Baby-Sitters On Board Read Online Free PDF Page A

stayed in hotels lots of times with Daddy. Twice we stayed in a hotel in New York City, and another time in a hotel in Chicago. Whenever we're in hotels, Daddy hardly ever spends any money. He just says, "And charge it to our room, please." So I know you can do this. Except here on the Ocean Princess, I was guessing you were supposed to say "cabin" instead of "room." The lady behind the counter leaned over a little further and peered at me dosely. "Do you have permission to charge things to your cabin?" she asked. "Did your parents say you could?" Daddy had not said anything about charging. Neither had Elizabeth. They hadn't said I could, they hadn't said I couldn't. But before I answered the question, I had to straighten the lady out about something.
"I'm not here with my parents/' I told her. "I'm here with my Daddy and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is my stepmommy. Not my real mommy. My parents are divorced." 'Tsk, tsk," the lady ducked. She looked very concerned. "Poor little thing," she muttered. "Whaf s your cabin number, sweetie?" She was checking a long computer list.
"It's P nine," I told her.
"P nine . . . P nine. Your daddy's name?" "Watson Brewer." "Right-o. Okay. If you'll wait just a moment, Judith will take care of you. She's the one over there," the lady said, pointing. "See her name tag? Why don't you sit down while you wait?" I sat.
Soon Judith called, "Miss Brewer?" I got to my feet feeling very grown-up.
Judith showed me bottles and bottles of nail polish and told me to choose a color.
It was hard to make up my mind. Finally I chose light purple.
"Splendid!" exclaimed Judith. "That will look divine." And it did. But a manicure takes much longer than I thought it would. First Judith soaked my fingers, then she cleaned my nails, then she fussed with the skin around my nails, then she put on some clear stuff, then she put on the purple polish, then she put on more clear stuff, and then I had to wait for everything to dry.
"Now you be careful," Judith said to me when she finally let me go. "That polish isn't quite hard yet." 'Til be careful," I promised. "Thanks, Judith." While I was thanking Judith, the big girl who was having her hair trimmed was standing up and saying, "Thanks, Lynnette," to her hairdresser. She handed Lynnette some money. I guess she didn't know how to charge.
Lynnette glanced at the money. "Thanks.
Let me get this changed for you." "Oh, don't bother," said the girl. "Keep the change." "But this is a hundred-dollar bill." The girl waved her hand in the air. "Oh, it doesn't matter. My aunt is a countess. I have tons of money." "Well . . . well, thank you," said Lynnette. She and I both watched the girl leave the beauty parlor. I was amazed. A countess — like a person in a fairy tale! I remembered that I was supposed to be getting my earplugs, so I ran down to Cabin P9. I opened the door quietly and tiptoed in. Sure enough, Daddy and Elizabeth were taking naps. I found my earplugs and started up to the Moondance Deck. Halfway there, I decided I was thirsty. Very thirsty. I hadn't had anything to drink since I was on the plane.
Where could I get something to drink? I wondered. I didn't want water from a fountain. I wanted something more special. I climbed the stairs from deck to deck slowly. Each time I reached a new deck, I stopped to look around. And on the Tropical Deck I saw something called the Moonlight Cafe.
A cafe is an eating place! Daddy and An- drew and I ate at one in New York City. We sat at a little round table on the sidewalk. There was an umbrella over us. The pole went right through a hole in the middle of the table. Daddy said we could order whatever we wanted. I ordered crab's legs. But I didn't eat them.
The Moonlight Cafe didn't look anything like the cafe in New York, but I decided to try it anyway. I sat down at a table. The cafe was crowded. The waiter who came over seemed very busy.
He flipped open his order pad. "Yes?" he said. He didn't look at me.
"One Coke, please, sir,"