Page 26 of A Whole New Play

I try to remember when my dad said Carter took over custody of his kids. It might’ve been longer than six months, but certainly not longer than a year.

“That’s… a lot of nannies.”

“Tell me about it.” Andy sighs dramatically. It takes effort not to chuckle. “And all of them were so grumpy. You’re not going to be grumpy, are you?”

“I’m not usually grumpy,” I tell him. “And I’ll try my best not to be, but I can’t promise I’ll never be grumpy.”

“Why not? Being grumpy is no fun. It ruins my day when I’m grumpy.”

“I feel the same way, but sometimes people have bad days and feel grumpy.” Seeing his displeased frown, I add, “But I’ll make you a deal. If I’m having a bad day and feel grumpy, I promise I won’t take my grumpiness out on you.”

His head perks up. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Okay. Deal.”

This time, I can’t help but chuckle. “Deal,” I repeat, then motion towards the object in his hands. “What is that?”

“Batman’s car.”

“You mean the Batmobile?”

His expression brightens. “You know about superheroes?”

“A little.” I’m no comic-book aficionado, but I’ve seen mainstream movies over the years with my dad. He’s a big fan of the comic books from his youth.

“Who’s your favorite superhero?” Andy asks.

“Spiderman.” Mostly because I like the most recent films.

“I have a new Spiderman action figure!” He hops up and races to a toybox located next to the bookcase. He throws open the lid and digs inside. When he finds the action figure, he races back and offers the toy to me. “See!”

“Wow.” I take the action figure and turn it in my hands, making a show of checking it out. “This is great. And look! His hands are even shaped like he’s spraying a spider web.”

“It came with a web that attaches here on his arm,” he tells me, pointing to the toy. “But I lost it when we moved.”

“Maybe it’s in one of those boxes outside?”

“Maybe,” he says quietly. His mood dims.

I quickly change the subject. “Do you think you can introduce me to your sister?” It seems like I’ll get along well enough with one of Carter’s kids, but I need to see how his daughter takes to having a strange woman looking after her.

“Fine, but she’s a grump today. Just so you know.” He takes the action figure from me and places it on the bed.

I rise from my crouch and say, “Remember, sometimes people have bad days. And that’s okay.”

“Abby always has bad days,” he mumbles before walking out of the room.

Concern for the little girl I’m about to meet flickers in my mind. According to Dad, her and Andy’s lives were unexpectedly uprooted when their mom decided to leave them with Carter so she could travel with her boyfriend. The twins are young, but I can recall memories from that age. Something tells me this ordeal is going to have lasting effects on the little girl, and that makes me sad.

I follow Andy to the other side of the open loft where four additional doors are located. Three are closed, but one stands open. Through it, I see a girl with long blonde hair curled on a window seat, her nose tucked into a large book propped up on her knees.

“Abby!” Andy bellows unceremoniously, barging into his sister’s room. “This is Valerie, our new nanny.”

I refrain from correcting him. I’m his potential new nanny, pending how this interaction goes.

Abby looks up from her book. Her eyes narrow in annoyance. “I told you to leave me alone. I’m reading.”

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