Page 107 of Eleanor & Grey
For the first time in a long time, I saw Karla light up.
I knew Greyson would likely be mad at me for pulling her from school, but after everything she had to deal with, she deserved a break.
As we watched the movies, I witnessed a version of Karla emerge that I hadn’t known existed. She sat wide-eyed with her focus on the television screen. I remembered that wonderment when I’d seen the movies for the first time, that excitement, the happiness.
Her lips moved with the dialogue, making it very clear that she’d seen the films dozens of times. She pretty much had it all memorized to a T.
The only times we paused the movies were for bathroom breaks.
It turned out I needed a mental health day too. A day of magic and adventures, a day of being far, far away from clods.
Around three, it was time for me to go get Lorelai from school, which was sad, because Karla and I were absorbed in the movies.
Karla started to stand up, and I shook my head. “You don’t have to come. It will be a quick trip.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Dad doesn’t like me being left home alone. He doesn’t trust me.”
“Do you think you’ll be OK?” I asked.
“Of course, I’m not an idiot.”
“Well, OK then. If anything goes drastically wrong, call me. Let me put my name in your phone.”
She handed her phone over. “Wow. You must really want to get fired today.”
I smiled and tossed her cell phone back to her. “I’ll be back in a few.”
I headed off to Lorelai’s school, and when I pulled up to the pickup line, I saw the normally energetic little girl walking with her head down. I quickly put the car in park and headed over to Lorelai.
“Hey, buddy, what’s going on?” I asked, my gut filling with concern.
“Nothing. Just stupid Caroline,” she muttered, looking at a girl to her left who was talking to other kids their age.
“What happened with Caroline?”
Lorelai sniffled as she dragged her backpack against the sidewalk. “She just invited everyone to her super awesome birthday party except for me.”
“What? That’s impossible. I’m sure it was a misunderstanding, honey.”
She shook her head. “No. She said I wasn’t invited because I’m a weird freak who talks to myself.”
Well, that pissed me off.
I stood up straight and looked over to Caroline. Then I saw her mother call her over in the pickup line. “Wait right here, Lorelai. I’ll handle this.”
I jogged toward the parked car and called after the woman. “Excuse me! Excuse me!”
The woman perked up a bit, taken aback by my approach. She held her purse close to her side and gave me a tight smile. “Can I help you?”
“Hi, yes. I’m Eleanor, Lorelai’s nanny,” I said, gesturing toward Lorelai, who still had her head down in disappointment.
The woman looked over and grimaced. “Oh yes, the new nanny. I swear, that family goes through them faster than anyone. You’d think they’d figure out a way to keep someone on board for longer periods of time.”
I ignored her comment. “Yes, well, I just wanted to check in with you about a misunderstanding. It seems everyone in Lorelai’s class was invited to your daughter’s birthday party except for her, and I’m sure that was just a mistake.”
“Oh no, it wasn’t a mistake at all,” she said, pursing her lips together like a freaking prima donna. “She’s not invited.”
“What? That doesn’t even make sense. You were just at her birthday party with Caroline. Lorelai is a great girl.”
