Page 24 of The Nanny and the Don
Her eyes widened with excitement. “Oh, they don’t do vegetables at all.”
“I’ll work on them. I have a few ideas. In the meantime, I’ll make apple cinnamon oatmeal and cut up some fruit for them.”
“That sounds simple enough to work. You know he’s fully stocked with everything you can think of,” she explained.
“And then some. I hear you’re responsible for that.”
“More or less. I take care of the basic household things and Miguel does the grocery.”
“Good to know. Hey, did you happen to pick up a book?” I asked her.
“No. Are you missing one? I don’t remember the last time I read something other than the caption on a social media post.”
We shared a laugh as we made our way to the kitchen. I moved straight to the pantry where I was sure I’d seen some steel-cut oats yesterday while I was watching Miguel cook. Standing in the pantry, I grabbed the oatmeal, honey, and a huge container of cinnamon. I placed them on the counter and moved back to the kitchen.
Once I got everything set up, I left Sicily to her duties and went on with mine. It was close to eight in the morning by now. I knew that the longer the kids slept the harder it would be to get them to go down at night. It was common sense. I was also sure that the people in this house let them sleep as long as they wanted to because they enjoyed the peace and quiet that would surely be disturbed as soon as the little ones were up and at em.
Since I was working on building a routine for them, they would be up by eight and down at eight. That was plenty of time to learn, play, and burn off the energy that might otherwise prevent them from sleeping at night. I was going to tire their asses out and hopefully my own in the process. I was up until after two this morning only to wake up by seven. I went to King’s side of the bed first.
“King,” I sang his name as I gently shook his shoulder.
His handsome little face brightened with a smile as I tickled him awake.
“Ms. Devy, you came back,” he said through a fit of giggles.
“Yes, I did. I want you to get up so we can brush our teeth and wash our face. Then you are going to help me make breakfast.”
“I’m too little to make breakfast, Ms. Devy.”
“That’s why I’m going to help you. Do you like apples?” I asked him.
“Yes!”
“Good. Get up and put on your slippers while I get Evie.”
As I moved around to Evie, I could see that her side of the bed was soaked. I had to keep in mind a cut off time for her drinking before bed. Since I was banished upstairs at night, Mr. Gray was going to have to help with that and even consider taking her to the bathroom during the night.
“I didn’t pee this time. I’m getting to be a big boy. That’s why I can help you cook breakfast.”
“That’s right. You’re doing a good job,” I said, acknowledging King as I picked Evie up and carried her little sleepy self to the bathroom connected to the room they shared.
Evie was still knocked out as I turned on the bathtub to run enough bath water to get her cleaned up. I moved back to the room and quickly found something for her to change into.
“You see my toothbrush, Ms. Devy?” King asked as I walked back into the bathroom.
“Oh wow! A superhero.”
“Yep, just like Uncle Steel. He saved me and Evie from those bad people that took us from our mommy. They didn’t even give us nothing to eat even though we were crying.”
“That must have been scary,” I said, sympathizing with the talkative little boy.
“Yes, I miss my mommy, but she said that Uncle Steel is going to make sure we are OK until she comes back. She still loves me, but she has to go away for a while. That’s what she said.”
“I’m sure your Uncle Steel will take good care of you,” I assured him although I wasn’t so sure about that statement.
I didn’t know the man from a can of paint, but there aren’t a lot of people that I can think of that would take on the responsibility of other people’s kids. None of my siblings’ dads or any of our distant relatives came to the rescue when I wastossed into the system like trash. I had no idea where they were these days, neither did I care. It was honorable of Mr. Gray to take in his sister’s children. Not everybody has it in them to do.
“Help me put the toothpaste on,” King requested, causing me to turn to him and help him with his task of brushing his teeth. I wet a washcloth and added a little mild soap.
