Page 43 of Nanny for the Doctor

A horrid sting sets up shop behind my ribs, and it’s almost like I can see her crouching there. Her blond hair would be pulled back in a ponytail, and she would be dressed in clothes that favor comfort.

She spent her entire day with him when he was small. Even when we started Henry in preschool, she was always the one to drop him off and pick him up.

Tears threaten to break free as the memories tear through me. Clara would have made today special, thinking of something particularly fun to do that didn’t require much physical activity.

“What would your mom have done?” I whisper.

But overwhelming sadness blocks out any creative idea I may have had, and I come up with nothing.At least I know I have to feed him.

“Henry, you want something to eat?”

“Oh, yeah. Can I have a bowl of Cap’n Crunch?”

“Of course, buddy.”

I whip up my morning specialty, a bowl of cereal with probably too much milk, and Henry eats it in no time. We switch up the entertainment to a movie, and about halfway through, he falls asleep.

As I try and fail to follow the plot of this odd anime movie Henry chose, there’s a knock at the door.

Moving quickly and quietly, I hurry to the door to see who it is. I’m not expecting anyone.

Swinging the door open, I see Johnny on my front porch. When he turns around from his pacing to face me, I’m met with one of the deepest scowls I’ve ever seen him wear.

“Johnny, what’s up?”

I step out onto the porch, closing the door behind me. I don’t want to wake up Henry.

That’s when dread crawls over my skin.Holy shit. Did Johnny find out about Mae and me?

Anger burns across his face, and it’s just the type of look a brother might wear if someone defiled his sister.Fuck, I’m going to lose my best friend, and I’m not even seeing her anymore.

Images of punches thrown and the shattering of our tight bond bubble up in my head.

“You know, Reed, you have a lot of nerve.” Johnny crosses the porch toward me, jabbing his finger in my chest.

Oh God, here it comes.

“Why the fuck did you fire Mae? She’s an excellent nanny. Kids are, like, her whole life.”

My shoulders sag with relief, but then the tension returns as Johnny continues to glare at me.

“Seriously? You’re here because of that? Mae having her big brother fight her battles for her?”

Another stiff jab pushes into my pec. “Fuck off, Reed. Mae doesn’t know I’m here, and she wouldn’t like it, either, so don’t go shooting your mouth off about it.”

“That’s quite enough, Johnny. Who I choose to watch my son isn’t your business.”

Johnny shakes his head as he frowns. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. We're talking about Mae, so it is my business why you kicked her to the curb like yesterday’s trash.”

I cross my arms over my chest, glaring right back at him. “Fine. You want to know? Mae overstepped, spouting nonsense about disconnection from my son and telling me I work too much.”

“First of all—” Johnny cocks his head at me, looking down his nose in my direction “—you do work too much. You have to know that by now. Second, can’t you see she was just trying to help you? Mae’s extremely devoted to child care. She even wants to become a teacher, so she’s made it a point to learn as much as she can about development before even starting college.”

“Well, I didn’t hire her for that, and I made that abundantly clear.”

“You’re acting like a selfish prick. You just can’t hear that maybe there’s something you could do to help your obviously strained relationship with Henry.”

“Back off, Johnny.”

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