“Jade? We ran into them at the grocery store once, didn’t we?”
“That’s her.”
“She’s a cutie. What about her?”
“Her parents,” I said slowly, tracing shapes in the quartz countertop, “have asked me to care for her this summer.”
My mom looked up from the dishes she was scrubbing. “They want you to tutor?”
“Well, yes.” I swallowed. “They also want me to drive her to her therapies. Starting Monday, I’ll be there between seven and four every weekday. But you don’t have to worry,” I hastened to add. “The brother is there, so I should still be able to go with you to your doctor appointments, and anything you need—”
“It’s not my doctor appointments I worry about. Jessie. It sounds like they want you to be her nanny.”
“It’s more of a tutor.” But as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew Mom was right.
“Weren’t they between nannies when we ran into them last April as well?”
“It’s hard to find people who understand Jade’s needs.” I opened the fridge and studied its contents like a math test. “I know her, though, and now that I’m on summer break, it only makes sense to help her. And they’re paying me enough to pay for the rest of my master’s degree.” I took a deep breath. “Why? Do you think I shouldn’t?”
“It’s not that I don’t want you to help her. Or to finance your degree.” She grabbed a knife and began chopping pecans. “It’s more…” She set the knife down and shook her head. “I don’t—”
“If this is about your doctor’s appointments, like I said, I can still drive you to all of them,” I said in a rush. “Jade’s brother won’t mind at all, I’m sure. And—”
“Jessie, I can drive myself just fine. I’m fifty-four, not dead.” My mom reached out and took my hand. Her mouth was set in a line, and her forehead puckered slightly.
Oh no. Here came the dreaded It’s just.
“It’s just,” my mother said softly, “you work yourself so hard all the time. Your father and I were kind of hoping you could just have a summer to enjoy yourself.”
“I enjoy being with Jade.”
“I don’t doubt that. But you nearly worked yourself to death to get your bachelor’s degree. And your license. And last year, you spent the entire summer setting up your classroom.” My mom shrugged. “We were hoping to have some time together where you could just let down.” Her voice softened slightly. “We were even looking into some vacation destinations we thought you might enjoy.”
My heart fell. I should have expected something like this, especially after finding the Busch Gardens brochure in my father’s office.
“Maybe…maybe we can still take a fun vacation together.” I forced a little chuckle. “Jade’s older brother doesn’t even want me to watch her. Maybe I can grant his wish for a few weeks with you guys.”
“Oh? To what does he object?” My mother’s eyebrows went up. “And why do you care? He’s what, ten or something?”
I nearly laughed. My mom might want time with me, but she was also competitive. And she would find the thought of some boy insulting her daughter highly offensive.
“He doesn’t think one year of teaching is enough to know how to meet Jade’s needs.” I rolled my eyes. “Stupid stuff.”
“She only spends all day with you and an aid.” Mom shook her head. “But you didn’t say, how old is he?”
“I don’t know. Mid-twenties?” I briefly pictured his face. He definitely wasn’t some recruit fresh out of high school. His features and his build were too solid for that. But I couldn’t remember seeing any strong lines around his eyes or mouth. And he seemed far too serious to be very young. Still, there had been an unusual light to his eyes that was hard to shake off. It was nearly enough to distract me from the fact that he was military. And a jerk.
Mom started laughing.
“What is it?”
“You’re blushing!”
“I am not!” But even as she protested, I felt my cheeks heat.
My mom leaned forward on her elbows and placed her chin on her hands. “So tell me more about this brother.” Her brown eyes sparkled, disappointment about my job with Jade seemingly forgotten.
“I told you, he doesn’t even like me!” I swiped a handful of quinoa chips from the counter. “Besides. He’s Air Force.”
“You and your rules.” My mom scoffed and washed her hands. “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to go on a date now and then. As in, one by yourself. Not just tagging along with your friends. That’s another thing your father and I—”
“I’m going to my room now.” I skipped out of the kitchen into the hallway.
“Oh! Before you go,” my mother called after her, “Madison wanted me to remind you of your date next week.”
“I’m not going. I told her that.”
“No, she said this one’s different. Donny’s Bar on Thursday. Something about a teacher get-together.”
I sighed. “Thanks.” This was going to be a long summer.
6
Got to Give
Derrick
“What are you doing still in bed?”
I nearly fell out of bed as my mom threw the casita door open and it banged against the wall several inches from my head. As if that weren’t bad enough, she went to the windows and raised all the shutters before turning and clapping at me, like that would move me along faster.
“It’s my day off.” I rolled over and buried my face in my sheet. “Why would I be up?”
“Get your clothes on! She just parked, and she’ll ring the bell any minute!”
“I’m pretty sure she’s seen someone in sweatpants and a t-shirt before.” I pulled the pillow over my head.
“Derrick.” My mother glared at me as she threw my dirty uniforms into my laundry bin, “I want this one to at least last the summer. And your show the other day was far from gracious. The least you can do is greet her nicely this time, and I want you dressed, shaved, respectable, and respectful.” She wagged a french tipped nail at me. “Get ahold of that sarcasm, and maybe she’ll want to stay for more than a week. Then you can sleep in as long as you like. In fact, I hope you do.”
