Page 2 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
Fuck, no.
“No, angel face. I think she’s fine, and she’ll be here with her family for Thanksgiving, and we’ll be in Paris with ours.”
“Yeps. And I’ll be the flower girl. And my Beefcake will carry the rings and walk with me.”
My nephew Cutler liked to go by his handle, “Beefcake,” which Melody seemed convinced was his real name.
“Yep,” I said, kissing her cheek and setting her down on the floor. “I’ve got to go meet the new nanny and see if we like her.”
“I like her, Daddy.”
I laughed. “You’ve never met her, so how do you know?”
“’Cause Uncle Bridger told me she’s a big provement.” She shrugged.
Fucking Bridger.
My brother and cousins had all given me shit for keeping Mrs. Dowden employed for as long as I had.
But they weren’t wrong. It was time for a change.
“We’ll see. If it works out, I’ll have her come back and meet you today, all right? If not, I’ve got my feelers out to find someone else.”
“Melody, why is your daddy so tall?” Bernice Warner asked as she tipped her head all the way back and pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose as she looked at me.
“He said he was born this way,” Melody said.
“Wow,” Bernice gasped. “Your daddy must have been a very big baby.”
I chuckled. “Hey, Bernice.”
“God doesn’t create us all equally, does he, Archer?” Sarah Lynn Schwartz walked over, and I tried not to wince. The woman was relentless, and her daughter Justine was in Melody’s class, so there was no escaping her. She tweaked Melody’s nose, her voice a little too sugary sweet for me. “He shined his light a little brighter on your daddy.”
“Daddy, you’ve got the lights shining all over you?” Melody asked.
I sighed. “Hi, Sarah Lynn. How are you?”
I tried to avoid her most mornings at drop-off, but she always seemed to be there when we’d arrive.
“Well, I’m still single and waiting for that phone call.” She laughed a little too loudly. “Hey, I’m free right now for coffee, if you want to go?”
“Aren’t you a shameless flirt,” Bethany Jordan said. Her son Tommy was also in kindergarten and a friend of Melody’s. “You’re supposed to have coffee with me this morning.”
Thankfully the bell rang, and I gave Melody one last kiss on the cheek and told her to get to her seat before turning to the two women standing in front of me. “I’ve got a meeting to get to. You ladies enjoy your coffee.”
Sarah Lynn shouted out for me to call her as I hustled out of there.
Once I was in my truck, I turned on the wipers to clear off my windshield just as my phone rang, and Bluetooth announced an incoming call from my mother.
“Hey, Mama,” I said.
Her voice came through the speaker. “Hi, honey. Are you meeting with the new nanny this morning?”
My family had been urging me to get more help for months. My business was taking off, and balancing work and being a single dad didn’t leave time for much else.
I wasn’t complaining. I loved being with my daughter, but the reality was that I couldn’t be in two places at the same time, and I needed help.
“Yes. I’m meeting her at the office now.”
