Page 7 of The Nanny and the Grump

“That’s what Daddy always says—that I’m just as smart as my mommy was.”

I smiled. “I’m sure you are. Hey, are you hungry? Maria made some mac and cheese. Do you want some?”

“Yes, please. Then after that, could you help me with my homework? You can, right?”

“Yeah, sure I can.” I scoffed, thinking it was funny that she asked if I could. I mean, I was the adult here. It’s what we do.

“Because Daddy says you might not be able to.”

I was pissed. I didn’t know what to make of the statement. “Say that again?”

“He asked that I do not bother you with my homework, that you may not be able to.”

“When did he say that?”

“In the car while we were driving home.”

I tried to force a smile in a bid not to allow my mood to turn sour. Did he really think I was that dumb?

“Well, your daddy is wrong on this one. I can help you with your homework. As a matter of fact, we can get it done right away. It’s one way we could kill some time while waiting for your dad to come down so you could have lunch together.”

It was barely 3:00 p.m. Maria had gone to the market to get some groceries for the house. It was almost the weekend. She had to stock up the house and make large quantities of food before leaving to spend the weekend with her family. That was her routine every other weekend.

June agreed to my plan, and we set off to do her homework. We were nearly finished when Hudson came down. As soon as I saw him, I made sure to show off some knowledge by increasing my voice range.

“Isn’t Maria home?” he asked, pretending not to pay attention to what was going on.

“No. She’s gone to the market. We’ve been waiting for you to come down so I can serve your lunch,” I said, turning to him.

“You can go ahead and serve it now.”

I returned my focus to June, making sure she understood all that I explained and got the hang of it.

“You can finish up now while I get lunch.” I got up and walked away. While in the kitchen, I overheard the conversation between daughter and father.

“I wish Madison was my tutor.”

“But you already have a home tutor, honey. You can’t have more than one at a time.”

“But he doesn’t teach as good as she does. She makes learning so easy. I don’t understand what my home teacher says most of the time.”

“He’s been coming for over a week now, baby. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I assumed getting a replacement would be difficult, and I didn’t want to bother you. Besides, Grandma always says to give people second chances.”

“He got more than two chances, baby. It’s been seven days. I don’t pay him to confuse you any further. I’ll get you a new tutor, so don’t worry.”

“I can tutor her if you like.”

“I don’t think that’s—”

“Yes, please, Daddy,” June begged. She was certainly beginning to warm up to me, something her father had sworn against doing.

“If you’ll let me finish, baby, I employed her to take care of just your physical needs. I would rather hire a professional to cater to your intellect.”

“The homework was properly done, right? You went through it.”

“And because you aided her with one homework, you think I would trust you with the academic proficiency of my child? What certifications do you possess in that regard?”

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