Page 19 of The Nanny and the Grump

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll just grab a cup of coffee and some cookies for myself. I’ll be back shortly.”

By the time I returned, June was already awake. She was excited to see me, and that soothed my mind.

I took the time to have a couple more tests conducted on my baby to ensure she didn’t have any other conditions or ailments that I wasn’t aware of. A little pneumonia was found in her body and was to be treated accordingly.

The doctor had mentioned that he would keep her admitted for one more day to ensure nothing else came up. The rest of the treatment would be completed at home.

“You should go back home and get some rest. You’ve got work tomorrow. I’ll take care of her,” Madison suggested.

“I think I’d rather be here. I don’t feel like leaving her side.”

“I know you don’t, but you’re needed at work as well. Amy is on honeymoon, and it would be unfair to pull her out of it.”

“All right, fine. I’ll go. Please call me if anything goes wrong,” I said, and Madison nodded.

While I drove home, many thoughts filled my head. Perhaps I needed to do more. Maybe I should stop being too wound up in my grief and focus rather on the present and the things that really matter now. Olivia was never coming back. I had to accept that and truly move on. I was certain she would want that for me, too.

Maria was back at home. I had informed her of what happened.

The next morning, I instructed her to take some food to Madison and June. I dropped her at the hospital and left for work. I tried hard to concentrate at work and resorted to canceling a couple of meetings just so I could get back to June.

When I got back to the hospital, June was fast asleep, and Madison was also asleep, with her head resting on the bed beside June. She was still wearing the clothes from the previous day. Apparently, she hadn’t gone home to freshen up, even when Maria came in the morning.

I tapped her gently, waking her up.

“You’re back,” she said.

“You know, you could have gone home to shower and get a change of clothing, at least,” I suggested.

“Oh, yeah, I would have. But June didn’t want me to leave, so I stayed back to put her to sleep.”

That wasn’t hard to believe. June had gotten so attached to Madison that sometimes, it got me jealous. More often than not, she got to spend more time with Madison than she did with me. And sometimes, the attention was shared.

On a certain day, I had overheard June asking Madison if she could be her new mommy—as if it were as simple as filling a job position.

“Thank you” was all I could manage to say.

“For what?”

“For taking care of her like she was your own.”

“She’s a special kid.” Madison’s eyes were on June as she smiled and gently stroked her hair.

“Let me go see the doctor. He says she can leave today. I’ll just have to sign the discharge form and settle the bills.”

“About time. I’m sure she’s missed the coziness of her bedroom. I’ll pack up here.”

I settled the bills, and soon, we were on our way home. Maria had made dinner by the time we got back—June’s favorite. My little baby was awake now and more energized. I couldn’t be more grateful.

We had an almost silent dinner. I had my eyes fixed on June, ensuring that she ate as much as she could. The illness apparently hadn’t affected her appetite. She had eaten to her satisfaction.

Madison helped to pack up the dishes right after. I felt sorry for her; she was so tired that she almost dozed off a couple of times while we had dinner.

“I would like to go to bed now. You’ll put her to sleep?” Madison asked, yawning with her right hand over her mouth.

“Yeah, sure. Get some rest. You’ve done more than enough,” I

“All right then, goodnight.”

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