The Baby Package

by Sarah J. Brooks

  I didn’t mind Tyler checking me out one bit. In fact, I found a moment or two to check him out too while we were driving. His jeans fit him perfectly, and I even saw an outline of his manhood when he adjusted his seat position.

  “Okay, so you have to go up Timber Street even though the GPS will say Wells Street,” Tyler started to say. “Then we turn on the Nineteenth Street and curve back around to the school. It’s very counterintuitive, and you’ll get lost the first time almost guaranteed.”

  “Okay, turn on Timber Street and Nineteenth,” I said confidently. “Got it.”

  “When you arrive at school, you’ve got to stay in the left lane. It will move slowly but just keep behind the line until you get to the front. At the front of the school, you’ve got to pull up to the last spot, and then the kids climb out and you pull forward as soon as you can. Don’t stop in the middle.”

  “Okay.”

  “Also, if you have to stop or get out for any reason, you’ll need to park at the seven-eleven down the street and walk. There’s no way to park up here during rush morning traffic or at pickup time.”

  “Okay, got it.”

  Tyler went on and on about all the rules, and none of them seemed all that hard to remember. A lot of them seemed more like common sense than really hard rules. As Tyler went on and on, I happened to glance back at Faith who rolled her eyes as if she knew her dad was getting a bit excessive with the rules.

  “Do you want to practice the driving part?” Tyler asked as he pulled around to the back of the school.

  “No, I think I’ve got it,” I replied confidently.

  To be honest, this job didn’t seem all that hard at all. Basically, the hardest thing I could figure was going to be getting up and getting the kids ready. But after I dropped them off, I could sleep all day until it was time to pick them up again. This cushy job was turning into the job of my dreams.

  As we drove back into the driveway to Tyler’s house, there were a couple kids just playing there. It was a boy and a girl of about the same ages as Faith and Thomas.

  “Dad, can we go play?” Thomas asked so full of excitement he already had his seatbelt off and was just waiting for the car to stop.

  “Yes, in our backyard only, though.”

  The kids both jumped out and ran into the backyard leaving Tyler and me in the car for a moment. It was uncomfortable yet electric between us. If we had been on a date, I would have expected him to lean over and give me a kiss right then and there. But we weren’t on a date; I was his new nanny, and he was my new boss.

  “Maybe you should write down those directions for me. I don’t want to forget anything when I try to take them to school,” I said as I turned toward Tyler.

  “Of course. And maybe tomorrow you’d like to come early and drive with us to school? It might be easier if you see it all in action.”

  I really did want to do a live run through, but I knew there was no way I’d make it to his house that early without a car. It was silly that I didn’t have my own car yet, and it made me feel like a child.

  “Um, well … I couldn’t get here by then, you know. I don’t have a car right now.”

  “How about we come and pick you up before school?”

  “So you want to pick me up, eh?” I teased, and Tyler gave a little laugh.

  “If you would like me to, I’m sure we could get up a little early and come get you. I really would feel more comfortable if you had a chance to see it all live and in person. There’s no way to truly describe the hell that is the morning drop off.”

  “Sure you can come get me. I’ll send you my address,” I said as my phone started to buzz.

  I clicked it closed to try and be respectful to Tyler, but it was so hard for me. I was so used to constantly having my phone on that it was going to take a lot of getting used to not using it as much.

  “You can get that if you’d like. I was just going to head inside for a minute. I can take you home in a little bit, and then I’ll know where you live and will have no troubles finding your house in the morning.”

  “Okay,” I said a little too eagerly. “Um, I’m going to go visit with the kids in the back yard. Just let me know when you’d like to go.”

  I couldn’t get away from Tyler fast enough. Everything in my body was pulling me toward him, and I thought I might actually kiss him. How awkward would that have made my first day of work?”

  Faith and Thomas were busy with their friends by the time I got to the backyard, so I just sat down and watched them. With a little spare time on my hands, I pulled out my phone and sent a few SnapChats and Instagram messages.

