Page 108 of Worst Nanny Ever
“Headshots?” I ask blankly. “I don’t have headshots.”
She takes out her phone and snaps a photo of me. “You do now. I’ll get them printed out.”
I groan but nod. Alice was helpful yesterday, and I appreciate that she and her friends didn’t try to mob me.
Hannah hugs Ollie goodbye and then turns to leave us. Once she’s gone, the house instantly feels darker. Drabber.
“This place feels different without her,” I say, because my filter is apparently broken this morning.
“It does,” Ollie agrees.
I expect him to start tearing into the boxes, but he sits down in the chair across from mine. “Do you like Hannah in an adult way, Travis? Mom only shared a bed with people she liked in an adult way.”
Way to stab me in the chest from thousands of miles away, Lilah.
I try to breathe out my anger over her exposing Ollie to her cheating ways. “I think a lot of Hannah, but that’s not something you need to worry about right now, Ollie.”
“Hannah’s my friend, but I don’t mind if you and Hannah are friends too,” he says. “You smile a lot more when she’s around.”
I rub my hands over my temples. “Thank you, Ollie. I think you’re right about that.”
“Will you date her? Aunt Dottie said you might want to date her. Like when people kiss each other.”
Jesus Christ, I’m way too hungover for this conversation. I make a mental note to have a talk with Dottie about what is and isn’t appropriate for children.
“Maybe, but I can’t do that while she works here, buddy. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to date.”
“If you say so.” He pauses, his expression thoughtful. “But Hannah would still be around here a lot if you were dating each other, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well…we might need to think about interviewing a few other people to be my nanny.”
“Seriously, Ollie? You didn’t want anyone else to take care of you. You drove them all away.”
“I think you’ve learned what a good nanny is like. You needed someone to show you.” He shrugs. “Are you going to tell me aboutShips Ahoynow?”
I drop the spoon into the mushy cereal. “Did Hannah tell you about that?”
“No, but she talks really loudly to Sophie and Briar sometimes when she thinks I’m asleep. Your dad was in some old movie, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah,” I say woodenly. “There are six of those Ships Ahoy movies. He was in them before I was born, and he was really proud of himself. I’m telling you this because some of the other kids might start talking about it. You deserve to know from me.”
“That’s pretty cool. I’ll bet Mickey’s grandfather wasn’t a movie star.”
“Probably not, but you should know my dad wasn’t a nice man, Ollie. We didn’t get along. He was always pushing me tobe someone I wasn’t. Both of my parents were.” I take a deep breath. “I had a nanny, too, when I was a kid, and my parents didn’t spend much time with me. I’d like things to be different for us, but I haven’t done a good job of showing you that.”
“You haven’t played the drums with me,” he says, watching me closely. “You don’t want to.”
I spear my hands through my hair, practically hearing Hannah whisper,I told you so.
“And you don’t want to introduce me to the kids you teach or the rest of your band. I haven’t even met the third guy who plays the weird guitar.”
“He’s not too happy with me right now,” I say. “But I’ll introduce you to him eventually. And if you want to come meet the kids at The Missing Beat, Hannah will bring you. She’s already offered. I just…” My mouth feels dry. My heart is pounding. “I didn’t want to push you to do something only becauseIlike it, Ollie. My father wasn’t interested in figuring out who I was. He wanted me to be just like him. I don’t want to do that to you.”
He gives me one of his serious looks, his face so like mine I’m taken aback. “But Hannah said I should watch the turtle show so I could see if Mickey and I had anything in common. Isn’t that the same for us? How am I going to know whether I like playing music if I never learn how?”
“You really are smarter than me.”