I nearly retorted that perhaps my parents’ nanny problem was more their fault than mine, but I knew better. She would just find a way to scold and lecture twice as much as usual before she left for work. If I was patient for another minute or so, she would be back in the main house, scolding Jade or Dad, and I would be free to do as I pleased. Which might include going back to bed so I could have five more minutes of sleep before the glorified babysitter arrived.
Sure enough, thirty second later, through the open sliding glass door, I heard the doorbell ring, and my mother left to answer it. She sounded as bubbly and vivacious as a teenager.
Every time my parents got Jade a new nanny, I made it my job to do as much research on the new candidate as I could. In Colorado, that had meant snooping online to look for possible criminal records the nanny agency might have missed. Now that I was in Arkansas, I could do it in person. And this time, I planned to have a little fun, too.
I went to the mirror and glanced at my reflection. My chin and cheeks were already covered in dark stubble. My hair was too short to be messy, but I could at least make sure my teeth were unbrushed when I joined the family. Yep. This would work.
“Morning, everyone!” I called as I let myself in through the back door, stretched, and gave a big yawn. Jessie watched me from where she still stood in the entryway with wide eyes, and my mother’s mouth fell open before snapping shut, her eyes dark with indignation. But she couldn’t thoroughly chide me in front of company the way I knew she wanted to, so I gave her my biggest grin and joined them. Then I smiled at Jessie. “Glad to see your car made it here this morning in one piece.”
“Derrick!” my mother snapped. I ignored her, though. I was watching Jessie clutch her tote bag closer to her chest, her eyes flashing. Wow, this girl was wound tight, like a spring
ready to snap from too much pressure.
“Yes, thank you,” she said through a strained smile.
My mom looked at the ground and shook her head. “Jade is in the kitchen waiting for breakfast. I have another schedule on the fridge in case you need it. After she eats, her clothes are laid out on her bed for therapy. She has snacks in her lunch box, which is here by the door.” She indicated to a blue lunch box on the floor. “There are sub sandwiches in the refrigerator. I got extra last night when I went to fetch dinner.”
“Thank you.” Jessie’s smile became more genuine. Until she turned and looked at me again. “And will you be joining us today?”
I folded my arms. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Terrific.” She took her bag and went to the kitchen. I nearly laughed as she dropped her bag on the floor with a thud, closed her eyes, and leaned back against the counter where she must have thought I couldn’t see her.
“Derrick!” my mother hissed. “What are you doing?”
“Bye, Mom.” I bent down and kissed her on the top of her head. Then I headed for the kitchen, suddenly glad she’d gotten me up. I could hear her still muttering to herself, but she needed to leave for work, and she wouldn’t risk being late for any reason. Even me. I’d learned that lesson long ago.
Jessie was in the kitchen with Jade, searching, I assumed, for bowls. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned back against the tabled as I watched. Mom had showered all sorts of praise upon this woman when I’d expressed doubts about her abilities. But was she really as good as Mom was convinced?
Good with Jade or not, she seemed well-organized at least. And prepared. Instead of wearing pencil skirts and ridiculous high heels like the last woman my parents had hired, her clothes were practical. A faded turquoise blouse unbuttoned over a white tank top and a pair of khaki corduroys with sneakers. Her large blond-brown ringlets which had dangled down to her shoulders last time were pulled up on top of her head, and though she didn’t wear much makeup, there was just enough to make her green eyes pop.
“Which cereal is yours, Jade?” Jessie opened the cabinet door, a rainbow of cereal boxes inside.
Jade briefly glanced at her from the table and then went back to studying her book.
“Jade, honey. Tell me which cereal is yours.”
Jade ignored her.
I considered intervening. But Jessie would probably resent that. She seemed the type who wanted to do things her own way. Also, I wanted to see if she really did know as much about Jade as she touted.
To my surprise, instead of pestering Jade or getting angry at her, she went and knelt at her side.
“Hey, Jade,” she said in a soft voice. “I know you’re used to seeing me at school. But school is over now, and I’m going to be here instead. And I want to know what you like to do in the morning, but I can’t do that unless you help me learn how.”
Jade didn’t look at her, but I could see her wheels turning as she stared out at the window. “Why?” she finally said.
Jessie smiled. “Because I missed you so much I wanted to see you here, too, instead of waiting all summer for you to come back to school.”
Jade slowly turned to look at her, and Jessie’s smile grew. It was a sweet smile, nothing like the pinched grimace she’d given me. “Now,” she said, “Can you tell me which cereal is yours?”
I had to hand it to her. She was better than I’d expected, particularly for a first-year teacher. But as Jade slowly pointed at the green box, and Jessie immediately found a bowl and began to pour, I nearly grinned again. This was the part where I knew I should probably tell Jessie that Jade was going to erupt in less than half a minute. But no. I could play this in my favor after all.
Sure enough, the moment Jessie put the spoon in front of her, Jade scowled at the bowl and pushed it back. Crossing her arms in front of her, she leaned back and mashed her lips together.
