by Sadie Grubor
We would go through almost the same morning routine; dressing, disagreeing, and practicing words or math, being told how Miranda did things, eating breakfast, and then the drop off at school. One thing I noticed during the first week was that not one morning did we see Doctor Bishop.
In the afternoons I worked on my writing; making notes, outlining, and researching. After a couple of hours I would straighten up my room, Victoria's room, do my laundry, talk with Mrs. Baker for a bit, eat lunch, and if I had errands to run I would do those before picking Victoria up.
Once Victoria was picked up would try to discuss her day and homework on our way back to the house. She was still reluctant to cooperate with me and wouldn't tell me about her day, only what homework she needed help with.
Homework was completed first while she ate a snack. Then it was on to her assigned activity for the day. There was so much scheduled for her; Piano, Ballet, Riding, Spanish, and Karate lessons outlined her week. The poor girl really had a whirlwind of a day.
The craziness of her constant schedule and being without a mother were the main reasons I tried really hard to give her the time she needed to adjust to Miranda's absence. She was used to her regimented life and the way Miranda had done things. My approaches to things were different and she had a hard time with it. It had become too frustrating for both of us and the tension was out of control. Something had to be done and without her father to discuss the situation with, I was left to resolve it.
It was over ice cream at a local, neutral territory, shop where we hashed out the constant push and pull. We agreed that I was indeed a different person, which meant I wouldn't always do things the way she did. However, we also agreed to keep some of Miranda's ways in place. During the conversation, I realized this was a 'trying not to forget Miranda' deal for her. With one more scoop of ice cream and a verbal promise to make plans with Miranda, I was sure progress had been made.
The weeks following had been much easier going. We would lay out Victoria's clothes on her bed, as Miranda had done with her and she didn't complain if I put the peanut butter on top of the jelly instead of the other way around.
After receiving a phone call from Roberto stating he would not be able to make it for Victoria's Spanish lesson, due to illness, I made mental plans. Once I’d made them, I hoped our recent 'truce' was still being upheld.
I was standing at the gate waiting for them to release the bundles of energy locked up behind those doors. My excitement was up so high I was almost dancing around in the spot I stood. I couldn't wait to tell Victoria my plans for the afternoon.
"You must be the new Bishop Nanny?" I turned and looked into beautiful dark as night eyes set against dark skin and framed with long straight black hair. I would guess she was Hawaiian. Her skin was so beautiful and the only flaw was a four inch scar on her chin; however, it was so light I couldn't truly call it a flaw. It was more like character.
"Yes," I smiled brightly and put my hand out. "I'm Sophia."
"Hi, my name is Ella. I am the nanny for the Wright's, Albert and Rebecca." She smiled warmly, but definitely noticed how my eyes had been drawn to her scar for a moment. She gave me a warm smile, "Car accident."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."
"It's no big deal. So, how is it so far?"
"Pretty good," I shrugged. "I mean, it's really just Victoria and me every day, and I don't have any issues between the two of us."
"Yeah, sometimes I envied Miranda for not having the parents around like I do." She snorted. "But then again, Mr. and Mrs. Wright are so nice I really couldn't have gotten luckier." There was a short pause in the conversation. "How's Victoria handling Miranda being gone?"
"Oh, well, she had a really rough first week. She was pretty sad about it, but she has started to get used to me. Plus we call Rand at least once a week."
"That's great. Next time you talk with her tell her I said hello and she had better not have forgotten about me all ready." She winked at me.
"I will pass along the message."
Then the sounds of tennis shoe stampede filled the air. I turned and saw the daily chaos of bows, hair, skirts, and backpacks everywhere. I spotted my little red head and smiled with a happy sigh.
"I see Victoria." I turned to Ella. "It was nice to meet you. I'm sure we will see each other around."
"Definitely," she smiled and waved.
On my way toward Victoria I spotted a dark haired boy looking around on his tip toes.
"Can I help you find someone?"
He got really shy for a second and then peeked up at me.
