Page 27 of Bad Nanny

I thought of Dr. Bowman’s words about spontaneity and flexibility. This could be one of those moments she was talking about. One of the reasons I was so successful as a CEO was because I took feedback and processed and applied it quickly. While some might drag their feet or need to overthink, with my business, I didn’t.

Maybe I needed to apply that to parenting.

I turned in my seat to face her. “You know what? Let’s get a pool.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. We’ll have to stop by the store, though. How does that sound?” I wasn’t sure how she’d react to that and tried to keep my worry over her potential anxiety under wraps.

“Can we really?” Disbelief still laced her voice, but it was quickly being overtaken by excitement. “Not a baby pool? Can we get one like Uncle Noah?”

“Uncle Noah has one where a big machine has to come and dig out the ground. That would take months, and then summer would be over. We can get an inflatable one, though.” If she played in it more than a couple of times, I’d consider getting a better one.

As we drove to the store, I didn’t ask again if she was going to be okay with going. She chatted about how big and what color she hoped the pool would be—purple, of course.

After parking the car, I barely kept up with her as she practically dragged me to the entrance. For a while, she really had been fearful of going anywhere, and I always anticipated it. When had that changed? Had it really been me affecting her?

I grabbed a cart, knowing we were going to walk out with a lot more than a pool. “Do you want in the cart?”

She bit her lip as I came to a stop out of the way of other shoppers. “Can I just hold on to it?”

“Anything you want, sweetie. Let me know if you want in it, okay?” I waited for her to nod and grab on before walking toward the summer items in the back of the store.

As soon as the inflatable pools came into view and we were close enough, Delaney completely surprised me and let go of the cart, skipping the rest of the way to the display.

“Daddy! Look at this one with the fishies!” She looked back at me as I came to a stop. “Can we get it?”

“What happened to getting a purple pool?” A quick scan of the pools answered that question. “Sure.” It was the perfect size and shape to fit two adults and a kid.

I shook my head. Where had that thought come from?

Thirty minutes later, we were back at home, the trunk full of the pool, pool toys, and food for an impromptu summer barbecue. Delaney had even called her uncles on the drive home and invited them over for dinner and a swim after they left the office for the day. I didn’t know how much swimming we’d do in a two-foot-deep pool that was only thirty square feet, but my brothers humored her.

“Can we invite Josie?” Delaney grunted as she carried in the pool box that she insisted she bring in by herself. It wasn’t that heavy for an adult, but for her, it might as well have been fifty pounds.

“We need to let Josie enjoy her weekend.” I heaved all the bags onto the island and helped Delaney put the box on it.

“But won’t she enjoy a hot dog and chips? And we have popsicles.” Delaney’s smile had turned into a pout.

I was no match for a pout. “I’ll text her, okay?”

“You’re the best daddy ever!” She threw her arms around my waist in a hug. “Can we swim now?”

“I think you need to go take a nap, and when you wake up, it will be filled andready.”

“A nap? But I’m not tired,” she whined, letting go of me, the pout returning. “Pretty please. Just for a minute, and then a nap.”

“Go rest your eyes for thirty minutes, then you can swim for as long as you want.” She stuck out her hand, and I raised a brow. “What’s this?”

“A deal. I nap, then swim forever.”

I threw my head back and laughed at how she’d thrown in the forever bit. “There’s no question that you’re my daughter.”

“Daddy! Don’t laugh!” Delaney stomped her foot in a surprising display of frustration. It wasn’t that she hadn’t done it before, but it had been so long that it was surprising. She definitely needed a nap.

I took her hand but didn’t shake it. “Nap and then you can swim until we eat dinner. Deal?”

She sighed but practically yanked my arm off shaking it. “Set the alarm!” She ran at full speed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

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