Page 5 of The Accidental Nanny
Ace sits at the dinner table, not eating his food. It’s been a difficult time, and as much as I want to, I can't skip this evening.
“Come on, buddy.” My eight-year-old son looks mad at me. “It’s just one night.”
“You said you’ll always be with us,” he whines.
He’s so angry all the time now. I can’t even remember when he smiled last. In fact, when did I smile last? I feel the guilt eating at me.
“I am, but I need to go to this Easter ball. Granny is coming over,” I explain. "It'll be fun."
“I want Mummy,” Eden cries.
Sweet Eden doesn’t understand where her mother is. I can’t bear to tell them how their mother walked out on her two children. To leave me was one thing, but not to contact her kids was another.
It isn’t like I can even tell them anything. My wife’sparents aren’t giving me any details. All I know is that she is alive. The divorce papers are on the desk in my office where they have been for two weeks now, waiting to be signed. I don’t even know why I’m delaying—maybe for a reason as to why she packed one small bag and disappeared.
Since she went, everything has changed. Of course, it has. Her presence is missing in our lives. Julia has betrayed all of us.
The front door opens, and my mother walks in with a cake tin in her hands.
“Look what I’ve made,” Mum proclaims. Heading over to Eden and then Ace, she kisses their heads. Ace’s face lights up. “Eat your dinner first,” she says placing it down on the kitchen unit.
“It’s horrible,” Ace replies, pulling a face and pushing his plate away.
Mum takes his fork, tasting it. “What the hell is this?” Her face scrunches up, spitting the food into a paper towel.
The children start giggling. At a guess, it’s because Granny said ‘hell.’
“Spaghetti?”
Mum grimaces. “Darling, you need help, so why not get a nanny for the children? I can’t be here all the time; it’s tiring at my age.”
Mum is getting close to seventy now. She isn’t supposed to be doing my housework and watching the children full time. Neither should she be taking them to and from school each day. She’s meant to be enjoying her retirement.
“A nanny?” The thought hasn’t even crossed my mind.
“I’ve been thinking about it. The house is a mess. They can do the housework while the children are at school,” my mother suggests. "It would help you so much," she says.
“I don’t know. I need to think about this. It’s a big decision and there’s the financial aspect too.” Could this be the answer to all my problems?
“Don’t worry about the money. If you can’t afford it, your father and I will pay,” she offers.
"We just want you to get the help you need."
“I can afford it.” Ace is eyeing the cake tin, almost drooling. "Granny will make you something proper to eat, and you can have cake after that," I say to him.
“Don’t wait too long. Your father and I are away for several weeks next month. Who’s going to be around to help you then?” Mum quirks an eyebrow at me.
I forgot they booked a cruise for Mum’s seventieth birthday. It’s the first time I’ve noticed how tired she looks. Her eyes have bags under them, her hair isn’t as well-kept as normal, and her manicured nails are broken. I can’t keep doing this to her. Before I have a chance to say anything, Eden speaks first.
“We have a nanny. Granny is our nanny.”
“No, this is someone who will be here all the time, not like granny who only visits,” I explain to her in a way she understands.
Eden’s whole face lights up, a cheeky smile creeping across her face. She was lost in her own thoughts. “Will the nanny be pretty like Mummy?”
Mum is making a sandwich for Ace, and she looks up at my exchange with Eden.
“Yes, she’ll be pretty,” I tell my daughter.
