A Pedigree to Die For by Laurien Berenson

up—like their boyfriend asks them out that day—it’s no problem to call in sick.”
    â€œDon’t you have backups for emergencies?”
    â€œI thought I did.” Emily sighed. “I had two girls, sisters, all lined up. Then I got a call yesterday saying that they’d taken an au pair job up on Martha’s Vineyard, and that was that.”
    As she spoke, the wheels were turning in my brain. “You mean you’re looking for extra help?”
    â€œI would be, if I thought I had a prayer of finding any. But this late, all the good kids are already booked.”
    â€œHow about a good adult?”
    â€œHere? You’ve got to be kidding.”
    â€œI’m not.”
    She looked up with sudden interest. “You mean you have someone in mind?”
    â€œSomeone loyal, thrifty, trustworthy, and brave.”
    â€œAn adult boy scout?”
    â€œEven better.”
    â€œSounds promising. Who is this paragon?”
    â€œYou’re looking at her.”
    Emily’s face fell. Mine went with it.
    â€œOh,” she said. “I thought you were serious.”
    â€œI am.”
    â€œBut Melanie, you’re a teacher.”
    â€œThink of me as qualified.”
    â€œ Too highly qualified.”
    I tried another approach. “Think of me as unemployed.”
    â€œI thought you had something lined up.”
    â€œSo did I, but the project lost its funding, and I lost my job.”
    Emily thought for a moment. “I might be calling you as often as a couple times a week.”
    â€œI’m available.”
    â€œAnd I can’t afford to pay you very much—certainly not what you’re worth.”
    Obviously she had no idea how bad my finances looked. If Davey’s camp fees hadn’t already been paid in early spring, we wouldn’t have been there at all. “How much is not much?”
    Emily considered. “Thirty dollars a day? A morning, really. Of course you know the hours are nine to one. I wish it could be more, but the budget is pretty tight. . .”
    â€œIt’s fine,” I said, and it was. “I’ll take it.”
    â€œSuper!” Emily looked as pleased with the arrangement as I felt.
    It took us a few minutes to work out the details, then Emily was off to lead the older campers on a scavenger hunt while I headed back home. As I reached the car, I paused, turning back for one last look at Davey. He was over in the playground, much too happily involved with the rest of the Sunfishes to take any notice of my departure.
    At times like this, I couldn’t help but wonder if he missed the siblings he seemed destined to do without. I wasn’t getting any younger, after all, and men didn’t seem to be lining up on the doorstep. Not that I’d done anything to encourage them. One failed marriage was enough, thank you.
    I’d always felt that Bob and I should have tried harder before giving up. But as things turned out, when the end came, I wasn’t even consulted. One Saturday I’d come home from the supermarket, ten-month-old Davey strapped in the snugli across my chest, and found Bob’s things gone and a rather inadequate note left in their place. He took the car and the stereo and left his son behind. I thought that illustrated his priorities perfectly.
    My mother was the type who would have said, “I told you so.” She’ll never know how much I longed to hear her say the words. She was also the type who would have said to put the whole thing behind me and get on with the rest of my life. Easier said than done, of course, but then my mother had never cared a bit about practicality when she was handing out advice.
    My eyes drifted heavenward, and I found myself smiling. I’d never doubted for a moment that she and Dad were up there somewhere, probably playing honeymoon bridge. They’d always made me proud, I thought. I was damned if I wouldn’t do the same for