The Manny

by A. T Brennan

  By the time Cameron had gotten all the information he needed about his new job, Nathan had bought up his bags. He’d packed pretty light, and it only took him a few minutes to unpack his things as he mentally went over the duties he was expected to do.

  He was supposed to wake the kids up in the mornings at seven on school days and eight during the summer, and get them dressed, cleaned up and fed. Then he was to keep them occupied for the day, making sure to feed them lunch around noon, and then get dinner in them at around five. Then he would have to occupy them until it was time to get ready for bed. Kaitlyn went to bed at seven, the boys at eight.

  Mrs. Latham arrived at the house each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and left just after two. She took care of the cleaning—the vacuuming and dusting and the like, so Cameron wasn’t responsible for the majority of the housework.

  He was expected to do all the kids laundry, his laundry, and if Nathan asked, then his as well. He was also to do all the dishes and cook dinner for Nathan and leave it for him in the microwave.

  It was a lot of work, but he was being very well compensated, and it would get easier when the kids were in school. He’d have the day to do his other chores, although he imagined he’d have a lot more to do then. He didn’t have a particular day off, but it was expected that after the kids went to bed his time was his, and if he worked something out in advance, he could have a day off during the week.

  The kids weren’t part of any groups. No Little League, ballet lessons or anything, but Mrs. Latham had told him that there was a fair number of young kids in the neighborhood and they all usually ended up in their backyard.

  He was to keep his car in the drive and could use it when he had free time, but if he was taking the kids anywhere, he was to drive the family car. He was also expected to take the kids grocery shopping with him and do any and all odd jobs that Nathan asked him to do.

  As Cameron wondered how he was going to fit everything that needed to be done into his days, he understood why the salary had seemed high when the job had first been offered to him.

  Chapter Two

  That was the first thing Cameron heard as he went to meet the kids when they came home from school. Mrs. Latham had told him that a neighbor would pick them up and drop them off at home around three-thirty so he should be ready to meet them then.

  The child who had spoken was obviously the oldest, Logan.

  He was a cute boy. He was already showing a shadow of the handsome man he would become even though he was only ten, and Cameron mused that he would be quite the heartbreaker. He had dark brown hair, devilish blue eyes, and he was just getting into that phase where boys grew too fast all at once, making him a little gangly and awkward.

  The boy next to him was undoubtedly Daniel. He too was cute, in an almost cherubic way. He had dark blond hair and wide brown eyes. He was a little chubby and shorter than his brother, but Cameron could tell that he too would grow up to be very handsome.

  The little girl, Kaitlyn, was absolutely gorgeous. She was almost ethereal looking, slender and delicate with long, straight blonde hair and huge golden-brown doe eyes. She would be breathtaking when she grew up, Cameron could see that right away.

  “I’m Cameron, your new nanny,” he told the kids as they stood in front of him in the front foyer, their school bags still slung over their small shoulders. “And you shouldn’t use that word.”

  “You’re the new nanny?” Logan raised an eyebrow at him.

  “You don’t look like our other nannies,” Daniel added. “You’re a boy.”

  “Boys can be nannies too. But you can call me your manny if you want.” Cameron was used to this reaction.

  “We don’t need a nanny or a manny,” Logan said firmly, crossing his arms over his small chest.

  “Yeah. Don’t need one, don’t want one,” Daniel piped up, copying his brother.

  Kaitlyn didn’t say a word. She just looked up at Cameron with her impossibly wide eyes and nodded.

  “Well, you might not think you need a manny, but your father does, and that’s why I’m here.” He pointed to the stairs. “Go and put your bags in your rooms and then come back down, and we’ll decided what you want for dinner.”

  “You’re going to let us choose whatever we want?” Logan asked skeptically.

  “No, but I’m going to let the three of you decided from a few choices.” He moved aside so the kids could go upstairs. “Bags in your rooms and then in the kitchen.”

  Cameron watched as the three kids trudged upstairs and then went into the kitchen. He could tell these kids were intelligent, clever and not happy to see him. They would pull out all the stops to get him to leave; even the silent Kaitlyn could be a worthy adversary.

  He’d seen it all, or almost all, in his time at the agency. The rest he’d seen with his own nieces and nephews. Even though they all loved him as an uncle, they’d never showed him any mercy as a babysitter.

  BY THE TIME CAMERON lay down on his bed at nine that night, he was exhausted, but he had a much better understanding of how things worked in the Meyers’ house.

  The kids had done and said everything they could to try and get a rise out of him. Logan was definitely the ringleader, and Daniel was happy to do everything his brother did. Kaitlyn seemed to want to warm up to him, but every time he thought he’d made progress with the little girl, one of her brothers had swooped in and turned her against him again.

  It had taken almost forty-five minutes to get them to decide on what to eat for dinner. He’d only given them two choices since that should have to lead to a majority rules. What he hadn’t banked on was Kaitlyn just shrugging and not actually deciding, so the boys had chosen opposite sides and refused to agree.