  There was an overwhelming feeling of calm for me. I just knew I was going to love this job. I could literally sit out in the sun and get a tan while the kids played, and I was going to get paid.

  “Who are you?” the neighbor boy asked me.

  “I’m Summer.”

  “That’s not a name.”

  “Yeah, it is. That’s my name. It’s kind of silly, though, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Kenny.”

  “I like that name,” I said as he turned and ran away.

  Just as quickly as the kids had started playing, they suddenly turned against each other. I heard the two girls screaming at each other and fighting over a toy that they were both holding onto.

  As I looked around, I realized I was the only adult there, and it was up to me to calm down the chaos. Slowly, I approached them as I tried to get them to calm down.

  “Hey, girls, you can take turns with that,” I said although neither of them stopped to look at me.

  “It’s my doll! Why are you even touching it,” Faith said to the neighbor girl.

  “I just want to play with it for a second, stop being such a jerk.”

  “Wow, okay girls. Let’s calm down,” I tried again, but they just kept fighting.

  I reached down to try and stop them, but they were muddy and wet from the sprinklers that had been going earlier. Before I knew what had happened, I was on the ground with them and covered in mud.

  They were both rolling around on the ground as the screaming continued, even with me on the ground with them. Each of the little ones was so full of spunk that I really didn’t know what to do. I literally laid there next to them and just waited for them to tucker themselves out.

  “Stop it right now,” a woman’s voice screamed from the fence.

  I couldn’t see who it was, but the girls both froze where they were. We were all laying on the ground as this woman walked through the gate in the fence and toward us. I had no idea what to do.

  “Sorry, I asked them to stop,” I said as I stood up. “I’m Summer, the new nanny.”

  “Oh, you’re the new nanny?” the woman said as she looked me up and down.

  Her nose crinkled up, and judgment drenched her face. I normally wasn’t subjected to looks like that unless I was at a bar and a guy who had a girlfriend was looking at me a little too long.

  “I’m sorry, I tried to stop them,” I said as the woman rolled her eyes at me.

  “Is Tyler home?”

  “Yes, he’s inside.”

  The woman grabbed her son by one hand and her daughter by the other as she stormed up to the back door. Her feet barely slowed down when she climbed the deck steps and then knocked on the glass door.

  “Well, I guess I won’t be around much longer,” I said with a sigh.

  “She’s always like that,” Thomas said. “No one likes her. But we like her kids.”

  “I’m sorry for not listening,” Faith said as her beautiful blue eyes looked up at me.

  “We can do better next time. If there is a next time,” I said with a shrug. “For now, we should probably get ourselves cleaned up.”

  “I’ll get the hose,” Thomas exclaimed.

  “No, no, not the hose. We will wait for the wicked witch of the East to leave, and then we can go inside.”

&nbs
p; Faith grabbed my hand and stood next to me as the woman yelled something at Tyler and pointed in my direction. I really didn’t know how Tyler would react to such a thing and was terrified that I could lose the best job I could have hoped for.

  When the neighbor woman finally grabbed her kids’ hands and stormed back to her side of the fence, Faith, Thomas, and I made our way across the yard. I moved a little slower than the kids as I tried to delay the inevitable reaction from Tyler.

  “I’m sorry,” Faith said right away. “I was fighting with Abby because she stole my doll and wouldn’t give it back.”

  “And Summer was fighting too?” Tyler said with a huge grin on his face.

  Instant relief washed over me. He wasn’t mad at all. He seemed to be enjoying the fact that I was covered in mud, though.

  “I slipped trying to stop them,” I said with a smile. “Sorry.”

  “It’s a good look for you. Don’t you guys think she should get muddy more often?”

  “Definitely.” Thomas laughed.

  “I’m going to get this little princess cleaned up, and then we will give you a ride home. Does that work?” Tyler asked as he continued to smile at me.

  “Yeah. I’ll wait out here, though. I don’t want to muddy the place up.”

