Page 79 of The Surrogate Nanny
“How much longer are you planning on keeping my fiancée hostage? It’s past 8:00, Jonathan.”
“I’m sorry, Anthony. I didn’t mean to keep her so late. I lost track of time.”
“That’s been happening a lot.”
“I know, but work has been a little hectic.”
He sighed. “Tell me how these nanny interviews are going.”
A gentle knock at the door interrupted us.
“Hold on,” I said, setting the phone down. “Come in.”
I smiled when my children and Nori came filing in to bid me goodnight.
“Daddy, I don’t want to go to bed,” Casey grumbled as he fell into my open arms. I rolled my eyes, knowing he’d fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
“Why not?”
“Because you didn’t play with me today like you promised,” he explained with a pout. I looked away. It was the same pout his mother gave me when she wanted something—usually money. But unlike Eliza, Casey wanted my time, not my money.
Granted, he doesn’t fully grasp the concept of money, but you get it.
“Tomorrow’s Friday. You know what that means?”
“You’re working a half day?” Casey answered hopefully.
“That’s right. I’ll pick you guys up from school, and then we can go to the park.” I whispered goodnight to him, received a kiss, and reached for my eldest.
“Is Mom picking us up tomorrow?” Grant asked.
“That’s the plan.”
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. He was extremely intelligent for five, and getting one over on him was difficult.
It’s like the saying goes, you can’t bullshit a bullshitter.
He knew that more likely than not, Eliza would call last minute with some excuse as to why she couldn’t pick them up for the weekend.
It’s tragic how busy Eliza suddenly became after I was granted full custody of the children, and she no longer receives child support. Funny how that works out.
“What do you want to do this weekend if your mother is busy?” He shrugged. “Oh, well, we’ll think of something. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight. Daisy, you’re up next.”
“Night, night,” my youngest told me, around her sippy cup. I leaned down to hug my daughter and kissed her on a rounded cheek.
“Night, night, Daisy.”
I sighed when Nori took Daisy’s place. Her hair was damp, and she was changed into a pink t-shirt and pajama set, ready for bed.
Jon, it’s a bad sign when your best friend’s daughter joins your children’s nightly bedtime routine. You’re taking advantage.
“All right, Nori. We’ve been practicing. How do you say goodnight? Show me goodnight?” Simone and I waited with bated breath as she touched her lips with her fingers and placed her hand in her open palm. “Okay, good. You got the first part. Show me night.” She repeated the motion instead of flipping her palm over her arm. “You were so close, Nori.”
I signed ‘goodnight’ to her repeatedly before stealing a hug and sending her to her mother. It was then that I had finally gotten a good look at Simone. The woman looked dead on her feet, and rightfully so. She’d been caring for my gang of children and Nori throughout the day for weeks while I searched tirelessly for a live-in nanny. So far, I couldn’t find anyone that would fit the bill. The candidates were either too authoritative or too lax. One believed that discipline of all forms was a social construct and abusive and expressed that children should “free roam” and choose their own path. I found that to be a dangerous rhetoric, and she was dismissed immediately. My children would swing from the chandeliers if you let them.