by Joy Penny
Maybe so, but Jo and Eddie had left their chaste days behind months ago. Everyone knew they were banging each other.
Nolan shrugged, sipping on his straw until the echoing sound of his empty cup made his whole table jump. “I don’t know. I couldn’t see clearly. But I think she was… better than average.” Like he was about to gush over a woman being hot in front of two women.
“Wow,” said Jo. “That might be the highest praise you’ve given a girl since I’ve met you.”
“Nolan’s in love,” said Cheryl and Nolan winced. He couldn’t hear perfectly through his mascot suit, but he had heard what Willow had said in front of that new girl and he’d seen the woman laugh it off but her face had reddened even so. Leave it to his kid brother and sister to let the hot new girl know who was inside that suit, too, and now she had a name.
But it was just a hug and a fake little kiss atop her head. Was that so weird? He hugged kids and adults all the time. A “kiss” in a suit was just like a fluffy stuffed animal bonking you.
It was just… He hadn’t seen Landon look so happy in a while. He’d smiled when he’d looked back at her, had said she’d reminded him of their mom.
He still didn’t know what to do about Landon. Their dad was no help. He didn’t even believe Landon fully remembered their mom, and he refused to recognize there was any problem. Maybe Landon had been too young when she’d died to fully remember her. She hadn’t looked much like that hot new girl at all. But he remembered the feeling of warmth and comfort and support their mom had always provided.
“She was just nice to Landon and Willow is all,” said Nolan. “So I had Silly give her a big peck and a hug.”
He’d been looking for his brother and sister as soon as he’d entered Tildy’s Tots. It was hard to see much beyond a few feet, though, so he hadn’t noticed them until they’d come toward him, Landon’s hand in the woman’s. Tanya had introduced her to “Silly” and Angie as Earl’s new assistant manager once the kids had gone off to play, but they’d left shortly thereafter.
“What’s Willow doing at daycare instead of school?” asked Cheryl. Nolan was grateful for the change in topic. He hadn’t gotten too good a look at the new girl through the mesh over his eyes, but it’d been hard to miss her curves. Pair that with her business suit and Nolan had felt himself melt.
Not that he had told Angie that. She’d drawn her own conclusions based on a plush-beak kiss.
“Suspended,” said Nolan, clearing his throat.
“Yikes,” said Jo. “Little wicked Willow strikes again.”
“Dude,” said Eddie, cocking his princely head at Nolan. “What’d she do this time?”
“Hit some boy,” said Nolan. He tapped a finger on the table. “Busted his lip.”
Tsking, Cheryl bit her own lip. “What does your dad think?”
“He doesn’t care,” spat Nolan. “As long as he doesn’t have to stay home from work to watch her, he couldn’t care less.” Nolan shrugged. “We get free daycare as full-time employees, so it was just easier to bring her here with Landon.”
No one said anything about how that policy typically applied to the parents who worked there, not the older siblings, but everyone knew that HR had made an exception for Nolan when his mom had died and he’d asked to go from part-time to full-time.
Frowning, Cheryl finished slurping her water. DeShawn, her Tildy Scout caretaker for the day and their shift supervisor, was heading over, nodding at a few friends as he passed them. “No,” whispered Cheryl. “It can’t be time to go back. He can’t make me!” She was clearly kidding, although a small part of Nolan knew the feeling.
Nolan grabbed a fresh towel from the rack behind him and passed it over to Cheryl. “Thanks,” she said, grabbing it with her furry hand and dabbing it to her forehead. Her short black bangs were soaked and stuck to her pale brown skin. “You know, I never thought that coming to work at Tildy World would be so…”
“Backbreaking?” offered Eddie.
“Skeevy?” said Jo, taking a sip from her drink.
They were seasoned performers. Outside of this room, they were sure to offer words like “rewarding” and “enchanting” to anyone who asked.
“Moist,” finished Cheryl, grimacing. She stood as DeShawn arrived at the table and exchanged greetings with everyone there. She pointed at Jo. “I’m Queen Animaliao next week, by the way. I don’t care if I end up with my hands all over your boyfriend.”
