I smile, despite everything. “Yeah. We can get pizza.”
“With the stringy cheese?”
“With all the stringy cheese.”
She sits up, apparently satisfied with this negotiation, and wipes at her face with the back of her hand. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
She climbs off my lap and goes back to her corner, picking up a stuffed rabbit that’s seen better days. I watch her for a second, this small person who’s been through too much and doesn’t know how to process any of it. Neither do I, honestly.
I stand up, my knees protesting again. “I need to make some phone calls. You gonna be alright in here for a bit?”
She nods, already distracted by the rabbit.
I head back to the kitchen and immediately reach for the phone on the wall.
Maria picks up on the third ring. “What?”
“Good morning to you, too.”
“I’m at the restaurant. We’ve got a lunch rush coming and I’m elbow-deep in tzatziki. What do you want?”
“Tracy quit.”
There’s a pause. “Again?”
“It was the first time for her specifically, but yes, again in the general sense.”
“Leo.”
“I know.”
“That’s six nannies in six months.”
“I’m aware. I can count.”
“What happened?”
“Emma threw a plate at her head.”
Maria sighs. “Was it at least a small plate?”
“It was plastic.”
“Well, that’s something.” I can hear noise in the background—pots clanging, someone shouting in Greek. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I have to teach in two hours and I have no one to watch her.”
“Can’t you cancel?”
“No. It’s the first lecture of the semester and I can’t miss it.”
Another sigh. “Bring her to the restaurant.”
“Maria—”
“What else are you going to do? Bring her. Ma will watch her.”
