I was a total wreck with bags under my haunted eyes, back sore and mind a mush of numbers and accounts. The Chicago Davis office had made a mess of everything and I was given the task of straightening it all out. My team did it but at a cost to us all. We'd saved the company five million dollars at the outset and kept hundreds of accounts on the books that were threatening to trade up and out, leaving us holding the bag if they rolled over, with quite a significant quarterly loss that would go on our records. My team; we saved the company's butt and they knew it.

The cell rang and I groaned. The final presentation on what we'd done had been made, all the accounts that were newly viable and healthy, no thanks to Chicago Davis, and now there was going to be a problem. I wanted a good sail to relax, not go back to the office to straighten up some trivial details that someone there could handle. Damn!

"Yeah, Walker here," I growled into the phone.

"Whoa there bro. This is Benjamin."

"Oh, sorry. I'm a little tired, Ben. How's it going? How's Cindy and the kids?"

"Mostly fine. That's why I'm calling. See, Cindy's dad took a turn for the worse and she wants to go see him while she can and I have a scouting campout to do for Terry's troop."

"I see," I said, not seeing and not really wanting to.

"Well, I have a problem. Spring, well, she wouldn't be welcome with all the boys. She's not into roughing it, anyway. There's just no place for her so I was wondering ..."

"You want me to babysit then," I said dejectedly.

"I know it's last minute and all but the Hendersons are gone for the weekend and I'm really desperate. Oh yeah. She has a friend staying with us, Trish, and her younger brother Donny too. Their parents are having trouble and they're off trying to patch things up. I know it's a lot more to ask, two twelve year old girls and Donny, but I'm desperate."

"Ben, I'm tired. I just got done with six weeks of the worst account nightmare you can imagine," I told him. "Look, give me time to get home and eat and clean up. A good meal and something healthy like a couple martinis sounds real good right now, I'll have to call you back."

"Okay bro. If you can't, we'll come up with something so don't try to kill yourself over it. If you can't, you can't."

"I'll let you know. So, how's the rest of your life?" I asked conversationally.

"Spring is going to cheerleader camp. She's one heck of a forward on her soccer team too. Terry made Life Scout and got into football camp. He's fast and tackles like you wouldn't believe. Aside from Cindy's father, everything else is going well."....(cont)