  “We will just be a few minutes,” Tyler grabbed Faith and picked her up as he hurried through the house and to the bathroom.

  Afraid to sit on any of the furniture outside, I sat down on the steps of the deck as the mud quickly started to dry from the sun. I couldn’t help taking a few more pictures to send to my friends and show how awesome my first day as a nanny was turning out.

  The sun was still wonderfully warm, and I ended up lying back on the deck and just soaking it in. At least Tyler hadn’t been angry with me. His reaction was a huge relief, and I honestly hadn’t expected it at all.

  “Ready?” Tyler said as he stood over me, smiling down at me.

  “Yep, do you have a towel or something? I don’t want to get your car dirty with my filth.” I laughed.

  Tyler reached his hand out and helped me up, and I noticed he had a large beach towel in his other hand. Dang, this guy was perfection. I couldn’t help smiling back at him as we walked around the gate and to the car where Faith and Thomas were getting in their seatbelts. Faith was freshly cleaned from her shower, and her hair was still dripping wet.

  “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but this seemed like a pretty productive day to me. Summer even got in some social media posts,” he said with a wink in my direction.

  “Sorry.” I shrugged. “I couldn’t help it.”

  “We will talk about it a little more later. Let’s get you home for now.”

  His tone wasn’t at all as playful as it had been before. My stomach sank with dread as I gave him directions to my apartment. On the surface, he was still smiling, but I could tell he didn’t like me posting or taking photos around the kids. Honestly, he didn’t have to say anything to me. I already could see it in his face, but I doubted I’d get out of this that easy.

  “That’s my place,” I pointed as Tyler turned into the driveway.

  “I’ll be here to pick you up in the morning around seven. You should bring some things so you can stay for a few weeks.”

  “Okay.”

  “See you tomorrow,” he said with a much sterner look on his face than I had seen earlier.

  Tyler looked angry with me. His lips pressed together, and he shook his head a little as I climbed out of the vehicle. I wanted to apologize, to tell him I didn’t take pictures of the kids, and I certainly wasn’t trying to be disrespectful. But he pulled away before I could get the courage to say anything to him.

  As I climbed the steps to my apartment, I flipped off my heels and tried to think as positively as possible. It was only the first day. Surely I could make up for this throughout the week and show him I was going to be good at this job.

  I had to at least last a month. Just one month, and then if he needed to let me go, I would find something else. The problem was, I was already really enjoying spending time with Faith and Thomas, and despite his apparent dislike of my photo taking, I liked Tyler as well.

  “Wow, looks like you had a great first day.” Patrick laughed as I walked in the door.

  “Yep, I’m excellent at this,” I said with a laugh. “They will be calling me Mary Poppins in no time at all.”

  “I’m sorry we fought, Summer. I don’t want to move just yet. I think I’ll keep this place if you think you’ll be coming back?”

  “Oh, Patrick, yes. I’ll be coming back,” I said excitedly as I went over to give him a hug and then realized I was still coated in mud. “I’m hugging the heck out of you after I get cleaned up.”

  “Pay me the rent when you get your first paycheck, though. No more shoes, spar, nails, and hair. Deal?”

  “Yes, I promise. I’ll pay you first. Thank you so much, Patrick. OK, I’m running into the shower. You just made my day so much better! Thanks!”

  Chapter 6

  Tyler

  There was no doubt in my mind that Summer was a high maintenance sort of girl. She was still wearing her high heels the second day when I came to pick her up at her apartment. Sooner or later, she was going to have to give those up if she was going to keep up with the kids, but I decided it was better to let her come to that conclusion on her own.

  Overall, I already knew I was going to like Summer. The concerns I had for her were minor, and I didn’t feel the need to yell or constantly redirect her. Perhaps it was because I was constantly trying to calm my inappropriate thoughts of her and couldn’t manage to do both at the same time.

