by D. R. Grady
“But?”
“But they were involved in a twenty-eight car pileup somewhere in Illinois. They never made it to Hollywood.”
“They died?”
“Yes.”
Whew, that was some story. To have your dreams that close, only to forfeit your life. Of course, the woman had responsibilities here that she turned her back on. What kind of message had she sent her kids when she left? She’d made four beautiful children and they should have come first. All rights to her own life were sacrificed when she gave birth the first time. “Nick must have felt betrayed.”
“I’m sure he did. But he was so busy, he didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on things. He had four kids, this house, and a thriving business to keep up.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Oh, it’s been a few years now.”
Macy eyes widened. What? A few years?
Had she missed something?
Lily took in her expression and offered a sad smile. The gesture held a mother’s anguish. “It’s hard to believe, but yes, this wasn’t a recent development. Starla just turned six, and she was a baby when Melissa left.”
“That long ago? He’s been struggling for nearly six years?”
“Yes.”
“My goodness. I’m surprised you kept things together so well.”
“We’ve managed. He had a nanny here for the first four years. Then she had to leave. I think it came as a real blow when I broke my foot so soon after the employment agency stopped returning his calls.”
“I wondered why Nick didn’t use one of the agencies in town.”
“He has. He’s used all of them. None of them feel they can help, now.”
“I see.” That would be hard. But right now... “So, Savannah...”
“Oh, yes. Savannah remembers her mom, of course.”
“Right.”
“I can’t convince her to talk to me, but I suspect Savannah feels like it’s her fault her mom left.”
Macy sat up abruptly in her chair. “She feels responsible,” she murmured, not quite grasping how Savannah could feel that way.
“You, like me, can’t understand Savannah’s feelings?”
Shaking her head, Macy said, “It doesn’t make sense.”
“No, not from an adult viewpoint, but she’s not an adult. Savannah feels like her faults pushed her mother to leave. That’s why she’s so hard on the nannies.”
Macy bit her lip. “Actually, she and I had a chat about that.”
“Oh?” Lily sounded surprised.
“Yes, I brought all the kids together my third day here and we had a talk.”
Lily appeared quite interested so Macy decided to tell her the story. It was a good idea to offer Lily the adult version, anyway. She repeated their conversation and Macy was heartened to see Lily nod at several intervals.
“After I talked to all the kids together, Savannah and I then had a heart to heart.”
“How did that go?”
“I don’t know. But I told her she’s the one the other kids look to for direction. If she treats me like a human being, the other kids will as well. If she doesn’t, she’s in for a rough ride.”
“That’s good for her to hear.”
“I’ve yet to see much improvement.” Macy heard the dryness in her voice. “It might take a while. At this point, Savannah has been through so many nannies, she should screen them rather than Nick.”
Lily laughed. “That’s true.”
“But they’re beginning to understand I’m tough, and if they give me trouble, no dessert, and they’ll receive extra chores.”
“And?”
“They’re learning. Nick is so tired I don’t think he cares what I told them. He supports me, because I told him he had to.”
“I see,” Lily gurgled.
“I helped raise my brothers and sisters. I know what works and doesn’t. Of course, these kids are different, so I can appreciate that some of my techniques won’t work.”
“Savannah can be prickly, and even before she hit thirteen.”
“Sounds like she’s had a lot more responsibility than she should have been given.”
“That’s true.” Lily slanted a look at her. “Good thing you’re here.”
“Hah, you might not think that in a few weeks.” Macy sent her a rueful look and sipped more iced tea.
Lily’s serenity didn’t change. “Tyrants are welcome here, Macy.”
Chapter 3
Macy shoved the last glass into the dishwasher and bent to pick up a mixing bowl. Only, she looked closer and yes, that was a fish swimming in the bowl. Peering closer still, she identified this species as a member of the piranha family – this one aquarium sized.
Brandt had regaled her with tales of these amazing fish just last night. He’d even showed her the seven books he had on the subject. The pictures they had viewed last evening and the fish swimming in the bowl in her sink matched. Macy thought maybe the last nanny had left in disgrace, after Nick discovered she’d bought his eight-year-old a fish with big teeth.
She frowned. Today was Saturday so where was Brandt? He shouldn’t be in the forest, because she made him promise he’d take her along if he wanted to go there. At least she could identify anything with poison, claws, and/or teeth. And she could point those things out and warn him away from such creatures.
“Brandt?” she finally yelled.
“What?” he asked behind her. His forehead was furrowed in his something’s-wrong face. Both Bryce and Brandt looked a lot like Nick, but while Bryce was more compact, Brandt was already showing signs of being tall like his father.
“Are you missing a fish?” She decided not to mention that said fish had lots of teeth.
“Yeah, did you find Filbert?”
“I think so,” she answered and pointed to the sink where the breakfast dishes were piled along with her favorite mixing bowl.
“Hey Macy, you found Filbert.”
“It’s probably not a good idea to lose him in the sink. I’m pretty sure milk and such isn’t good for fish.”
“I couldn’t find him this morning.”
“You didn’t move him out of his tank?”