"I can't find my mom."
"Oh, well let's try to fix that. Who is your mom?" I smiled at him and leaned down to hear his answer.
"Lindsey Wright," he whispered.
I smiled at him. "You know what I think Ella is over there waiting for you today."
"Ella is here?" his face lit up and then a taller dark haired girl ran up behind him.
"Come on Al! Ella is over there." She eyed me curiously before she grabbed his arm and pulled him toward Ella. I turned my attention back to Victoria who was looking at me with a large smile.
"Come on girlie. It's time to go home!" I gave her a big wave over and she ran toward me. I saw the mischievous little smile on her face and knew what she was up to immediately. I put my arms out as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around my neck.
"I got you." She laughed.
"Yes you do." I carried her to the car, putting her down when we got next to it. "So, how much homework do you have tonight?"
She shrugged.
"Not too much, just some math practice." She groaned. Victoria had trouble with math which we had been working on each day. "I should have it done before Roberto arrives." She sighed.
"There will be no Roberto for you today." I closed the door behind her after she was buckled into the back seat. I climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door.
"What do you mean?"
"Roberto is sick, so he can't make it tonight." I smirked. "But I have other plans."
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the apprehension on her face.
About twenty minutes later I parked the car and opened her door.
"Come on." I urged her.
She climbed out hesitantly and looked around the large open area covered with twisted colorful metal and plastic. Kids were hanging from bright yellow monkey bars and sliding down neon orange slides that came out of bright blue plastic towers. I knelt down in front of her and zipped her jacket up a little more and then pulled her face to look at me.
"We are going to have some fun." I smiled large and put my hand out for her. She took it slowly and I ran us to the large playground at the center of the park. "What do you want to do first?" I turned and looked down at her. She shrugged.
"Come on, let's slide!" I pulled her toward the bright red steps leading to the blue tower. The slide had to be almost ten feet high. We got to the top and I pulled her in front of me in the line of kids waiting to go down.
"I don't think I can do this." She wrapped her arms around my waist tightly, burying her face in my stomach.
"We'll do it together." I stepped us to the edge and sat down with her between my legs.
"Ready, set, GO!" I laughed as I shoved us down the spiral slide. I could hear her giggle all the way down.
Hopping off the slide to make room for the next kid she turned to me.
"That was…that was sooo cool!" She bounced with excitement.
"Let's do it again!" I grabbed her arm, but this time she pulled me up the steps. After four more times down the slide she finally went on her own. I stood at the bottom and smiled at her face as she came down.
"Can we swing?" She looked at me as she ran over from the slide. I was happy she finally loosened up.
"Of course we can." I grabbed her hand and we ran over to the red and yellow swings. We took two free swings and jumped on. "I bet
I can swing higher than you." I teased.
"Nuh-uh!" She laughed as she pumped her legs harder and harder. We laughed and swung for awhile.
"Watch this!" I prepared myself and leapt from the moving swing, flying in the air and onto my feet. I spun around. "Ta Dah!" I put my hands in the air and she laughed loudly. "Don't you do that!" I laughed and pointed at her.
She slowed her swing and then hopped off, but her footing wasn't good and she slipped. I ran over. Her little body was now on its hands and knees against the ground.
"Are you okay?" Her eyes were wide and worried as she stood up. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry." She said.
"What for?"
"I'm gonna get us in trouble now." She put her head down and brushed furiously at her skirt.
"Huh? Wait…trouble for what?" I pulled her face to look at mine.
"Look" she motioned to the dirt mark on her skirt. "Daddy will be so mad I ruined my uniform." She started to sniff.
"None of that now," She looked at me curiously. "That," I pointed to her skirt, "is nothing. I'll have it washed before you get into bed tonight." I smiled at her as the corners of her mouth started to turn up.
"You will?" She blushed slightly.
"Yep," I grinned, "No one will know, but you and me." I put my hand over my heart. "Nanny swear!"
"What's a Nanny swear?" Her face scrunched up in confusion.
