The Curve Ball - Samantha Lind Page 0,67
I introduce both of us.
“This little chunk is Benjamin.”
“He sure is a cutie. How long have you been his nanny?” I ask.
“Since he was about six weeks old. Both of his parents are doctors, so they have some crazy hours. How about you?”
“Since she was about three months old,” I tell her, not divulging anything about who her parents are.
“It's so fun, isn’t it?” Brooke asks.
“It is. Especially since she’s such an easy baby.” We both get distracted by the babies for a few moments. “Is this your only nanny job?” she asks.
“Yep, I live with her family,” I tell her, still being vague. “It was a bit of an urgent situation, and I’d just moved here when the need came up. Her dad and my brother are best friends, so it worked out perfectly for everyone involved.”
“Oh, nice. I found Benjamin’s parents from my prior nanny family. I used to watch his cousins, but they’re now all school age and didn’t need me anymore. About that time, Benjie came along, and I made the transition.”
“Sounds like it was meant to be,” I tell her, smiling at Benjamin. He’s giggling as he swings back and forth, Evie matching his excitement from her swing.
“We finally made it,” Jillian says, stopping next to me.
“Oh, good,” I tell her, looking around for the girls. “Where are my nieces?” I ask when I can’t find them.
“Over on the slide,” she says, pointing at the climbing structure. “Hi, I’m Jillian,” she introduces herself to Brooke.
“Brooke, this is my sister-in-law.” I quickly introduce the two of them.
“Nice to meet you.” They trade pleasantries before we all get distracted once again by the kids.
“Auntie Ry!” Penelope runs up to me a few minutes later.
“Hey, Penny girl.” I greet her as she runs into my outstretched arms as I crouch down to her level. I stand up, her arms wrapped around my neck, and my arms wrapped around her torso in a bear hug. “How are you today?” I ask her, placing a kiss on her cheek before I set her back down.
“I’s good. Can you come over for lunch?” she asks.
“Probably,” I tell her. “Can Evie take a nap in your room if we come over?”
“Yes!” she says before running off to play again.
“I guess we’re coming over for lunch,” I tell Jillian.
“Sounds good. I was going to invite you over anyway.”
“Or we could go out somewhere and then back to watch some movies while it storms,” I suggest. “No cooking or clean up required.”
“Now, that sounds like the perfect plan,” she says, then takes off to go check on Addison, who’s calling her over.
“Your niece is such a cutie,” Brooke says, pulling my attention back to her.
“Thanks, they’re both pretty great, if I do say so myself.”
“Kind of nice to have them so close by,” she comments.
“It is. Jillian stays home with them, and my brother's work schedule makes him gone a lot, so it works well for us to get together throughout the week. They love playing with Evie, almost like a warm-up for when their brother is born this fall.”
“How fun. I was going to ask when she was due but didn’t want to be rude,” she says, smiling at me.
“Yeah,” I say, laughing. “The first boy, so we’re all excited about that.”
“I bet. Do you have any other nieces?”
“Nope, just my brother and me.”
“Fun. I love being an aunt. Unfortunately, I don’t live near my siblings anymore, so I don’t get to see them and spoil them all that often. I moved out here with a previous nanny family.”
“That’s cool. I take it you like it here, then?”
“I do! I’ve been here now for about six years, and it really became home. You said you’d just moved here before starting to nanny, is that correct?”
“Yep, I finished my degree last year, but my first job was kind of a crash and burn. Nothing was really holding me to Ohio, so I asked my brother and sister-in-law if they’d be okay with me moving here to be close to them, and they loved the idea. So that weekend, I packed my things and drove down. A few weeks after that, the need for a last-minute nanny came up, and I hadn’t secured a job yet, so it worked perfectly.”
“Sounds like it was meant to be, then. Was her previous nanny just not a good fit?” she asks.
“Nope, just a last-minute need,” I tell her, being as vague as possible.
“Well, I’m glad it worked out,