His brow furrowed again, this time in his I’m-thinking face. “I don’t think so.”
“Then how did he end up in my best mixing bowl?”
“Well, Bryce, Starla, and I all sleepwalk.”
“Oh.” That was good information to know. “What about Savannah?”
“She hasn’t for a few years now.”
Good, maybe the younger three would also grow out of the tendency. But back to the problem at hand. “And the three of you have been known to move Filbert out of his tank?”
“We’ve never done that before, but see, we don’t remember. ‘Cause we were sleeping, you know?”
She swiped a hand across her face, and understood why Nick always seemed so tired. She could relate now. Four semi-hostile kids, although Brandt and Starla had warmed to her considerably; it wasn’t a comfort to learn three of them were sleepwalkers on top of hating her. Great.
“Why don’t you go get your net and we can move Filbert out of the dirty dishes and back to his tank?”
“Okay.” Brandt turned away before he hesitated. “Macy, do you think I could get another piranha?”
No way. “We’ll have to see.” Technically, she hadn’t said no, so that appeased Brandt.
“All right!” He raced off, hopefully to retrieve his net.
Macy turned back to the sink in time to see Filbert swipe past a spoon and stop to sample it. She heard his teeth chomp the metal. Yes, a piranha. Wonderful. She was grateful she’d indulged in a second cup of coffee this morning. Otherwise, she might be sporting fewer fingers than she woke with.
What a crazy house.
She’d only been here two weeks, but it felt more like three years – underwater. She planned to submit more applications to vet schools. On her day off, of which she hadn’t gotten so far, so
how about if she took today off? Intense years of study had to beat this. Her plan included attending school in the fall. She’d already sent out five applications. She intended to send out at least five more. Surely someone would take her. Maybe there wouldn’t be as many applicants this year as in the past. Please.
“Macy how do we get him from the bowl to his tank?”
“Good question.” She glanced between the fish innocently swimming in her mixing bowl to Brandt holding his fish net. “Why don’t we take him in the bowl, and we’ll transfer him from there?”
“Can’t we just pour him back into his tank?”
“No. See, milk has bacteria that isn’t fish friendly.”
“Fish don’t like milk?”
“No. It’s very bad for them.”
Macy carried the bowl with Filbert the piranha while Brandt bobbed beside her. Not that Filbert had a lot of chances of living to adulthood. Brandt had smacked no less than a hundred objects with the fish net on their way to his tank. And if Filbert spent much time in empty mixing bowls complete with milk from several people’s breakfast, he was likely going to need a stronger immune system than Macy suspected most fish enjoyed.
Did the pet stores around here actually sell piranhas? She’d better check on that. Knowledge was power. That way if Brandt asked for another fish later on, she could tell him she hadn’t been able to locate one. Hopefully that would be true. Please let it be true.
“Macy, I’m gonna use the net. Hold on to his bowl.”
And she thought girls were bossy. “Okay.”
Brandt swiped the net through the bowl and scooped up Filbert with expert care. The transfer went easier than she’d expected. He dropped the piranha into the tank and Macy had to give the fish credit, he didn’t seem to mind the trip.
“Let’s try to keep Filbert in his tank, okay?”
“If I moved him, I don’t remember, Macy,” Brandt reminded her. He and Starla seemed to actually act like normal kids around her and she enjoyed this newer relationship.
“Right, sorry. We’re going to have to do something about you guys sleepwalking.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”
“There’s something that can be done for sleepwalking?” Starla glided up beside them. As usual, her smoky, sultry voice startled Macy. The femme fatale wore a soft, fuzzy yellow sweater and a short blue skirt. Her shoes were strappy platform flip flops. The entire outfit had a vintage feel to it.
Macy realized she looked forward to seeing Starla’s outfits each day. Never had she noticed what other people wore so often. But at this point, she’d never met another person, much less another kid, like Starla. Macy sighed and stared down at the aging snake wrapped around her middle. She couldn’t remember what she’d tugged out of her closet to wear this morning. Had she brushed her hair?
She bet Starla never asked that question. The little girl’s curls were perfect. Her glittery lip gloss stayed in place. Macy stared at the lip gloss. They didn’t have that stuff when she was a kid and she was a little jealous. Yet there was no need because Starla was one of those kids who probably wouldn’t remember her own childhood. She’d been an adult from birth. Sometimes her observations startled Macy, and Nick, she noticed, thank goodness. Starla even managed to shake Lily’s foundation once in a while.
“Starla, do you sleepwalk?”
She shrugged, making the gesture look laconic and graceful.
With another sigh Macy retrieved the mixing bowl and with a wave left to head for the kitchen. Marilyn trailed after her, and made walking in platforms look easy and graceful. Macy didn’t believe she could successfully wear a skirt like that. Starla, at six, made the skirt. She wore her clothes. Macy thought her clothes probably wore her. Of course, Philippe seemed to appreciate her.
That’s what she was about. Animals. Soon enough she’d leave this house, with all its problems, and enter vet school. Then she’d only have to worry about filling her head with more knowledge on how to help animals.
