Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [75]
Although dancing was forbidden in her religion, nobody but Lil had ever talked to her about it. She’d never been tempted until she’d stepped into Addison’s dance studio. Was it wrong to dance from joy or to express graceful movement of the body that God had created? It was hard to contain joy, and she was joyful over the news that Jake still loved her. But was love enough? That question was more troubling than the first.
Jake’s testimony hung in her mind until she picked up Tammy’s children from school. Tammy’s note reminded her that Sean Brooks was still out of town. That was the reason Katy had taken Addison to the ballet. Now she would have to babysit late. In the note, Tammy asked her to help Tyler with his homework, especially assisting him on a school project.
“So tell me about your school project, Tyler.”
“It’s kinda dumb. We’re supposed to watch certain TV shows and observe people’s mannerisms. We have to write down what they say and what they do. Describe how they act. What their faces look like. What gestures they make. Stuff like that.”
Her spirit sank to hear that television was involved in the school assignment. “Can I see your notes?”
“Sure.” Tyler brought her a thin, bound notebook. Katy flipped through and saw dates on several page and the titles of television shows.
“Did you choose the shows?”
“Nope. I copied them from the blackboard. We have to write a whole page each night.”
“Wow.”
“But I’m not very good at it, and Mom’s been helping me. I can’t watch people’s faces and write at the same time. That’s what you need to do. Write down their lines.”
Katy sat on the edge of the couch and rubbed her brow. This was going to be worse than she’d imagined if it included viewing television shows. She eyed Tyler. “You sure you can’t do this alone?”
“Nope. And I’ll get a bad grade if I skip a night.”
“When does the show come on?”
“Seven o’clock.”
It was already six forty-five. Reluctantly, Katy rose. “I’ll go check on Addison. You get everything ready.”
Tyler grabbed the remote and flicked on the television while Katy ran upstairs. She found Addison playing with her Barbie dolls. After explaining she was going to help Tyler with his homework project, Katy started back down, pausing on the stairway at the television’s blare.
Once again duty collided with conscience. The way her babysitting responsibilities were pulling her into the life of her charges, she might as well move in and become a part of this outsider’s family.
She’d only watched television in the stores a few times as she’d passed through their electronics sections and had caught glimpses of it at various times when she’d been working for her employers. Tyler often had it on in his room, and Addison sometimes watched princess DVDs. In fact, after the ballet it was all Katy could do to refuse Addison when she’d begged her to watch the Cinderella movie with her. But somehow, she had prevailed against that temptation.
Katy had never sat down and watched an entire television show. But this wasn’t about pleasure; this was a school assignment. And she’d gotten involved in plenty of those lately. Now she considered this one. Surely Tyler’s teacher would not have assigned something inappropriate, given his impressionable age?
She’d heard television debated in her congregation, and some claimed all television shows weren’t bad, but that it was playing with fire to have a set in your home because it invited temptation by desensitizing you to sex, violence, and greed for beauty and material wealth. In short, it brought the outsiders’ world into your own home where you could sit and dream that you were living their life.
She watched Tyler settling in on the sofa and breathed a prayer, “Lord, if this goes sour, then I’m quitting this nanny job, even if I lose my cleaning job with the Brooks.