“In a word, I have no romantic intentions,” she said.
“That’s more than a word,” Ines noted.
“The word is no. It’s a purely practical arrangement. He’s the dad and I’m the nanny.”
“We’ve seen movies about nannies.” Ines removed her lunch box from the refrigerator. “They land in bed with the dad.”
“Mary Poppins didn’t do that,” Jeanine objected.
“Yes, but she had Bert the chimney sweep. Did you see the size of his broom?”
If this comedy team was eating here, Zady would flee to the hospital cafeteria. She needed solitude to review her messages and edit her lists.
To her relief, Ines pointed disapprovingly at her friend’s lunch box. “The special today is fettuccine Alfredo. You promised to join me!”
Jeanine wavered. “It’s fattening.”
“It’s your favorite, and mine, too.” Ines never worried about calories, which explained her round shape and also her upbeat moods.
Jeanine sighed. “Do you like tuna, Zady? You can have my sandwich.”
She’d brought a small green salad that offered no competition to a tuna sandwich. “I’d love it. Thanks.” Gratefully, she accepted her colleague’s lunch box.
“Enjoy it while you can,” Ines advised. “Soon you’ll be fixing peanut butter and jelly on an assembly line.” She had a couple of children with her husband and a pair of stepchildren, who actually liked her, from what Zady had heard.
“No, I won’t. The day care center serves lunch.” Zady pointed out. “Go enjoy your fettuccine.”
“We intend to,” Ines responded, and tugged Jeanine from the break room. She paused in the doorway to say, “Well, hi, Dr. Davis. Your nurse has news for you.”
It was fortunate that they made a quick getaway, because Zady was ready to fling the lunch box at them. There went her carefully phrased explanation to Marshall, the timing of which had accounted for a good part of last night’s wakefulness.
As she searched for words, he saved her the trouble. “I got the gist from the hall. Something about working as my cousin’s nanny.” Impossible to read his reaction from his tone. “During his overnight shifts, I presume.”
“It started with my goddaughter, Linda.” She explained about agreeing to take the child for a month. “And Caleb’s grandparents have health problems. Nick’s renting a house.”
“A house? That should be a new experience for him.”
Did she detect a sarcastic note? “It’s new for me, too.”
“I didn’t mean to sound negative.”
“Neither did I. It should be fun.” She hurried on, to smooth over the awkwardness. “When we were touring the place, a possum wandered onto the patio and nearly gave me a heart attack. That doesn’t usually happen in apartments.”
“I’ve run into raccoons in my yard.” Marshall had bought a house in town, Zady had learned when she fielded a few calls from his real estate agent during last month’s escrow. “Just keep the possums from nesting in the attic or under the house and you’ll be fine.”
Good advice, Zady supposed, but unnecessary. “That’ll be the landlord’s problem, or Nick’s. I’ll strictly be handling the overnight supervision of both kids and, well, related stuff. Not cooking and cleaning. I already have a job. With you.”
“I’m not sure how you can avoid cooking for the kids, but Nick should hire a cleaning service,” Marshall said.
“That’s a brilliant idea.” Marshall’s childhood in a privileged environment had its positive side, such as his awareness that people didn’t have to do all the dirty work themselves, Zady mused.
“Don’t tell him it came from me. He won’t appreciate it.”
That was an unusually personal remark from her reticent boss. “I gather you guys rub each other the wrong way.”
“Only for the past thirty-four years.”
“Since Nick was born?”
“Correct. I have no memories from when I was that young, but I’m sure we loathed each other from the day he entered my world. Sorry. I didn’t mean to speak so bluntly,” Marshall said. “How old are these children?”
“Caleb’s three and Linda’s two and a half.” Zady hoped he didn’t hear her stomach growling, responding to the siren call of the tuna sandwich.
“They’ll be in day care here?”
“Linda will. I’m not sure of Nick’s plans for Caleb. He attends preschool, but I’m assuming he’ll switch to someplace local.” Zady wondered if Nick had thought of that yet, and decided to message him about it.