  Having a deliciously beautiful nanny wasn’t at all what I’d ever planned on doing. If she hadn’t of been a friend of Jason’s, I wouldn’t have considered her at all. But she was a friend, and she had been so good with the kids. Seeing her covered in mud with Faith had been so heartwarming, I could hardly handle it.

  Even our best former nanny had struggled to calm Faith and her friends when they got into squabbles, so it didn’t shock me when Mrs. Stanley came to the door complaining about the kids arguing. It also didn’t shock me that Faith was covered in mud, as she loved getting dirty. But seeing Summer like that was a definite shock, and it took all I had in me not to burst out laughing at the sight of her and Faith holding hands while being covered in mud.

  As Summer walked down the stairs expertly in her hi-heels, I had to look away. She was by far one of the most beautiful women I’d seen. Her long blonde hair was expertly styled with just a slight curl in it. She had a tiny little waist and curves for days. If I didn’t know who she was and saw her on the streets of Chicago, I would have assumed she was a visiting celebrity.

  She obviously came from a family with money as was evident by her mother dropping her off in a Rolls Royce the day before. Yet there was so much more going on for her than that. She was living in a rather normal apartment complex. She didn’t have her own car, and she had taken a job with me as a nanny.

  Although I wanted to know the answers to all my questions, it wasn’t the right time or place. For now, we had to get Faith and Thomas to school, and hopefully, teach her the route so she could do it the next day.

  With so much work piling up, I really did need to get into the office the next day if it was at all possible.

  “Wow, she looks like a movie star,” Thomas said from the back seat.

  “I think she is one,” Faith added.

  “Shh, let’s be nice, she’s just a normal girl,” I said just before Summer opened the door and climbed into the car with us.

  “Good morning everyone,” Summer said with so much energy I could have sworn she had already drunk a pot of coffee and didn’t need the one we had stopped to grab her.

  “We got you breakfast,” Faith announced excitedly from the back seat.

  “Nothing too fancy,” I added and motioned to the cup holder where a coffee and fast food sandwich were sitting.

/>   “Oh, my gosh! You guys are the best. I can’t wait to eat this.”

  For the entire car ride to school, Summer was turned around and talking to the kids. Normally, this would have been a great sign that the new nanny was connecting with the kids but on this morning, every time I looked in her direction, I was met with her over-spilling cleavage.

  Summer was dressed fairly appropriately. She had on jeans and a white v-neck T-shirt. Yet her body was so distracting that it took everything I had in me not to look that way. Even when it was time to turn right, I had to force my eyes to keep on the road and not look at her.

  “Okay, we are getting close,” I said so she would watch how it was done. “We are going up Timber Street, not Wells,” I said as I pointed to Wells Street and we could see the line of cars.

  “Wow, that’s a lot of cars,” Summer said as she suddenly started paying attention.

  “It is, but we just go around and turn on Nineteenth to get in line. Okay?”

  “Um, yeah.”

  I pulled around the street and started in the line of cars on the Nineteenth Street. It only took us about ten minutes to push through the line and get to the front.

  “I don’t usually get out of the car at all. The kids just jump out, wave goodbye, and then I pull away.”

  “Bye, Summer.” Faith waved.

  “See you after school, Summer.” Thomas waved, and the two of them ran into school.

  “What am I? Chopped liver?” I jokingly yelled after them. “Normally, I would have gotten that wave.”

  “I’m sorry.” Summer giggled as she sipped on her coffee. “You’re right. It doesn’t seem all that hard. I’m glad you showed me, though. I definitely wouldn’t have figured it out without seeing you do it.”

  “We can come back together to pick them up too. Hopefully, that will give you the confidence to do it alone tomorrow? I really do need to get into work.”

  “Of course, I could take them tomorrow. Oh, and I’m sorry to ask this, but I never wrote down what my pay is. Do you mind telling me again?”

  To tell the truth, we hadn’t talked about her salary at all during her interview. I was just so relieved to have someone that the kids actually liked. I just planned on paying her the same thing I’d paid the previous nannies, but I was open to discussing a different salary if she needed it.