“You can try,” said Jo, wrapping her hands around her boyfriend’s back. “But I’m going to be his Tildy Scout caretaker.”
Of course, thought Nolan. They always found a way to pair themselves together. DeShawn was their accomplice in that matter.
“Well, whoever’s in Ball Tildy better watch out for McGrabberson,” spat Cheryl, putting on her head. She waved her furry paw at everyone.
“Next time that guy shows up,” said DeShawn, scowling, “I’m going to show him that Tildy Tapir has her own dreams—and they involve my fist in his face.”
Nolan laughed. DeShawn wouldn’t do anything. None of them ever could.
When they were performing, they were in character. And Tildy Tapir lived in a world where groping just didn’t exist, so they all had to pretend they weren’t bothered by it.
Nolan wrapped his shift for the day at five and took a quick shower to wash away the buckets of sweat. He knew Landon and Willow would be antsy, Willow watching the clock and promising their big brother would be there any minute now, but he hated making the drive home drenched in sweat. Even so, he knew there was little point in spending too much time drying off. Damp hair and a tinge of moisture worked to keep him cool in the humidity and would dry off within minutes anyway. Besides, when he started off in the extreme air conditioning of the Tent Tildy resort, his hair would practically ice over, prolonging the relaxing chill the dampness provided.
“See you tomorrow,” said Angie in the corridor where the men’s and women’s locker rooms met up. She’d showered, too, and had slipped out of her Tildy Scout outfit into a slinky black dress. Someone is hitting the town. Nolan missed those days. Before he’d been in charge of his siblings for most of the day, he’d been too young to do much other than loiter with friends at the mall or game at a friend’s all night. It’d been forever since he’d been on a date—at least a year. He hadn’t felt like dating anyone seriously since the accident.
But even if he’d wanted to hit the town these days, who was there left to hit the town with? His high school buddies had all moved on to college and/or other parts of the country—a number had even gone to the college he’d had his own eyes on, had joined the fraternity he’d hoped to make the bulk of his college memories at. To tell the truth, he couldn’t even stand to look at their social media posts.
He was jealous. He didn’t want to be, he loved his brother and sister—and despite his irritation with him, his dad. But he still resented them needing him just a little. He even resented his mom for leaving them—as if she’d had any choice in the matter.
Sometimes he really hated himself for thinking such things.
“You have class tonight?” asked Angie, slipping a tote bag at odds with her nightclub dress over her shoulder.
Nolan nodded. “Not until nine, though. I have to get the kids home and fed first.”
Angie offered him a faltering smile. “You’re so responsible, Nolan.” It was supposed to be a compliment, he was sure, but the truth was, he didn’t feel responsible. It had all just sort of… happened. The summer after he’d graduated high school. He’d withdrawn from the college of his dreams and enrolled in a few classes per semester at the local community college instead. With the loss of their mom’s income, their family couldn’t afford to pay the bills, let alone offer any support for Nolan’s tuition. Tildy World offered a partial tuition reimbursement program for full-time employees going to school in-state, so it had just been the smart thing to do.
But Nolan was tired of doing the smart thing. “Thanks.”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Have a nice time tonight!”
Angie had already fished her phone out of her bag and waved back at him, heading toward the employee parking lot.
Nolan checked his own phone and jumped at the time. Landon would be beside himself by now and Willow probably wouldn’t be much help.
He decided to take a short cut through the offices off-limits to the guests, or “campers,” he supposed his bosses would prefer he say. He made it through nearly without notice—other than that one administrative assistant old enough to be his grandma who always waved when he went by and shouted, “Hello, sweetheart!”—when he turned one corner and slammed into someone, sending a large cardboard box tumbling to the ground, markers and other coloring supplies spilling everywhere.
“I’m so sorry!” said a woman just as Nolan shouted in surprise and then said, “Sorry!”
The woman was already crouched on the ground, flipping the box over and scrambling to pick up all the markers and pencils that still continued to roll across the narrow hallway. The top of her bright blonde head stood out against the deep navy of her blazer like a shining star amidst the deepest dark night.