"A Nanny Swear means it's our secret." I winked at her and took her hand. "We do need to get back to the house though. I've got dinner to make and you have math to do." She groaned and I laughed. "I promise we will make math fun tonight." She nodded and we skipped back to the car together. A leaf had turned over for the both of us.
Once we were home and Victoria was changed, I threw her uniform in the washer and started dinner. Victoria sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen with her math paper while I cooked.
"Urghh! I can't get them!" She pouted and tossed her pencil down onto the counter top.
"Let me see." I slid the paper across the marble top so that it was in front of me. "Ah this is easy. I know what you need." I walked to the cupboard and pulled out a bag of M&M's, opened the bag and dumped them on the counter in front of Victoria. "Okay, so count out eight M&M's for me." She looked at me like was crazy. "Go on."
"One, two, three," her tiny fingers slid the multicolored circles into a pile of eight, "four, five, six, seven, and eight."
"Good. So, your math problem is eight minus three. So, take away three M&M's from the pile of eight." She raised her eyebrow at me and I laughed. I leaned forward on the counter and grouped her pile of eight in between us. "So we have eight M&M's here, right?" I looked up and she nodded. "Eight," I took three M&Ms, "minus three," I popped them in my mouth, "is what?"
She counted the remaining M&Ms.
"Five," She said with a giggle.
"Exactly! See you got it. Try another one." I pushed the paper back over to her and turned back to the stove.
"Nine minus five," I heard the crunch of the M&Ms in her mouth. "Is four!"
I laughed and nodded. Looking over my shoulder I saw her writing her answers down on her paper. Victoria finished her math practice and we sat down for dinner. Once we were done eating, she helped me clean up the dishes and I hung her uniform up to dry before heading up to her room.
"Well, its Friday night, so no school tomorrow." I sat down on her bed. "What do you want to do tonight?"
"Can we watch a movie?" She climbed up on the bed next to me.
"Sure. What do you want to watch?" I already knew the answer.
"The Little Mermaid!"
I laughed and stood up to put in the movie.
"Go get your pajamas on and I'll hurry and get mine before it starts. We'll race." I set up the DVD and tossed the remote on the bed before rushing to my room to change.
I threw my clothes into the hamper and slid on some yoga pants and a tank top. Then I hurried downstairs and popped some popcorn in the microwave. I tossed the bag after dumping out the super buttery treat into a large yellow plastic bowl.
"I brought popcorn," I shouted as I opened the door, "And drinks!" I held up the bottles of water. Then I heard Sebastian speaking and looked at the screen. "I can't believe that you didn't wait for me." I put the popcorn and water down before running over to Victoria's bed, tackling and tickling her.
"I'm sorry," she laughed out loudly. "Stop please, I'm sorry." She laughed. I let her go with a laugh and pulled the popcorn bowl onto the bed with us. We sat eating as we watched Ariel try to get Eric to kiss her, and Ursula tried to seduce him away.
When I woke up it was pitch black in Victoria's room. I sat up and looked down at Victoria's sleeping form next to me. I didn't remember turning off the movie or the TV, and I sure as heck don't know what happened to the popcorn bowl. Deciding to not worry about it, I got up and headed to my room. A few hours later I felt a shift of my bed and jerked my head up.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up," Victoria was bouncing next to me. I laughed and grabbed her, pulling her down onto the bed and tickling her.
"You go brush your teeth and I will meet you at the top of the steps in five minutes. Okay?"
She nodded and ran out of the room. My bladder was begging for relief, so I went to my bathroom. Once that was taken care of I washed my hands and then my face. As I patted my face dry I looked into the mirror.
My skin looked drastically pale and I hoped it was just the harsh bright light of the bathroom's vanity. I leaned in closer and examined my face. No new breakouts, just the same pale skin, blue eyes, and long dark brown hair. I huffed and tossed my hand towel next to the sink. Most people complain about how unattractive they are; however, I didn't think of myself as unattractive, just common.
