Page 65 of Mr. Wolfe's Nanny

“Thanks. She’s snoozing away right now but just wait until 2 AM rolls around.”

I nod as if I share her experiences but I don’t. I’ve never had a baby. I don’t know if I’ll ever… wait.

Oh.

Oh shit.

I still haven’t had my period. I know I didn’t have one in December and, the more I think about it, the more I think it was early November when I had the last one.

Oh shit!

My palms turn clammy and my stomach starts roiling threateningly when Alex Carter comes our way. “Hi, Mr. Carter. You’ve got quite a tan,” Kelsey notes.

He gives his light blond hair a shake - which Theo wryly calls his surfer hair - and nods. “Yeah, I took a cruise over the break.”

He chats about his trip with Tim’s mother some more and I try to make appropriate responses but I’m still turning over the mystery of the missing period in my head.We’ve used condoms every time. But that’s not a 100% guarantee, I suppose.

“You’re just the lady I was hoping to see tonight actually, Ms. Batista.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, like I was saying Mrs. White will be going on maternity leave in February for the remainder of the school year and I was informed this morning that the substitute we had lined up to take her place is no longer going to be available. You could really be a lifesaver if you’d be willing to take on a temporary position with us here…”

He carries on and, I must admit, the offer isn’t without merit. It would be nice to take on a temporary teaching position part-time considering it would be right here where Jill and Ryder attend. I’d have to talk it over with Theo if I were serious and consider if the larger class sizes here would be an issue for me but…

But right now, all my thoughts keep centering on two things.

Where’s Theo and when was my last period?

My appointment with the gynecologist is Monday.But a pregnancy test can be picked up any time. I need to call Isa.

33 - Theo

Ten days since we left Mexico and I need another vacation.

My father is a hard ass and a real bastard sometimes. He cheated on my mother when I was a kid, something I would never do to a wife. She forgave him and, in time, he came home again and tried to be a better man for us all. He brought Oliver into our lives for which I’m grateful because I love my half-brother every bit as much as the other two but I know it can’t have been easy for Mom when we were younger.

So, Dad is who he is but he’s still my dad. He taught me everything beyond the textbooks that I know about business. I can’t believe I was keeping a countdown for his retirement.

“They call this a steak? Jesus, if the ailment doesn’t kill you, the hospital cafeteria will.”

I’d rather see him complaining any day over the way he was last week. “No wonder they’re ready to kick you out of here. Your sunny personality is back.”

“Watch it.” But he’s grinning, too. When I first saw him after six hours of surgery, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see him smiling again. “What are you up to today besides hassling me? Shouldn’t you be busy keeping our company afloat?”

“The company’s floating.”

“Board’s nervous. The stocks dropped.”

I’m going to have a few words with his assistant later. He does not need to be worrying over this crap while he recovers. “Not much and the board is always nervous over something. We’ll weather things like we have for the last sixty years.”

Honestly, there's been a shitstorm of worrywarts at my doorstep lately and I’m about to pull my hair out. Part of the reason I’ve been staying at the hotel suite, in addition to avoiding making Dan run me back and forth at all hours, is I don’t want to take work frustrations home with me.

Kids can’t help being kids and, while I know Quinn would try to help, my temper is beyond frayed at this point. I don’t want to wind up snapping at her like I did back in September when I found out she was my new nanny. Her panic attack on the plane ride home was understandable but I don’t ever want to be the cause of another one.

“I’m going to the school tonight, actually. Ryder’s entered a sketch of Marilyn in the school art competition and they’re choosing the winner.”

“He’ll win. He’s a Wolfe,” he says, like the totally biased grandparent he is. He turns morose after setting aside his inedible hospital chopped steak though. “Ninety. Your granddad lived to be ninety. He got to see his grandsons become men. I’d like to think I could watch your kids grow up, too.”

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