fragile—but also that forgiveness is essential to healing.
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Bored Daddy
Love and Peace
