Sitter Smarts Just like when starting a thousand-piece puzzle a good babysitter makes sure to be ready and organized with all the pieces in place
Chapter 1 Border pieces first Elisabeth sighed tossed the non-border jigsaw puzzle piece back in the box and wrinkled her nose at her grandmother Her grandmother known as Mima to thirteen-year-old Elisabeth Caldwell laughed lightly as she continued plucking border pieces from the box and adding them to her pile on the dining room table It’s not just me Mima insisted Everybody starts jigsaw puzzles with border pieces It’s like against the law not to Elisabeth challenged settling into a paisley-upholstered mahogany chair beside her grandmother
Yep Mima said nudging her glasses into place and peering intently at her pieces A felony I think I say let’s live dangerously and start the puzzle from the middle Elisabeth said propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her hands Let’s not and say we did Mima murmured still adding border pieces to the pile Mima adored puzzles crosswords jigsaws jumbles anything that fueled her sharp mind and busied her fidgety fingers Puzzles reading piano-playing and knitting if you wandered into her home before bedtime it’s a good bet she’d be busy with one of these activities even if the television was on at the same time Her granddaughter joined in from time to time Mima’s influence was bound to rub off considering Elisabeth had spent weekday
afternoons at her house for as long as she could remember But she definitely preferred hitting kicking smashing or throwing a ball to anything she could do inside Funny that she and her grandma shared the same first name just about the only thing they had in common was their bright blue eyes Oh and their wicked sense of humor They loved trying to one-up each other’s remarks at least when Mima wasn’t busy plucking border pieces out of a dusty jigsaw puzzle box But that was okay used jigsaw puzzles sold surprisingly well at yard sales where Mima would let Elisabeth collect half the proceeds if she helped set up Speaking of which Hey Mima are you sure it isn’t time for another yard sale Elisabeth asked trying to be casual Mima looked at her quizzically
