I finally manage to get a word in edgewise. “Bug, she’s yournanny,remember? We’re gonna hang out with Ivy for a couple weeks, make sure everything goes well, and then take it from there, okay?”
Lilah is still bouncing up and down, and I know she didn’t hear a single word I just said. Just as I’m about to ask her to calm down so we can show Ivy the house, Ivy takes both of Lilah’s hands in hers and starts jumping up and down as well.
Lilah bursts into a fit of giggles, and all I can do is stare.
What have I gotten myself into?
I eventually remember my mom is here with us, and glance over to her still standing in the doorway. She’s also taking in the sight of the two jumping girls, like it’s the best thing she’s ever seen. Her gaze slices to mine, and she grins.
“Ivy, you’ve met my mom before,” I say, gesturing toward the door.
The girls stop jumping, but stay connected by a single hand. Lilah simply follows Ivy’s lead and goes still without Ivy having to say a word. I blink, shocked.
My mom steps over the threshold and wraps Ivy up in a big hug. “Ivy, honey, I’m so happy this worked out,” she says into Ivy’s cloud of hair.
“Hi Mrs. Cooper. It's good to see you. Me too,” Ivy replies, hugging her just as hard.
“Oh please, call me Maggie. Mrs. Cooper was my mother-in-law. Don’t put me in the same basket as that witch.”
Ivy tosses her head back and actually cackles. “Maggie. Got it.” She steps back from their hug and looks over at me.
“Well, we’ll see if it works out, we're doing a trial basis.” I say—a little harsher than I intended.
Ivy’s smile falters just a bit before she quickly recovers. Seeing it makes my chest squeeze, and that irritates me, so I keep my stoic expression. Why the hell do I care? I glance at my mom, and she looks like she wants to smack me. I don’t blame her.
Lilah's hand is still gripping Ivy’s while Burrito dangles from the other. She looks up at Ivy and offers, “I’m Delilah Mae and I’m four.” She’s so excited she’s practically vibrating.
Ivy looks down at the sound of Lilah’s little voice and lets out a small gasp.
“Oh my god, Delilah? My m–”
“Do you like dragons?” Lilah cuts in.
Ivy scoffs. “Who doesn’t?”
That seems to set off another round of jumping from my four-year-old.
“Okay, okay, bug let’s settle down and get inside to show Ivy around. Then she can come back and have all day with you tomorrow, okay?” I say, reaching my hand out for her to grab so I can bring her inside.
She completely disregards my outstretched hand.
“Yes!” My tiny dictator fist pumps the air. “C’mon Iby! I’ll show you my room, you can sleep in there!”
Her pronunciation of thevin Ivy’s name makes absound, and I have to admit, it’s really fucking cute. Delilah pulls Ivy through the front door and starts down the hall toward her room.
Step one will be explaining this arrangement in great detail to my daughter, so she doesn’t try and strong-arm Ivy into sleeping on her toy riddled floor. Step two is to convince my brain that our new nanny is very off-limits and not an option for me, so I need to keep my eyes and hands to myself. Step three, follow step two.
I finally step inside the house, then turn to say goodbye to my mom and thank her for her help today. Leaning a forearm on the door jamb, I grip the edge of the door with my other hand to close it.
“What?” I ask, noticing she’s sporting a shit-eating grin on her face.
The smile reaches all the way up to her eyes. “Oh, nothing at all.” She snickers, then moves down the porch steps, making her way up the road toward her house.
“Don’t,” I practically growl after her.
She lets out the most evil laugh I think I’ve ever heard from her.
“Have fun! Use Protection!” she calls over her shoulder.
