Jason
Willa wasn’t supposed to be home this early, but it’d be a good opportunity to throw April into the deep end of the pool, see if she could figure out how to swim.
As we made our way to the entry hall, I considered the fact that with April living here, I’d have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she didn’t accidentally discover the…other side of my business. I’d gotten used to keeping things hidden—we’d had other nannies, after all—but April seemed sharp, like nothing could get past her. Thankfully, Shauna would be around to keep April from finding out too much.
But that was something to worry about later. For now, I had a daughter who sounded upset.
“What’s wrong?” Shauna’s voice flowed up from the bottom of the stairs. I glanced over the railing, April at my side, to see what was going on.
Willa was down there, of course, her face bright red. She was dressed in the red-and-green tartan skirt and powder blue button-up uniform of Brinswaith Academy, the elite prep school where she’d been enrolled since she was a little girl.
“Uh-oh,” said April. “Someone doesn’t look happy.”
I nodded, and together the two of us hurried down the stairs. Willa locked her eyes onto us as we approached, her blue eyes shimmering with tears.
“The girls at school,” said Willa. “They were…they were jerks again.”
“How did you get home? Don’t tell me you walked—I’ve told you again and again how dangerous that is to be on your own like that.”
“The principal called you and left a message. You didn’t get it? And Randall picked me up.” She was referring to our driver.
I scowled, frustrated that I’d missed the call. I noticed that she held a folded piece of paper.
“What’s that?”
Willa said nothing.
I watched as Shauna attempted to comfort her. “Whatever’s going on, crying’s not going to help, OK?”
That didn’t do any good. Shauna made an attempt to soften her voice, but her words were sharp. She was a hell of a personal assistant, but she’d never had much of a way with Willa. I hoped April would be able to pick up the slack.
“It’s unfair!” exploded Willa. “The other girls are so mean to me, and when I finally stick up for myself, I get in trouble!” Her voice carried through the hall.
April stepped over to her and dropped to her knees, looking Willa in the eye.
“The other girls were mean to you?” asked April in comforting voice.
So far, so good.
Willa sniffled. “Yeah, and it’s not fair.”
I stepped in. “Why don’t we see what the letter says before we decide what is and isn’t fair.”
Willa turned her eyes to me, her blues flashing with anger. “You never take my side!”
“Of course I do,” I said. “But I want to know the whole story.”
I knew the words were a mistake as soon as they came out of my mouth. Willa shot me another hard glance before turning her attention back to April. It killed me to see her hurt like that, and I wished I could do something. But as much as I loved my daughter, I always seemed to have trouble getting through to her. I decided to let April take the lead, to see what she could do.
“How about this?”asked April. “Why don’t we go to the kitchen, and I’ll make you some chocolate milk. And then you can tell me all about what happened.”
Willa nodded slightly.
“We don’t want to reward her,” said Shauna quietly to me. “What if she did something wrong?”
“Let’s see what April has in mind.”
April rose and took Willa’s hand, and the two of them went into the kitchen. Shauna and I followed closely behind.