  It had taken some fancy footwork and some well-placed suggestions, but he’d finally gotten them both to say yes to chicken fingers and fries. It wasn’t the healthiest option, but he’d snuck some fruit salad in at the end of the meal and called it dessert. The kids had been so thrilled at the thought of dessert on a weekday they hadn’t even cared it was fruit.

  Since it was so close to the end of school there hadn’t been any homework for them to do, so Cameron had them color at the table as he cooked. He’d suggested that they make drawings for their dad, but they’d just drawn whatever they wanted.

  From his brief conversation with Nathan and from how the kids reacted to his suggestion, not to mention the fact that Nathan spent his whole night staying away from them and didn’t even say goodnight to the kids, Cameron could make up that he was a very hands-off dad. He hoped he was just judging Nathan too quickly, but something told him Nathan was a lot like his own father had been.

  The kids had no set nighttime routine, and he’d let them run off as much energy as he could outside until it had gotten close to Kaitlyn’s bedtime and then had struggled to get all three bathed, dressed, and prepared to go to bed. He’d had to leave the boys upstairs while he read Kaitlyn a half a dozen stories, and when the little girl had finally drifted off, he’d snuck out and returned to the playroom.

  The scene that had greeted him was beyond what he’d expected. Every toy, book, and thing in the room was on the floor, and so was every piece of clothing he’d brought with him. The two boys had been sitting in the middle of the room with grins on their faces, waiting for Cameron to blow up at them.

  He’d been shocked and a little angry at the mess, but he wasn’t about to let them know it. Instead, he’d politely asked them to help him clean up and then asked if they would like to tell him what kinds of things they would want to be added to the room and if there were toys that they didn’t play with anymore.

  They’d seemed shocked that Cameron had actually asked for their help and for their opinions, and they’d done both without arguing.

  He’d gotten them into bed, and while Daniel had wanted a story, Logan had refused.

  When the lights were all off and it was silent on the second floor, he’d gone upstairs and flopped down on his bed.r />
  He was tired and really didn’t feel like showering, but the sooner he got up and got into the bathroom, the sooner he could go to sleep. With a sigh he stood and headed into the bathroom, making a mental note to ask Nathan for a lock for his door. He didn’t think the kids would actually do anything to harm his things, but he didn’t want to give them the temptation.

  THE NEXT DAY WAS JUST as much of a struggle as the one before. Cameron had gotten up an hour before it was time to wake the kids to give himself a chance to wake up and get prepped for the day. He’d had to drag all three kids out of their beds, and while the boys picked out their own clothes, Kaitlyn had waited for him to pick out an outfit and then help her get dressed. He’d done the little girl’s hair into a braid and tied it off with a bright pink ribbon.

  The next hour was a battle. The kids didn’t want to brush their teeth or clean up their bathrooms. They hadn’t wanted to eat anything he’d suggested, and when he’d given up and made them cereal, the boys had complained loudly, even as they’d eaten every bite. They’d protested every item he put in their lunches and refused to clean up their dishes. Cameron managed to get them out the door and to the bus stop, joining the small crowd at the stop. Mrs. Latham had been telling the truth; there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood.

  He surveyed the other adults as they waited for the bus to show up and knew they were doing the same to him. There were quite a few moms, but there were also a lot of nannies, and all except him were female and around twenty. Everyone had stared at him as they pretended they weren’t, and he was thankful when the bus arrived and he could head back to the house. It was obvious they weren’t used to seeing a manny around.

  Cameron’s list of chores was long enough he had to start right away. He’d also decided that while giving kids choices was good for development, he would have to wait on that with these three. He started the laundry, cleaned up the kid’s rooms and bathrooms and then prepped dinner so he would only have to bake it when it was time to eat. When he was done with the laundry, he went to the kitchen and saw a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. It would seem Nathan didn’t believe in putting his dishes in the dishwasher.

  After putting the dishes away, he had some lunch and then headed up to the third floor. He still had a few hours before the kids would be at the bus stop, so he went through the playroom and made notes of everything the boys had said about what kinds of things they would want and what they had outgrown. He also changed the setup; grouping all the books and the desks together in one corner, the play structures in another, the louder and more mobile toys in another, and the quiet toys in the last.

  When he was finally finished, he glanced at his watch. He only had an hour left until the kids were home. He really didn’t have anything left to do upstairs, so he went in search of Nathan.

  He didn’t find him on the second floor or the first, but he did find a note taped to the fridge.

  Chicken fingers and fries might be a good enough meal for kids, but not for adults. Make sure to have a proper meal tonight. You’ll find my laundry by the door to my room. Only go into my room and not past the door.

  Cameron thought it was interesting that Nathan didn’t address the note or sign it, but seeing as it was his house and Cameron was the only one it could be for, he wasn’t exactly shocked. He was a little peeved that Nathan hadn’t even waited until his second day to criticize his cooking. It wasn’t as though he planned to feed the kids chicken fingers and fries every night; it had only been his first day.

  With a sigh, he trudged upstairs and paused in front of the two doors that were the master suite. He couldn’t for the life of his remember which one was the bedroom and which one was the study.

