Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 99017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99017 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“Does it hurt?” she asks.
“A little bit sometimes,” I admit. “But not today. I’m having a good day today.”
Ava beams. “I’m having a good day, too. I like having a bath in the morning instead of at night. It’s fun.”
“I like a bath any time of day,” I agree. “Baths are always fun.”
“Yay, bath!” Bella cheers.
Laughing, I say, “Okay, I’ll be right back, but holler at me if you need anything. I’ll have my listening ears on.”
“Okay!” the girls say in tandem, already back in the thick of some intense mermaid pretend.
Apparently, the pink mermaids are trying to convince the blue mermaids to go on a quest to the land beyond the waterfall, but they’re scared.
Which is understandable.
A quest is not a thing to be undertaken lightly.
Neither is a nanny job, I’m starting to realize as I head downstairs, already feeling like I’m leaving a piece of my heart in the bathroom with those two squirrels.
Nine
CLOVER
I get to work cleaning up downstairs, my spiraling taking on a new flavor as I realize how much I dislike the thought of never seeing Bella and Ava again. That’s not a good thought. Not good at all.
I didn’t think I’d get attached this fast, but man…those girls.
They’re tugging on my every heartstring, and could they be any cuter?
Or sweeter?
Or smarter?
They’re really special little kids, and I’m not just saying that because I happen to know their father is one of the hottest men alive. Dean honestly has nothing to do with this. I’m saying it because it’s true, and because Bella and Ava are kindred spirits.
They’re my tiny sisters-in-arms, new recruits in the “My Mom Died, and I’m Still Just a Baby” club.
The worst club ever…
“Poor buddies,” I mutter as I quickly take care of the mess by the dishwasher, finish loading it, and start the wash cycle on “ultra-sanitize” mode.
I wish I could spare them the pain they’re feeling now and all the pain to come.
I can’t, of course, but I can be the nanny they need, the kind who understands exactly what kind of shitty epic quest they’re both on. They need me, not some other random nanny from the roster.
I’m not normally one to put too much stock in Fate or Destiny—I refuse to believe it was my “Destiny” to have my body ruined by a hit-and-run driver, for example—but there’s something at play here. Too many random events had to align perfectly in order for it to be me here instead of the woman who originally had the job.
If I hadn’t gone to meet the Hendersons early, if they hadn’t been ableist jerks who hate people with impaired bodies, if the other nanny hadn’t been willing to make a last-minute change, if Dean hadn’t been willing to do the same, then I might never have met Ava or Bella.
The thought is already enough to make my ribs clutch again.
And just like that, I know I can’t let Dean fire me. At least not without putting up a fight.
Before I can second-guess myself, I pull out my cell, typing out a quick manifesto on my way up the stairs—I know you were taken off guard this morning. And I know I probably wouldn’t have this job if you’d realized I was the one Tasha was sending.
But please don’t fire me, okay?
At least not until we can talk about this some more?
I think we can make it work! And I think it’s important that we try. Like I said the other night, I lost my mom when I was young. Just a little younger than Bella, in fact.
What I didn’t tell you is that it was hard. Really hard. It was something that affected me deeply for a long, long time, and caused a lot of pain and struggle. If I can spare your girls even a little of that, I would like to. And I think maybe I can. I’ve been through what they’re going through, I can meet them where they’re at, and it just feels like I’m the one who’s supposed to be with them right now. To help in a way only someone who’s walked this road can.
I hope this isn’t overstepping, and I hope you’re having an easy drive to the airport. We’ll be here whenever you get back. No rush. I can already tell we’ll have plenty to keep us busy.
Your kids are great, by the way. Really great.
Refusing to feel weird about my bout of textual diarrhea, I tuck my phone back into my pocket and head for the bathroom to join the quest.
I’m assigned a one-eyed Barbie named Gorgonzola who, as far as I can tell, is a troll-type figure, who guards the crossing from one side of the tub to the other. I take my role seriously, popping out of hiding from behind the shower curtain or the edge of the bath, just as the mermaids are wiggling across the edge. I scare them back into the water, again and again, until Bella is giggling hysterically and Ava pronounces me, “The best at Gorgonzola. The best ever!”