"Sophia, are you ready yet?"
With one last sigh at my reflection, I shut off the bathroom light and went to meet Victoria at the top of the steps.
In the kitchen we had music playing while Victoria mixed the pancake mix and I finished the bacon. We were both singing and laughing when I heard someone walk into the kitchen. Quickly I turned around, sighing in relief when I saw Mrs. Baker standing there with a wide smile on her face.
"Good morning lovelies," she smiled.
"Good morning Mrs. Baker," Victoria and I said in unison. She laughed.
"Did you wash her uniform yesterday?"
I felt Victoria tense up. I put my hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, I had to wash some things for myself, so I just threw it in. You don't mind do you?"
"Heck no!" She chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a uniform."
"You hungry?" I motioned to the bacon on the plate in front of me. "We have plenty." I practically sang it out.
"Oh, I really shouldn't, I have a lot of…"
"Oh, come on." I grabbed an empty plate and placed it on the counter.
"Okay," Mrs. Baker smiled and sat down. "Are you making the pancakes Victoria?"
"Yep!" She smiled brightly at Mrs. Baker. "It took two cups of mix, one egg, one tablespoon of oil, and one cup of milk."
"Good remembering," I patted her butt lightly. "I think it's all mixed up. I need to get those on the griddle." I pulled at my hair to get it away from my face.
"Let me help you with that." Mrs. Baker took my hair into her hands and twisted it into a knot.
"Thank you," I breathed out and picked up the bowl to start pouring the batter out into even circles.
"No problem," she waved off my thanks. "I remember when I was younger and my hair was long like yours."
I glanced to her with a small smile as she reminisced.
"Of course, my hair was never that straight or soft. Have you ever died it or anything?"
"I thought about it. You know like highlights or something. I even considered getting one of those chin length bobs at one point." I shrugged.
"Don't you dare," Mrs. Baker scolded with a chuckle. "Your hair is gorgeous and it's perfect on you. That dark brow
n hair really making those baby blues stand out, and the porcelain skin you have…whew…what I wouldn't give to be your age with that combination."
I laughed lightly.
"Oh, you just wait when you're an old woman like me."
"Non-sense," I snapped at her playfully. "You are one hot mama." I winked.
Victoria giggled and I bumped hips with her.
It didn't take long to cook the pancakes and we soon were all seated together in the kitchen eating stacks pancakes and bacon. We were all laughing loudly when a stiff throat clearing made me flip around in my seat. I was met with the cool gaze of Dr. Bishop.
"Collin dear…" Mrs. Baker stood up and walked over to him. "How are you this morning?"
"Good and you?" His eyes didn't leave mine, but I tore from his gaze and turned back to my plate.
"Well, thanks to Victoria and Sophia, it has been a very wonderful morning," I could hear the smile in her voice and saw it on her lips when I looked up to smile at her, "Thank you for breakfast dear."
"No problem." I smiled back to her before turning to Victoria. "Let's get this cleaned up, okay?" She nodded uneasily and we stood to clean things up.
"Were you hungry Dr. Bishop?" I turned and looked over my shoulder at him, shocked his eyes were still on me.
"No, thank you. I just came to grab some coffee." His cool melodic words almost felt like the first winter frost against my spine. I shook it off and finished cleaning up the breakfast mess in the kitchen.
"Good morning Victoria," I watched her eyes widen before she turned around with a smile.
"Good morning daddy." He walked passed her and poured his coffee before leaving the room. Her face fell.
"Why don't you head up to your room and get dressed? You have Karate class in about three hours, so just put on something you can easily change out of later." She nodded and ran toward the stairs.
"Don't run in the house." I felt the shiver against my spine again. I could have sworn he left the room, but when I turned I discovered he was in the door way of the kitchen watching me.
"Is there something you wanted Dr. Bishop?" I had given up waiting for him to say whatever it was he needed to say.
"Did Victoria have her Spanish lesson yesterday?" He sipped his coffee, practically leering over the rim.
