Page 28 of Worst Nanny Ever
CHAPTER EIGHT
HANNAH
“Have another,” Dottie says, smiling at Ollie, who’s already eaten three cookies. “A young man needs plenty of fuel.”
Maybe Travis will be pissed off by the astronomical amount of sugar that’s currently being pumped into Ollie’s bloodstream—he’s drinking sweet tea on top of all those cookies—but I figure that’ll be a problem for later. A problem forhim. It may be a mark of evil, but the thought of Ollie zooming around the house while Travis scratches his head in confusion amuses me.
But that’s not why I’m being an accessory to excessive sugaring.
Ollie could use some pampering, and there’s no better pamperer than Dottie Hendrickson, who in addition to being the owner of Tea of Fortune is also Sophie’s former next-door neighbor.
She’s eighty or so, with dyed purple hair and a seriously enviable collection of dresses. The woman still works at her dream job—a tea shop that offers tea-leaf readings. The woman’s a true boss, and a perfect Nanny Rose stand-in for Ollie.
But it would be pretty messed up of me to hang out with Sophie’s former neighbor without inviting her to join us,especially since I knew Sophie’s boyfriend would be here, so of course I asked her to come too. She’s sitting across from me, beaming at Ollie as if eating cookies were an Olympic sport and he’s about to bring home the gold.
I didn’t want Briar to feel left out, so I asked if she could duck out of work to come, too. She hates playing hooky—she’s a bit like Travis when it comes to rule following, but she’s here anyway, sitting next to Sophie and watching the door as if her father—who’s also her boss—might storm in any second and say,Where have you been, young lady?
Travis is sitting at the farthest table from the door with Rob and Bixby, the bassist for Garbage Fire, who showed up several minutes after the other two. Of course, Travis being Travis, he took the seat facing us so he could keep an eye on me and Ollie.
The lack of trust would be devastating if I didn’t have the strong impression he wants to keep his eye on everyone, all the time, and not just me.
Also, if it weren’t deserved.
“Can anyone at this table read lips?” I ask casually.
“Oh, it’s too bad my friend Ann isn’t here,” Dottie says, glancing around as if Ann might pop out from behind a corner. “She’s nearly deaf without her hearing aids, poor dear, but she does have a talent for reading lips. You know, I was practicing it with her the other day, so Icouldgive it a try.”
“I want to do it!” Ollie says, practically bouncing in his seat.
“I don’t think we should spy on them,” Sophie says hesitantly. “They’re just talking about finding a new rhythm guitarist for the band.”
Sophie’s already filled me in on what happened at the brewery last night. Apparently, there’s some producer who’s interested in them, but he insisted they need to have a fourth band member because threesomes aren’t as bankable.
Yeah, that’s not quite how she said it, but it’s how she should have said it.
It’s a promising development, so I wonder why Travis seemed a bit down when he came home last night. Maybe Big Catch’s new evening floor manager is bad enough that he brings everyone down, a thought that probably shouldn’t delight me as much as it does.
“If it’s not a private conversation, then there’s no harm in practicing our skills,” Dottie says, surprisingly into the idea. “Let me switch places with you, Hannah.”
We get up and shuffle around, and I notice Travis angling his head, watching us. His expression says, very clearly,What the hell are you up to?
I give him a jaunty wave.
“Now, the trick is to watch the shape of their lips, Ollie,” Dottie tells him. “Can you see the shape your dad’s lips are making right now?”
I twist in my seat to watch Travis’s lips move.
Huh, he has nice lips. Nice lips that are forming what looks like…
“Did he just say my name?” I hiss, turning toward Dottie.
She gives me an encouraging smile. “Oh, I should think so, dear. More than once. How exciting!”
“I certainly hope he said something like, ‘Thank God for Hannah,’” I mutter. “‘My ship would really be sunk if not for Hannah.’ ‘Hannah is a goddess among women.’”
“I don’t think that’s what he said at all,” Ollie says, going for gold and grabbing another cookie. “It looked like he said trouble or maybe bubble.”
“Hm.” Dottie peers intently at their table at the back of the shop. “Rob just said your name too.”