Blonde hair. Dark blazer. Landon’s friend. Nolan got on his knees beside her, grabbing the escaped coloring instruments in fistfuls. “My bad,” he said. “I was rushing and I didn’t stop to look where I was going.”
“No, I… I couldn’t see over the box.” She looked up. A large strand of her golden-white hair had fallen out from her tightly-wound bun to dangle over one of her alarmingly-blue eyes. She smiled, although she looked exhausted. “I don’t know these halls well enough yet. Oh, no, don’t—Please!” She reached out toward Nolan’s hand and winced as he dropped his handful of markers and pencils into the box. “I had that all organized.” She spoke quietly, but it was clear she was holding back.
Raising his eyebrow, Nolan surveyed the hallway and the pencils and markers sprawled every which way. “I don’t think it’s organized anymore.”
She laughed at that—an exhausted, if frustrated laugh.
“Uh-oh! Looks like a classroom of toddlers made their way through here!” One of the HR workers, Brad, Nolan thought, appeared from behind him and gingerly put the toe of one of his shoes down in a small space clear of markers as he made his way through the hall.
“Sorry!” called Nolan and the woman at the same time.
They stared at one another. “Just… Don’t worry about it,” she said again. “If you have somewhere you need to be—”
“I can help you with this first. It’s the least I can do, considering I’m half responsible.” Nolan reached a foot out to shepherd a huge pile of the coloring instruments closer to them.
The blonde watched and winced, but she didn’t say anything more.
“So,” Nolan asked, “how do we get this organized?”
The blonde stared down into the box and looked about to cry. “I guess we don’t,” she said, tossing a couple of markers in unceremoniously. She growled. “I was supposed to have dropped these off at Tildy’s Tots and returned to Earl’s and my office by now.”
Nolan grabbed more markers and threw them in the box before reaching out a hand. “That’s right. You’re the new assistant manager. I’m Nolan. Nolan Gregosky.” Tanya had said her name, but it’d been too hard for him to hear inside the costume.
“Lilac Townsend.” She took his hand quickly and shook it up and down. Her skin was so soft and her shiny nails made her hand look like a hand model’s. Actually, she looked like she could totally be a model… A curvy, businesswoman model. Nolan quickly tore his eyes away from her chest and back to the remaining markers, checking himself.
Lilac cleared her throat and he could hear her gathering other pencils and markers as they worked for a few moments in silence.
“What department do you work in?” asked Lilac. “Nolan… Are you… That is, back at Tildy’s Tots—”
But before Nolan could answer, someone else said, “Wow. I didn’t think I’d have you crawling on your hands and knees this soon.”
Nolan froze and looked up, but Earl wasn’t talking to him—naturally. He stared down at Lilac’s backside. Nolan’s gaze flicked there on instinct and he saw her blazer and blouse had come untucked and with the way she was reaching, the very top of her soft curves back there peeked through. Lilac seemed to feel the eyes on her there in that moment and snapped up, pulling her blazer down immediately. “I…” she started. “I’m sorry. There was a bit of an accident. I’m almost finished here.”
“It was my fault,” Nolan offered. He tossed the last of the markers into the box and stood, standing between Earl’s leering eyes and the blonde on the floor. “We ran into each other.”
“I see,” said Earl, lifting a mug to his lips and taking a step back. He seemed to sense a threat unsaid and Nolan didn’t blame him. After what Cheryl had told him about Grabby McGrabberson, Nolan had no patience for men crossing lines today.
“Hey, Nolan,” said Earl, diverting his eyes to a corkboard with reminders and notices affixed haphazardly across it. “Picking up the kids?”
Nice try, buddy, thought Nolan. She already knows they’re my siblings, not my kids. He didn’t know why, but Nolan got the feeling Earl had been trying to make it seem as if Lilac should have no interest in befriending a twenty-one-year-old “father.” He turned around to help her lift the box, but instead of letting go, he took it from her. “Yeah. In fact, I can carry this for you to Tildy Tot’s.”
