Page 16 of Tempt

Nanny, 2. World, 1.

“Does your dad keep an extra key?”

Andy lifts both palms.

I venture around the side of the house and find a clay pot on a windowsill. Underneath is a key.

Nanny, 3. World, 1.

I grab it and let us in.

He trudges ahead of me, shoulder slumped.

He was in a good mood until he saw that little girl. Now he’s bummed.

I get it. Even though I haven’t exactly lost friends, it feels that way the past few days.

I think of the shard of black plastic and an idea hits me.

I go back outside to the terracotta pot that hid the key.

“There are lots more.” Andy’s voice comes from behind me.

Sure enough, in the garage are lots more pots. All plain and boring.

“You know what this is?” I ask Andy.

He frowns. “Flowerpot.”

“A blank canvas,” I declare. “What if we make her a pot to plant her new flower in?”

“Like a friendship pot?”

“Exactly.”

There’s house paint there too, but that’s probably not great for kids. I pull out some colors from my bag that I packed.

Much better choice than textbooks.

We go inside and start to paint.

A while later, my phone rings and I answer. “Hello?”

“Kat, it’s Daniel. How are things going?”

His voice is low and a little rough, like he’s striding between classes.

“Peachy. Andy only had nine toes to begin with, right?”

He’s silent.

“It was a joke,” I go on at last.

Out of nowhere, I wonder if he’s wearing a tie or if the top button of his shirt is undone like yesterday.

“Right. A meeting on campus ran late, I’m going to be awhile getting home. Did you and Andy find something for dinner?”

Crap. Come on, nanny. Just because you can go all day without food doesn’t mean you can do that to the kid.

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