Page 12 of The Double Play

“I wish you could sleep over,” June whines.

I watch in shock at how attached June is already. It took a whole month for her to be okay with her kindergarten teacher giving her a high-five in the morning before class.

“Guess what? Tomorrow night I will sleep over while your dad goes to his game. We can watch a movie and I’ll show you more gymnastics tricks. But you have to cheer up and let me go, okay?”

June steps back. “Yes, ma’am.”

Hazel’s smile is soft, and I might be seeing things, but it looks like she might even havetearsin her eyes. This last week must have been more impactful than I realized. June spoke fondly of Hazel, but this level of connection is unexpected.

Hazel stands and turns her attention to me. “Do you need anything else from me before I go?”

“No, I’m good. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nods and gives June one last hug before heading toward the garage door. I watch as she slips on her sneakers, then grabs her bag from the hook. I hadn’t even noticed it was there, next to June’s backpack. With a wave, she disappears out the door and I hear the garage opening. Considering she’s going to come and go so often, I’ll have to get her a remote to close it.

The whole thing feels strange. It’s been just me, June, and my parents for so long. I can’t wrap my head around someone being here, even if she’s just a nanny.

“So, tell me about this best day ever,” I say, and June’s face brightens.

“Miss Hazel got me from school and we went to the park to get my wiggles out.”

“Your…wiggles?” I question.

“Yeah, Miss Hazel says that while I’m at school, my wiggles get trapped in my muscles and we have to run around and jump lots to get them out.”

I let out a half-laugh. “Is that so?”

“Yep! And then we came home and I washed strawberries in the sink like a big girl. But Miss Hazel said I was too little to cut them. But she let me put them in the yogurt bowls.”

“That’s nice. What else did you do?”

I walk into my freshly cleaned kitchen. I don’t know if this is Hazel’s way of assuring she keeps her job, but since I have a maid and can clean myself, she didn’t need to go to all this trouble. She seemed confused when I told her as much, so maybe it’s a common thing for nannies to clean the house too.

I start pulling out ingredients for spaghetti. It’s a meal we have often. I’m more of a functional cook than a chef, and spaghetti is easy after a long day of practice.

“We did my homework. I didn’t want to, but Miss Hazel said I have to use my brain or else it shrinks. I don’t want a tiny pebble brain!”

I can’t suppress my laughter.A pebble brain?I know Hazel’s technically not lying, but the dramatization is too funny.

“I’m glad you did your homework,” I say with a chuckle. “Did you do anything else?”

“We played pretend, and read three books to grow my brain even bigger, then we cleaned up the playroom, and I helped with the dishes.” She lists off their activities while spinning in a circle. Hazel was very much correct about June having a lot of energy. She doesn’t sit still, which is something that has taken getting used to. I could sit still and read or play a game for hours, but June is far too animated for that.

“You did a great job cleaning.”

“Miss Hazel said I’m the best helper!”

I realize as I’m cooking that the tension in my neck and shoulders has begun to drain. Maybe leaving June with Hazel won’t be so bad after all. June was safe and had fun today. Beyond being here myself, there’s not much more I can ask for. While it’s odd to have another person in our home, I think it could be good for June. And if she’s happy, I’m happy.

Chapter seven

Hazel James

IneverthoughtI’dbe preparing to spend the night in an actual castle. Five-year-old me would be psyched. Twenty-five-year-old me definitely is.

“The camera doesn’t even do it justice,” I tell Mikayla over the phone as I set my quilted duffel bag on the bed. The bright yellow daisy design stands out against the cream linen duvet.

“I can’t believe it has actualturrets.” She laughs. “It makes our new place look like a shack.”

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