“Thank you,” said Lilac through a faltering smile. “But I don’t mind… I mean, it was asked of me—”
“Great,” said Earl, slapping his free hand on Lilac’s shoulder. “Then you can come back with me, Lilac, and we’ll wrap up for the day.”
Lilac smiled, but the movement didn’t reach her eyes. She looked uncomfortable.
“Do you mind not doing that?” asked Nolan.
Earl’s smile dropped immediately, but his hand stayed put. “What are you talking about?”
“She doesn’t want your hand on her shoulder,” said Nolan, lifting the box and gesturing toward the offending appendage.
Lilac went scarlet red and she stepped out of Earl’s reach, his hand shifting casually to his side, his fist clenched. “No, it’s…” She looked between Earl and Nolan, and Nolan could have sworn her eyes grew wider when she looked at him, her head cocked as if to tell him to knock it off.
Him and not Earl.
“I should go finish that spreadsheet,” said Lilac, rushing back the way she came.
She didn’t say a single word more.
Earl sipped his coffee loudly, a smirk on his thin, chapped lips. “Thanks for helping out,” he said, ignoring everything else that had happened. “Brad, you sonova!” he said, staring over Nolan’s shoulder as Brad appeared once more in the hallway behind him.
Nolan could feel his phone buzz and his eyes darted to the nearby clock on the wall. Shit. I’m late. He jogged the rest of the way, already rehearsing his apologies to his little brother and sister.
Chapter Five
When Lilac had gotten home that first day, she’d gritted her teeth and told Aunt Frankie about the amazing time she’d had at her new job over the Indian curry her aunt had made.
“I can tell it’s run you ragged, though,” Frankie had said. After they’d cleaned up everything together, she’d suggested Lilac make an early night of it while she went back to her crafts table. Lilac had logged on to Facebook and had found herself messaging both Brielle and Gavin. She’d told Brielle nothing but the good parts of the experience so far, of course, and Brielle had just chimed in with “that’s great” and “wow” and “so happy for you.” She’d had almost nothing to say about her own day back at work—not that Lilac had expected her to when working the cleaning job she’d had every summer for the past six years. Then Gavin had logged on and had had such a bad day at work, Lilac had gone quiet. Gavin almost never complained about anything. He almost always found
the good in everyone. If this Gabriel who was his boss had inspired this much time complaining, he must have really, truly deserved it. Lilac had let him vent, had done her best to finally be the shoulder he could “cry” on since he’d asked it so infrequently of her, and she’d waited before she’d told him anything negative about her day, though she had been careful to phrase it all as merely a mild inconvenience. She was made of sterner stuff. She just had to keep pretending.
But surely it wasn’t any more than any other harried young woman out of her depth in the big bad business world had experienced. She remembered her mom and both grandmas telling her horror stories of the short periods they’d worked jobs—Nana Abigail at her husband’s own company. Even being the boss’ girlfriend, and then wife, hadn’t stopped the assholes from making comments.
In fact, Nana Abigail had always grinned when she’d talked about it, like she’d found the whole thing delightful, especially when she’d still elicited whistles visiting her husband at work well into her forties. Lilac shuddered and instinctively glanced down at her huge rack, finally free of her bra under a sweatshirt to air out for a bit until it was time for bed. Brielle had never understood why she’d had to wear a bra to bed as well, but Brielle had a modest B or C cup. She couldn’t begin to imagine the strain these inconveniences caused Lilac. If she had Nana Abigail to thank for inheriting this mess, she wished she could turn around and say “no thank you.” Besides the strain, there were the leers, the eyes that always drifted down. And she probably had nothing but more backaches to look forward to thanks to them.
Yes, Nana. It’s so flattering to be valued for your boobs. One of these days, Lilac might have seriously considered reduction surgery. But she was too chicken to just yet.
It was late by the time Lilac had logged off—Brielle had logged off ages ago—after she and Gavin had shared complaints about their bosses. Earl for being a grating sleaze and Gavin’s boss, Gabriel, for being a total stickler for the rules. After letting it all out, Lilac had slept like a log that first night.