  Cameron had no idea what the layout would look like on this side of the house, so he would have to guess. He took a deep breath and walked to the door on the left and knocked. When there was no answer, he opened the door and peeked in.

  He’d been right. This was the bedroom.

  He pushed open the door and couldn’t help but look around before his eyes landed on the small pile of laundry. As he did, his mouth dropped open in awe.

  The room was huge.

  It was actually two rooms, so there were a bedroom and a full sitting room. There was a huge walk-in closet he assumed was also the entrance to the bathroom, and the whole room was done in white and navy blue. And everything looked brand new and expensive.

  Feeling like an intruder, Cameron grabbed the laundry and headed downstairs, grateful the laundry room was off the pantry and not in the basement.

  As he tossed Nathan’s clothes in the washer, he couldn’t help but notice Nathan was a boxer brief man. It wasn’t as if he was trying to see his underwear, but they were right there in the pile, and he couldn’t help it.

  It was a little strange. Nathan’s clothes were well worn, and while they all had expensive labels, they were comfortable and casual. The kid’s clothes looked perfect and were all high-end labels as well, but were much fancier and matchy-matchy. For someone who kept such a pristine and carefully decorated home, Nathan’s clothes were kind of mismatched.

  He glanced at his watch and headed out to the bus stop to meet with the kids, wondering if Nathan had gone out that day since he hadn’t seen a sign of him outside of the dishes and note he’d left.

  The kids were in a much better mood than they had been the day before. They were still combative and went out of their way to try and make him react, but they weren’t really doing anything bad. They were just trying to provoke him.

  They seemed a little surprised when he took them outside and ran around with them as they played. There was a small play structure, but it wasn’t really geared towards the boys’ age, more Kaitlyn’s. The huge in-ground pool and spa were gated off, but since the yard was so large, there was still a lot of space to play in.

  They didn’t protest quite as much when he served them shepherd’s pie for dinner, and by the time they went up to the playroom, they actually seemed happy.

  Bedtime hadn’t been as much of a battle, but the boys had made another huge mess upstairs when he’d left them to put Kaitlyn down first. Thankfully they’d stayed out of his room and left his clothes alone.

  Cameron had a feeling the kids were used to calling the shots, and while they were fighting back against his schedules and routines, he could see they were actually liking the change. They just couldn’t admit it yet.

  He would have his hands full with these three, and he had a feeling Nathan wouldn’t be the easiest employer to have either.

  Chapter Three

  The next week passed by pretty fast, and while it was a huge adjustment for everyone, it wasn’t that difficult to get into a routine.

  The kids were out of school, so Cameron spent all day with them. They got up at the same time, ate at the same time, and had the same routine after supper, but in the mornings he took them to the park or on walks in the neighborhood. He took them grocery shopping a few times. That had been an adventure and a half, and he’d taken them to a splash pad nearby so they could enjoy the weather.

  In the afternoons, he tried to keep their activities a little calmer and at home. They spent time in the backyard, did different crafts, and played games. It was a little hard since they were all different ages. There were only four years between Logan and Kaitlyn, but developmentally it was a huge gap that made finding things they could all do together difficult.

  The kids were warming up to him. They still talked back, made messes, and tried to provoke him, but it was more of a test than actually acting out.

  The first time he’d taken them shopping, Logan had hidden from them and Cameron had panicked, thinking he’d been kidnapped. When Logan had jumped out from behind a display, he’d had a look on his face that dared Cameron to yell and scream at him.

  He’d shocked all three kids by sweeping Logan into a hug and kneeling in front of him as he’d calmly explained that Logan had scared him and his brother and sister, and whil
e he might have thought it was funny, he should never do that again.

  Cameron had been so angry he’d had a hard time keeping his voice even, but he’d known that yelling wouldn’t accomplish anything. Logan wanted Cameron to get angry at him, but he wouldn’t give in, no matter what Logan did.

  The other two kids seemed to want to like him, Kaitlyn especially. She didn’t really say much, but she stuck to Cameron’s side like glue and always wanted to be with him. Daniel tried to be like Logan and do what his brother did, but he only acted out when he was encouraged to. He held Cameron’s hand when they were out in public and cuddled against him as they read bedtime stories together. Daniel also really seemed to want Cameron’s approval. Every time they did a craft or any sort of game, he always made sure to show Cameron what he’d done and then blush happily when Cameron praised him.

  EIGHT DAYS AFTER HE started his new job, Cameron had yet to actually see Nathan. When he was home, he was in his suite, and notes, dirty dishes, and laundry would appear when he was busy with the kids. That also meant that the kids didn’t see their father. Cameron knew Nathan went out some nights; he could hear his car leaving around the time that he put the boys to bed, but he was asleep by the time Nathan would come home.

  He had a list of questions for him, and there were a few things he really needed to talk to Nathan about, but he was never around after the kids went to bed, and while he knew the rule about bothering Nathan while he was working, this was getting ridiculous.

  That night after he’d put the kids to bed, Cameron stayed up reading. He was bound and determined to catch up with Nathan when he got home. He would stay up all night if he had to.