Page 12 of Bad Nanny

“Bring me the other box that saysbathroom,” I shouted asI began putting all of my toiletries away. “There’s a cabinet in here for towels.”

When Nora didn’t respond, or bring me the box, I left the half-empty tote on the floor and peeked out of the bathroom and froze.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Sensing my presence, she looked up while holding Eggplant Earl. “Care to explain?”

“Um...” I walked as calmly as possible to where Nora had the travel trunk with my special puppets open. “We had this project in one of my classes to teach kids about unique vegetables and fruits.”

She moved the purple vegetable behind her back as I grabbed for it. “And the clam? The six? The nine?”

“Well, so, about that.” I tried to shut the lid, and she put her foot up on the edge to stop it. “Nora.”

“Jo.” She brought her hand back around, the puppet on it. “I’m Eggplant Earl,” she mimicked in a deep baritone with a country accent. “I’m spilling all my seed about everything thick and dick.”

I groaned. I wasn’t surprised that she’d seen my show, especially after my viral video last week. “You can’t tell Dad.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why on earth would I tell him? More importantly, why haven’t you?”

“It’s embarrassing. Do you really think I want my father to know that I talk about sex and have an OnlyFans?” When her eyes widened comically, I covered my face. “You didn’t know about that.”

“I did not. Please tell me you don’t hump Earl.”

“No! I don’t show my face. Sarah Swoon reads sex scenes I write.”

“Oh my God.” Nora started laughing. “People pay for that?”

“Yes.” I wanted to laugh with her, but the urge to cry was even stronger. “I just kind of fell into it all, and it’s really taking off.”

“Well, power to you.” She looked around the studio. “So, why are you doing this nanny thing?”

I sat down on the end of the bed. “How am I going to explain to Dad where my money is coming from? He already thinks I’m a disappointment.”

She sat down next to me, handing me Earl. “He doesn’t think that. He’s proud of you.”

“He doesn’t act like it.” I pulled at a loose thread on the puppet. “When I first told him I was going to study puppetry, he laughed.Laughed, Nora.”

Sighing, she put her arm around me. “Well, you do joke around. It’s not a major or career you hear about every day.”

She was right, but I still felt like I was somehow letting him down. “So, imagine for a second me telling him I’m doing social media with puppets. He’d go to my channel and see the link to my OnlyFans account.”

She cringed. “I see your point.”

“This job will at least give me something to do during the day. I really want to make more videos, but that might have to wait.” I stood and turned to face her, my hand extended. “Thumb swear you won’t utter a word to anyone.”

When we were younger, we decided that pinky promises were easy to break because you could make do without yourpinky. Your thumb, though? Try picking up stuff without thumbs.

She took my hand, and we pressed the pads of our thumbs together. “I swear to keep your secret.”

It wasn’t that I was embarrassed about Sarah Swoon and her friends, but I didn’t want the world to know who the person behind the puppets was. It would mar any future chances of working with certain organizations or for certain employers because my puppets were a little bit inappropriate.

Okay, so I admit, they were more than alittle bitinappropriate, and I definitely didn’t need my dad to hear what came out of my puppets’ mouths.

Chapter 5

Head in the Tree Stars

Gabriel

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