“Jade,” Jessie leaned down again, “you told me this was the one you wanted. What’s wrong?”
But Jade just made another face at the bowl. “No!”
And it all went downhill from there until Jade was screaming, and Jessie looked like she was getting a headache.
“Jade, I don’t understand—”
“No! No cereal! No!”
I had planned to let the fit play itself out, for no other reason than to show Miss Teacher that I was indeed more necessary than my mother said. But when the kicking began, I went to the spice rack and pulled down the cinnamon. Before using it, though, I made sure to catch Jessie’s gaze and hold it as I sprinkled it all over the cereal, stopping only when Jade quit screaming.
Once her cereal was covered in cinnamon, Jade began to eat as if nothing unpleasant had happened, and I moved in to pour myself a bowl as well. I grinned at Jessie as I spread cinnamon over my own cereal.
“Really?” Her voice was tight and pitched a bit higher than before. “We have to leave in twenty minutes, and you couldn’t have done that sooner?”
I stuffed a spoonful of green cereal into my mouth and shrugged. “I wanted to see how you handled stress.”
Her green eyes narrowed. “The day I’m supposed to find her therapy center, you decided it would be a good time for that?”
“Pretty much.” I swallowed. “But don’t get all bent out of shape. I’ve already moved her car seat to my truck. She just needs to get dressed and brush her teeth and hair, and she’ll be ready to go.”
“So you’re driving us.”
“Obviously.” I shoveled another mound of cereal into my mouth.
“Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
“I had last night off, so I got ten hours of sleep.” I stretched. “I feel fantastic.”
If looks could kill, I’d be on death’s doorstep by now. She glared at me for so long I was sure she might pop a vein. But instead of retaliating, she finally closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath through her nose. Then she turned to Jade, who was focused on her food.
“Jade, I’m going upstairs to find your clothes. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please try to focus on eating.” And without a single glance at me, she whirled around and marched out, after which Jade paused and looked up at me, her eyes bright.
“Nickleby mad.”
“Yeah, she sure is. But she’s right. We need to go soon. Eat your food so you can go see Miss Gina.”
Jessie returned a few minutes later with Jade’s clothes in hand. As soon as Jade was done eating, Jessie had her dressed so fast that even I was impressed. Then Jessie grabbed their bags and practically dragged Jade out the door. She reached my truck and stopped before picking Jade up and turning to the vehicle. I smiled as she tried to pull the handle with the hand under Jade’s legs. It didn’t work.
“She can walk, you know.” I sauntered over to them.
Jessica turned to glare at me. “We’re in a bit of a hurry if you haven’t noticed. Her lesson starts in—”
“I’m aware of when her lesson starts. Now let me put her in and go get settled in the front seat.”
Jessie’s jaw dropped, and from the way her eyes burned, I wondered briefly if fire might come out as well. “I am perfectly capable of strapping her in!”
“But this is my car.” I took Jade from her arms. “And I’m used to her car seat. It’s a five-point harness, you know.”
She stared at me like I had a third arm growing out of my head. “They’re all five-point harnesses. They don’t even make anything else anymore.”
I had to give it to her. She was dedicated. And the way she stuck her chin out when she got mad was actually kind of cute. Still, I opened the back door and plopped Jade inside. “No offense, Miss Nickleby, but you spend what, six hours with her a day? In a single room?”
“Seven and a half, actually. Your point?”
I shrugged. “The classroom’s great, and I’m sure you’ve done a fine job with her there. But this is real life, and no offense, I don’t think they trained you for dealing
with the parts of Jade’s life that happen in the real world.”
She stared at me for a long moment before she finally crossed her arms and whirled around. “Fine. You know what? Fine.” She stomped over to the truck’s passenger seat and slammed the door shut so hard the truck rocked.
Maybe there was hope. Jessie Nickleby had looked more than a little determined the first time I’d met her, but maybe I had misjudged her. Maybe she’d give up and leave us be after all. The thought made my heart a little lighter.
When I was done buckling my sister into her car seat, I joined Jessie in the front. She glowered out the window, which was fine by me. I would turn up the radio and talk to Jade as if Jessie weren’t even there.
“Hey, Jade,” I called into the backseat. “You wanna hear the eighties rock or seventies classics?”
“Eighties.”
“Okay.” I found the Bon Jovi album on my phone then pulled out of the drive. The day was unusually cool for early summer, and despite my frustration with the nanny situation, the spring-like air made my muscles relax, and I breathed just a little easier. Oak and hickory trees waved at us from on each side of the highway as we hopped on and headed north.
Just as I was beginning to enjoy myself, however, the steel guitar disappeared. I looked over to see Jessie pulling the jack out of my phone and putting it into hers instead.
“Hey, since when is it okay to mess with the driver’s music?” I reached for her phone, but she yanked it back.
“Since he kidnapped me. Now watch the road.” A smug little smile crossed her face as she tapped her phone screen and the sound of violins filled the cab.
“Oh no. What is that?”
“Your mother asked me to prepare her for school,” Jessie said, her smile only growing smugger by the second.
My Little Rock Airman Page 4