Oh, please hurry and come acceptance letter, she begged silently as she avoided scattered toys and thought about the pile of dishes she still had to deal with.
In addition to the kids not trusting her, she also had to deal with a sexy, sleepy employer. Not that Nick knew which day it was, much less that she was a woman. At this point, she’d be happy if he remembered her name. The man had so much work to catch up he’d probably never catch up on his sleep. He had mentioned a fear of losing some clients, so she noticed he spent a lot of time in his home office.
Bryce had definitely picked up his mumbling habit from his father. Nick usually mumbled something under his breath when he passed her. Macy had yet to translate.
In six months or so, she’d be free of this house and in vet school. She could handle the situation until then.
Macy glanced at her fingers. She hoped she was still intact when that time came.
***
Nick stretched as his last client of the morning left. Working Saturdays was the only way he could possibly keep his current clients. He tried to ease the kinks in his back, but then his stomach growled, so he ignored those aches and thought about his empty organ. Macy was sure to have something to rectify the problem.
He’d noticed Bryce eating more, which was a good thing. Bryce worried him. But his oldest son was interacting more with the family and remembering to eat. Maybe Macy hounded him, but that was okay. She seemed to understand Bryce like none of them did, so they could all learn from Macy’s example.
Not that he’d paid much attention lately. Nick still couldn’t remember what a full night’s sleep felt like, not since Starla’s birth. Every night one of the kids needed him. And that was after hours of work for his clients, running through mounds of laundry, loading the dishwasher, and trying to keep the house from falling apart.
The advent of Macy had brought order to the chaos of his home. The kids seemed more settled. He liked that. Nick hadn’t felt so in control of his life in a long while. Maybe he’d actually sleep through the night soon. After he caught up with his work.
He had discovered Brandt sleepwalking the other night. He’d been carrying around his fish net. Nick still wasn’t sure about that. Savannah used to do things in her sleep that puzzled him. Bryce fortunately just roamed. But it looked like Brandt was going to rearrange things, start the dishwasher, and such things like Savannah had.
Macy mentioned the other day that she’d found Brandt’s piranha, Filbert, in a mixing bowl. Probably not good but she seemed fine with the fact that Brandt was attracted to dangerous things. He’d seen the two of them poring over various books and websites about dangerous creatures. Macy seemed to know a lot about them, which had drawn Brandt into her corner.
He crossed the threshold from his office space into the kitchen, and as he suspected, smelled something good. Macy stood at the island slicing bread. Spread out before her were sandwich makings. Steam rose from a pot of soup on the stove.
All four of the kids already had plates in hand and waited as Macy finished slicing the bread. She handed two slices to each of them who began making their own sandwich.
“I don’t want tomato,” Savannah announced.
“So don’t take one. Just choose what you want on your sandwich.”
“Is this mayonnaise, Macy?” Starla pointed to a bowl with an opaque, heavy looking white substance.
“Yes. The bowl beside it is mustard.”
“I’ll have mustard,” Starla decided as she reached her knife into the glop and spread it on her bread.
“That’s fine,” Macy said and added a bowl of chips and another of fruit salad to the island.
Bryce helped himself to a huge handful of chips. Savannah peeled turkey from the meat platter while Brandt fought with some cheese.
“Here, Brandt, let me.” Macy inserted a knife between the slices. She expertly separated the two giving Brandt trouble and handed him one. She offered the other to Bryce
who held out his plate. Macy set it atop one of his bread slices.
Savannah added fruit salad to her plate and sat down at the table. Macy filled bowls of soup and carried one to the table where she set it by Savannah. She placed more filled bowls on the table then picked up a plate to make her own sandwich. At which point she caught sight of him.
Silently, she handed him the plate and bread and Nick joined his children at the island. Macy helped Starla scoop out her fruit and then watched his daughter saunter across to the table. Macy set a bowl of soup in front of her and Bryce, who sat down across the table.
He helped Brandt with the fruit salad before adding some to his plate before he followed Brandt to the table. They waited for Macy to seat herself and he gave thanks for the food, grateful to see his children hadn’t started eating until they’d given thanks. Maybe he had taught them something.
Macy finished distributing last minute things and they all dug into their lunch. He liked the idea of having each of the kids make their own sandwiches. He noticed both boys ate sandwiches with only mayonnaise, while both girls and Macy had selected mustard. His own contained both, which is how he’d made their sandwiches in the past.
Now he thought maybe he understood why none of the kids ever finished their lunches. Today he watched as Starla and Bryce both finished half their sandwiches, all their soup, and the fruit. Both went back for more chips. Macy passed their half eaten sandwiches up to him.
Nick couldn’t help but reflect on how much like a family they seemed. The back door opened and his parents entered.
“Hello,” Macy echoed his and the kids greetings, not seeming fazed by their arrival. She must be used to his parents dropping in by now. They did so often enough.
“We heard you folks were having Italian Wedding Soup,” his dad said and rubbed his hands in anticipation.
Macy laughed and passed them bowls. She waved them to the rest of lunch spread out on the island.
“So, how are you?” his mom asked Savannah.