Page 59 of Beautiful Small Things

“Yep, let’s go,” he says, standing and waiting for me to walk ahead. When I do, he places his hand on the small of my back. It’s a benign move he’s done for years, but this time when he does it, the warmth and pressure of his hand cause my stomach to erupt in butterflies.

Chapter twenty-three

The Sister Inquisition

James

The new plumber is here, and I could not be more excited. It’s finally coming together. Life is going to be somewhat back to normal soon.

I haven't heard from Iris in a couple of days, so I decided to call her. She answers on the second ring.

‘Hi, Jem,“ she says cheerily.

“Hey, Squirrel. How are you?”

“Good. Well, as good as I can be when actively reaching out of my comfort zone.”

“Do tell,” I say as I hear her laugh on the other end of the line.

“I don’t know what’s going on with me. Maybe it’s talking to you and my dad about when you were younger. I’m not sure. I just find myself more willing to take chances. I don’t want to miss out on anything.”

“I think that’s great,” I tell her. “What new chances are you taking?”

“I went on a date,” she says with what sounds like a smile.

“That’s fantastic!” I squeal. “With Orion?”

“No,” she sighs. “He’s still being complicated and mysterious.”

“That’s men for you,” I chuckle. “Well, did you have a good time?”

“I did,” she says. “We are going to be friends, but I’m still happy I went.”

“Me, too! How did your father react?”

She laughs before answering. “He was so silly. Acting protective and threatening poor Henry.”

“Well, cut him some slack. This is new for him, too.”

“I will,” she says. “While I have you on the phone, can I clarify a few things about your time as my nanny?”

I don’t particularly want to talk about this, but if it’s important to her and pertinent to her letter for the committee, I can do it.

“Sure. I have some time while the plumber takes care of some issues.”

“Great. So you were my official nanny for how long?” She asks.

“That’s a tricky question,” I reply. “I was just your nanny for about six months, and then I was dating your father and still your nanny for another six months or so.”

“Then you went to New York for several months?”

“Yep,” I answer curtly. This entire time in my life still stings, even though it was so long ago.

“Can you tell me about it?” She asks cautiously.

“When we were together?” I ask, slowly pacing in front of the mirrored walls.

“No, the part when you became my nanny,” Iris clarifies.