fell sick when she was put into day care. They hired a few different nannies, but due to my sister-in-law’s colorful personality, none of them stayed for very long. When Kaylee was two, I agreed to use my vacation time to help them out of a jam. My brother was going out of town on business, and his wife couldn’t get time off from work to watch their daughter. Long story short, I ended up leaving my job and watching Kaylee full-time. I wasn’t happy where I was working . . . and it was only supposed to be until they found a replacement. That was three years ago. I’m completely in love with my niece and it’s never been a hardship to care for her. But—well, let me get back to the events of the day before I go there.
My extended family is very . . . vocal. I’m putting that kindly for your benefit. Don’t want you to think I’m the type of person who is mean to old people and animals. Anyway, one of my aunts totally blindsided me in front of the entire family unit by announcing that I’m a spinster who lives with my brother. And that I’ve never had a boyfriend. Which, by the way, isn’t true. I had a very active social life before I became a nanny, and I still meet up with friends often.
Since when is being a good person a crime? I thought my relatives were going to give my brother a medal of honor for supporting his deadbeat sister. Then place me in quarantine before some poor innocent person caught my spinsterhood disease. Either that, or ship me off to a retirement home to live out the rest of my golden years. Obviously, I missed the memo that says you’re put out to pasture when you reach your mid-thirties. If you, my new friend, are around my age, I’ll see if I can get a discounted rate at the local old folks’ home. Oh wait—you didn’t know you were over-the-hill either? Well, thank goodness, I’m glad it’s not just me. Don’t worry, we’ll have loads of fun playing shuffle board and bingo. If you play your cards right, I’ll let you take my scooter for a ride. That sounded rather risqué. Don’t get excited, I was speaking of my future motorized chair—bedazzled, of course. According to my family, I’ve never given a single ride of the other variety, so get that notion right out of your head. If you’re a woman, this must sound even more insane.
I should probably end this now. It’s already gone off the rails and crashed into a brick wall. You’re quite possibly scanning for a return address to forward to the authorities. I promise, I’m harmless. A bit of a disaster when it comes to words, but that’s it. Oh, before I forget, I have a very serious question for you. Which character from the movie Top Gun would you be? Goose or Maverick? If you’ve never watched the movie before, then do so immediately and get back to me. Cue the music from Jeopardy. I’ll be waiting.
Take care and be safe,
Sara the spinster—and future cat lady
He read the letter twice more before reluctantly laying it down. By sharing her own amusing tale of woe, the stranger, a woman named Sara, had made him feel lighter somehow. The stress of the last twenty-four hours had been subdued as he found an escape outlet in her words. And for that, he was more grateful than she’d ever know. He owed her at the very least the courtesy of a reply. Yet as his fingers hovered over the keyboard, he could come up with nothing that even compared to her humor. The few lines he typed sounded stilted and formal. Had it really been so long since he’d put himself out there to someone not affiliated with the military? Well, he couldn’t discount his parents and sister, but that was different. He and his dad said a few words, but after that, he mostly listened while his mom and sister talked, and they seemed fine with that. In fact, it was hard to get a word in most of the time. But for some strange reason, he wanted this Sara to like his e-mail. For it to make her smile in the way her letter had him. But how? He could tell her he Googled tips on how to write a great letter to a woman.