“Regarding a preschool, you might ask our new staff psychologist for a recommendation,” Marshall said. “Dr. Brightman is a child and family counselor. I presume she’s familiar with facilities in the area.”
The man was full of helpful ideas. “I’ll pass the word along. And I promise never to reveal a source.”
A rare smile transformed his face. “Once your goddaughter’s settled, feel free to bring her to the office for a visit.”
“Thanks. I will.”
Nick ought to listen to his cousin as she did, Zady mused as she tore into her lunch. He might be surprised.
Or perhaps, like her and Zora for too many years, they’d simply find new issues to fight about.
She remembered Nick’s worries about divided loyalties. She was already agreeing to hide information. It might be harder than she’d believed to keep her jobs separate.
* * *
IN HIS TEENS, when Nick used to read for fun, he’d been fascinated by the green light on Daisy’s dock and the allure it held for the hero of The Great Gatsby. Ah, the magnetic appeal of a woman. The draw of the unattainable dream. The...
For heaven’s sake, he thought as he paced his motel suite on Saturday night. The light from Zady’s unit across the way was merely yellow-beige filtered through cheap curtains. Tomorrow they’d be sharing a house. Why did he keep staring over there?
No doubt because, despite their proximity, they might as well be on different continents. Although messages had flown between them all week, Nick had only glimpsed her in passing, yet he’d felt her influence in a thousand ways.
At her insistence, he’d hired a twice-a-month cleaning service recommended by the landlord. Also thanks to her, he’d obtained a recommendation from Dr. Brightman and enrolled Caleb at the Starbright Lane Preschool near the Safe Harbor Civic Center. The school’s van would pick up his son at home each morning at eight-thirty—before Zady left for work—and deliver him to the hospital day care center at lunchtime.
Nick had never realized that having a child involved such complicated scheduling. Luckily, there were high-quality facilities in the area, and he’d managed to stretch his budget—barely—to accommodate all this.
Would Sunday ever arrive? Adrenaline pumping, Nick paced through his rooms, double-checking that he’d packed all but tomorrow’s absolute essentials. That hadn’t been difficult, since most of his belongings remained in boxes from his previous move. Nor had he bought many groceries. In the kitchen, a small cooler stood open to receive the refrigerator’s meager contents in the morning.
He had a full day planned, transporting his stuff to the house and then, with Lucky’s assistance, driving to La Habra Heights to collect Caleb and his furniture. Elaine had promised to have everything ready, although she’d delayed the hour from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and then 4:00 p.m.
Thank goodness Nick wouldn’t have to put up with her unpredictable ways much longer. That wasn’t entirely true, since she and Bennie had promised to visit Caleb at his new home next weekend, but Nick would have more control over the circumstances. And surely Elaine’s eagerness to see her grandson would discourage her game-playing.
From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a flash of light in Zady’s unit. Or so he believed, sin
ce for once he hadn’t been staring out the window. Yes, she’d opened her door. Who could be visiting at seven o’clock on a Saturday night?
It was none of Nick’s business. His relationship with Zady was purely that of colleagues. But what if she was in danger? Even a town with a low crime rate might be the scene of an unpredictable outrage.
Like you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong?
* * *
“ALICE!” ZADY STARED in surprise at her blonde friend. “I thought you were arriving tomorrow, at the house.”
“Things changed and we figured it might be easier to explain in person than on the phone.” Alice ducked her head apologetically. “I hope it’s okay.”
“Auntie Zee!” Behind Alice, a small fireball wiggled loose from her father’s hand and shot forward. Zady grabbed her goddaughter and staggered backward, the hug turning into a near-wrestling match.
“You are excited. Me, too.” As she cuddled the eager girl, Zady reflected how utterly unprepared she was to play sitter tonight, with her possessions jammed into suitcases and her larder nearly empty.
