'Honey,' she said, 'when we got here, the kids were in the bedroom with that boy, and all three of them had their shirts off. When Chris and I got back later that evening, my mother took me aside. We'd all planned to go to a movie afterward, but at the last minute, my mom and dad begged off and returned to our house. One night when my parents were visiting, we went out to dinner while the kids stayed home with Alex. And knowing about Alex's difficult life at home - his mother, Susan, had shared stories about her ongoing train wreck of a divorce from Alex's father - made us feel even better about hiring him. Pizza, TV, a cool guy who'll let us stay up late! Chris and I always chatted with Alex and were impressed by how polite and well-spoken he was.
It became a ritual for Alex to come over on Saturday night. And a male babysitter, I figured, could handle the high-octane energy of Charlie, then eight, and David, two and a half. As soon as he walked through the door, my husband, Chris, and I took to him. The 16-year-old son of a woman I worked with, he looked like a stunt double for Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise. Hiring Alex* to babysit my two little boys seemed like a brilliant idea.
