Page 60 of The Surrogate Nanny
“She sounds emotionally abusive.”
“You don’t know the half of it. I remember when he showed me the engagement ring he purchased her after she kicked him out of their apartment for the umpteenth time. The first thing I asked was if he was on drugs.” Simone chuckled and patted Nori on the bottom. I knew it’d only take a few more pats before Nori was dead to the world. That couldn’t happen because I wanted the nights to be for Simone and me.
We haven’t had a lot of alone time together. We’ve been too busy being parents and tiptoeing around our feelings. We’re robbing ourselves of something good, and that has to change.
“Don’t let her go to sleep. We should be descending soon.”
“I can’t wait for my feet to touch solid ground again,” Simone sighed as she returned her seat to the upright position. She slipped off her mask and wildly bounced Nori on her knee, making her squeal. “Continue with the Eliza and Jonathan drama.”
“Right. Where was I—oh, Jonathan was convinced that Eliza was the love of his life, and he asked me for my support. I told him that I thought he was rushing it, but my warning fell on deaf ears. They married and started popping out kids left and right. She cheated on him with his competitor of all people.”
“His competitor? That’s just adding salt to the wound.”
“Tell me about it,” I huffed.
“How is she as a mother?”
I snorted. “She’s not you.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’re a perfect mother.”
“Let’s hold off on the perfect mother label until we’re past the Terrible Twos because Nori has been trying me lately,” Simone commented.
“I’ve noticed that she’s been a little defiant lately,” I responded, thinking over the past several weeks and the increase in tantrums. “Do you think we’re doing something wrong?”
Simone sighed. “No, I don’t think we’re doing anything wrong. She’s growing up, and she’s expressing her frustrations. It’s harder for her because she can’t verbalize what’s bothering her. It’s up to us as her parents to teach her how to effectively communicate those frustrations.”
“That makes sense.”
“It also helps if we’re on the same page andsomeonedoesn’t let her get away with murder,” Simone said, sending me a sharp side-eye.
“Cut me some slack. I’m new to this parenting thing,” I said, trying to escape judgment.
“You can’t keep playing that new parenting card with me.”
“I think we should consider getting a nanny,” I announced suddenly, completely derailing the conversation.
“What?” Simone asked, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “A nanny? Why do we need a nanny? I am Nori’s nanny.”
“You’re fired.”
“Wh—”
“You’ll receive your full yearly salary and benefits, but effective immediately, you’re relieved of your duties.”
“Anthony—”
“You’re not Nori’s nanny; you’re her mother. I’m not suggesting getting a live-in nanny or even a full-time nanny, but someone who can relieve you and me in case we....”
“In case we what?”
I swallowed roughly as the blood rushed to my cheeks. It was now or never. I couldn’t pussyfoot any longer.
“In case we want to spend some alone time together,” I suggested.
“Wait...did you just fire me so that you can date me?” she asked in disbelief.