Page 94 of Worst Nanny Ever
I need to make this up to her somehow. I have to show her how much I value her, how much I care, even if I can’t show her the way I’d like.
“Thanks for telling me that,” I say with a tight nod.
“Needless to say, if you mess with my sister, she won’t have to use her remaining favor to get me to defend her. I’ll?—”
“You’ll use my balls as a boxing bag,” I say, gesturing to his name tag. Feeling the sweat beading again at my hairline. “Got it. I’d deserve it. Like I said?—”
“You think very highly of her,” he says with a smirk. “Yup, got it. So, do you have any enemies?”
There’s a rustling sound, and then Eugene turns the corner,coming into view holding a big aluminum pan filled with tiny cakes frosted with curlicues.
“Would you like to try a free sample?” he asks with a tight smile that shows too much teeth.
“I work here,” Liam says.
Eugene sets the container down on the table with a huff. “So what are you doing?—”
“Eugene,” says a calm, serene voice from behind him. Dottie Hendrickson appears behind him, giving him a supportive smile. “Go ahead and stroke your crystal. It’ll help you remember the buzzwords we talked about.Collaboration. Community. Connection.”
A sigh whistles out of Eugene like he’s a tea kettle full of boiling water, but he nods his head three times and reaches into his pocket, presumably to stroke his crystal. Then he gives Liam another rictus grin. “I see you’re wearing your name tag. Good job, Liam.”
“Where’s yours?” Liam asks, lifting his eyebrows.
Eugene looks startled, and he glances down at his own shirt as if expecting it to appear. “I’ll be right back,” he says, before turning and hustling away.
Liam shrugs and slides the box of cakes toward him, popping one into his mouth.
“Oh, a spicy one,” Dottie says with a smile.
He starts coughing immediately, and she pats him on the back soothingly, as if he’s Ollie’s age.
“How’s your dear boy doing?” she asks me.
“He’s having a bit of trouble at school.”
“Has he been placing those crystals around the house like we discussed?”
I glance at Liam, who’s now guzzling his beer.
Turning my attention back to Dottie, I ask, “Uh....were theysupposed to be hidden all around the house? I thought he and Hannah were playing hide-and-seek with them.”
She clucks her tongue. “Oh, no. We developed a sound strategy for their placement. Well, no harm. I’d be happy to come over and help him relocate them to their rightful places.”
“Was there supposed to be one in the cereal box? Because I have a very strict ‘no rocks in our food’ policy that I’m not willing to bend on.”
She cocks her head. “Oh, yes, I see. Ididtell him to put the citrine in the kitchen, but perhaps he felt he needed to keep it hidden.” She gives me a serious look. “I don’t want to alarm you, but he might be under the impression you’re closed-minded.”
Liam makes another choking sound, but this time I’m pretty sure he’s trying not to laugh.
“I’m surprised he’s so ‘open-minded,’” I say. “He loves science.”
Dottie presses a hand to her chest. “So do I, my dear. It’s science that creates the beauty of all of those stones, but it’s something else that gives them their power—a force not even science can explain. Would you allow me to spend some time arranging them with Ollie?”
“All right,” I say. “I’m sure he’d enjoy that.”
It’ll mean granting yet another person access to my home—worse, a person who intends to hide sharp little rocks everywhere to potentially hit me in the head and stub my toes, but I don’t feel anxious about it. This is something Ollie obviously wants. Something that might make him feel happier and more confident. More at home in our house.
If that means a little more upheaval, so be it. It’s a time of revelations, and I’m not above admitting that the biggest way I’ve messed up with both Ollie and Hannah is by being too rigid. Too stuck in my opinions about how things are supposed to be.