“We brought gear.” Following his wife into the apartment, Bill Madison shrugged a duffel bag and a backpack off his rugged frame. “There’s food in the car and I’m not sure what-all else. As usual, my wife couldn’t resist buying out the store.”
With his short beard and neatly trimmed brown hair, the big man could pass for a therapist. Which he was—a physical therapist trained to assist patients during rehabilitation from orthopedic surgery and sports injuries. He’d brought that expertise into establishing their health-seminars business, dubbed the Best Madison for Living Well. Zady found the pun on “medicine” a stretch, but Alice said clients enjoyed it.
“We realized we’d miscalculated how long it will take to travel and set up for Monday’s seminar in San Francisco.” Alice laid a large envelope on the table. “Here’s the information about our medical insurance and Linda’s health history, and a letter authorizing you to get treatment. Hang on while we fetch the rest of the stuff.”
“Sure.” As the couple headed back to the parking lot, Zady reflected that she and Linda would have to share her queen-size bed tonight. Well, that should be fine.
“Where do I sleep?” Linda trotted into the next room.
“In here with me.” Following, Zady noticed how much her goddaughter’s coordination had improved in the past few months. “We’ll go to our new house tomorrow.”
“Let’s go tonight!” The child regarded her imperiously.
“Tonight I have to tickle you like this.” Dodging forward, Zady suited words to actions and was rewarded with a gale of giggles. “And swing you around like this.” Gripping Linda under the arms, she swung her in a circle, careful to avoid the furniture.
“Whee!”
Setting her goddaughter on the carpet, Zady caught her breath. “Do you remember how to do the hokeypokey?”
“Hokey! Pokey!” Short, reddish-brown hair haloing her head, the toddler tried to sing and kick simultaneously, and succeeded mostly in flailing her arms.
“Watch the lamp!” Zady moved it aside. “Good job, Linda.”
From the front room came the stomp of footsteps and the rumble of male voices. What on earth? She’d expected a few shopping bags, not a moving crew.
In the living room, Bill and Nick were lowering a toy chest to the floor. “Your neighbor was kind enough to help,” Bill explained, dusting off his hands.
“He’s the doctor I’ll be working for,” Zady explained as Alice appeared with two grocery sacks.
“You mean Dr. Davis?” Alice asked.
“That’s me.” Nick stretched his shoulders.
“I thought she already worked for you.”
“That’s Marshall, Nick’s cousin. I emailed you about the two of them.” Zady frowned at Nick, who was grinning at the confusion. He hadn’t been amused by it when they’d first met and she’d slammed the door in his face, she recalled tartly. “I’ll be working for Marshall during the day and babysitting for Nick during his overnights.”
“It was in her email,” Bill assured his wife.
Alice set the sacks on the kitchen counter. “Sorry for the temporary brain fog. You wouldn’t believe how much we have to organize for our trip.”
“I can see that.” From the sacks, Zady put a half gallon of ice cream in the freezer.
“Nice to meet you, Nick.” Bill shook his hand and thanked Zady for taking their daughter. After a hug for Linda, he and his wife turned to exit.
“Mommy?” Braced with legs apart in the middle of the living room, Linda stared at her parents in dismay. “Don’t go.”
“Oh, sweetie!” Hurrying over, Alice scooped her up. “Remember what I told you? You’re staying with Auntie Zee for a few weeks while we’re gone.”
“For a month,” Bill corrected, stroking his daughter’s hair.
“She doesn’t understand how long a month is,” his wife grumbled. In a sweeter tone, to Linda, she said, “Honey bear, we’ll video chat every night.”
“Or as often as we can.” Her husband regarded Zady as if expecting commiseration. “I don’t believe in promising more than might be possible.”
“We’ll have fun.” Zady hoped her friends weren’t always this touchy with each other. Their complicated work and travel plans must be putting them under pressure.
The goal was to save their marriage. She hoped that would be easier to accomplish once their trip got under way.
Nick stayed behind after they left. To her raised eyebrows, he responded, “I thought a little entertainment might distract Linda.”
Talk about an offer she couldn’t refuse. “Why don’t you play with her for a few minutes. I’ll scoop us some ice cream.”
“Ice cream!” Linda cheered.
“While Auntie Zee is doing that, let me show you something.” Nick guided Linda to the couch. “I loaded a few kids’ games on my phone. How about this one?”
“Yay!” Beeps and whistles filled the room as her tiny finger poked randomly at the screen.
“Uh, that’s not exactly how you play it.”
More beeps. More whistles.
“But obviously, those game designers don’t know everything,” Nick said.
Chuckling, Zady dug disposable bowls from a sack. With the ice cream conveniently squishy, she scraped hunks into the bowls.
Preparing to summon the others to the table, Zady paused to watch them poking at the phone side by side, Nick almost as gleeful as Linda. What a cute scene, and what a great dad he’d make. Or already was.
She’d been apprehensive about supervising his child. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might help with Linda.
At her summons, the pair scrambled to the table. Nick fetched a booster seat for the little girl while Zady tucked a paper towel into Linda’s collar.
“You’re good with her,” she told Nick.
“She’s adorable.” After adjusting the little girl’s chair, Nick took a seat. “You know, she bears a strong resemblance to you. And she doesn’t look anything like Alice.” After dipping his spoon into his dessert, he halted abruptly. “Zady, is she...?”
Could he have guessed? “Is she what?”
Nick glanced at the child. She was too busy eating to pay attention. In a low voice, he said, “Adopted?”
He wondered if Zady had given birth and relinquished her daughter? Relief washed through her that he’d missed the more complicated truth. “I can assure you, Alice had her by C-section. While I doubt she’ll ever show you the scar, it’s there.” She forced herself to stop talking before she could rattle on nervously.
“Sorry. Just a thought.”
When they were done eating, she declared it was bedtime for Linda and for her. It might be early, but they h
ad a big day ahead.
“I’m glad I met Linda tonight.” Nick studied the little one wistfully. “You guys make the cutest picture.”
Linda yawned, showing baby teeth, gums and a mouth colored brown from the chocolate ice cream.
“Well, not quite picture-perfect,” Nick joked.
“Nothing a little tooth-brushing won’t fix.”
“That’s true.” With a salute, Nick ambled out. Linda scampered to the window, pushed aside the curtain and waved at his departing figure. Zady was pleased that Nick glanced back, spotted her and returned the wave.
“Nice man,” Linda said.
“Yes. You’re right.” Things might change once they lived under the same roof—Nick’s roof. But even if he turned into Dwayne’s clone, Zady wasn’t the naive girl she’d been ten years ago. Nor, despite an undeniable attraction, did she harbor delusions about Nick becoming her boyfriend.
Too demanding. Too unforgiving toward his cousin. Too already a father. After her miserable experience with more-or-less stepkids, she refused to go down that road again.
Six months, that was her maximum. “One day at a time,” Zady said out loud, and rummaged through Linda’s duffel for a nightgown and a toothbrush.
Chapter Ten
On Sunday, despite his earlier frustration, Nick was relieved that Caleb’s grandparents had delayed the pickup until 4:00 p.m. That allowed them plenty of time to get the house in shape.
In the morning, he drove his belongings to the new house. There, he discovered a glitch: Mr. Tran had overlooked his instructions to remove the bed and bureau from Caleb’s bedroom. He couldn’t reach the landlord on a Sunday, and the furniture was too heavy for Nick to shift to the garage by himself. He texted Lucky, who promised to arrive early.
It was important to Nick that Caleb go to sleep tonight surrounded by his familiar possessions. And he will.
Nick returned to the Harbor Suites to assist Zady and Linda in packing her car and putting their excess items in his. At the new house, they ate sandwiches and spent the early afternoon unpacking, rearranging the living room and making up the little girl’s cot. An easygoing child, Linda ran about enthusiastically, then played with her toys.
The Doctor's Accidental Family Page 10
