Nina sighed and rolled over again. It was going to be a long, sleepless night. She could already feel it.
Nina woke earlythe next day to her alarm. She did a little yoga by the foot of the bed before showering and getting dressed for the day. Next door, Jack was just stirring when she came in, and she woke him with a hug and got him up and dressed. Then she took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for another awkward and tiring day. It was Saturday. Nina didn’t know what that meant for Theo — maybe he’d still work all day,or maybe he’d be at home. In the worst case, he’d be trying to work from home, and he’d be annoyed by every little noise, like yesterday.
In that case, Nina would take Jack for a picnic and day at the park or something. There was no way she’d spend another awkward day in this impersonal house with Theo hovering around the corner.
When Nina came downstairs, she was greeted by the smell of fresh coffee and something sweet. Before she could stop him, Jack ran ahead excitedly, skidding around the corner.
“Hey, mister!” she heard him call to Theo. She winced.
“Good morning, Jack,” Theo said. Nina came into the dining room, where Theo was unloading coffee in paper cups and clamshells of pancakes, sausages, bacon, and fruit. She blinked.
“Did you order all this?”
“Good morning, Nina,” Theo said. “Yes, I did. Kids like pancakes, right?”
“Yeah!” Jack said enthusiastically. Nina smiled slightly.
“We both do. Um, thank you.” She took a seat across from Theo and gratefully accepted the paper cup of coffee he slid across to her.
“I didn’t know how you take it, so there’s cream and sugar on the table,” he said. Nina took a sip and added a little of both. Then she drew one of the clamshells towards herself while Jack began taking eager bites of his own pancake, his legs kicking with happiness.
“This is really thoughtful of you,” Nina said. “I’m just wondering a little — why order? Pancakes are just about the easiest food to make.”
“I can’t cook,” Theo looked a little sheepish. “Practically at all. I can do pasta and sauce from a jar, or rice and frozen vegetables, but since I mostly don’t want to eat that, I have a personal chef who makes and delivers my meals each week; it’s worked well with my schedule so far. I’ll let her know I have a child staying with me now and ask her to start making more kid-friendly things, but that’ll only start on Monday. Until then, we can order food.”
Nina blinked. It was hard to imagine hiring a personal chef to make all one’s meals, but she supposed it was normal for people as wealthy as Theo. And it was nice of him to be willing to at least order food for Jack.
“That sounds very… convenient. You know, I’m also happy to cook a few meals a week while we’re here. I’m no personal chef, but I’m not bad, either.”
“Mom makes really good rice and beans,” Jack piped up.
“Thanks, buddy.” Nina ruffled his hair. “I can do other stuff, too.”
“If you’d like to, you’re welcome to cook anytime,” Theo said. “I don’t know how well stocked the kitchen is, but if you need something I don’t have, just let me know.”
“Thanks,” Nina said again. Theo really seemed to be making an effort to welcome her and Jack, which was very sweet and made her feel a little better about the whole situation. Plus, the pancakes were fluffy and delicious, the fruit was fresh, andthe bacon was crispy. She couldn’t complain about that. Maybe yesterday had been a fluke, and they could all start over today.
“I thought we could discuss some plans over breakfast,” Theo continued. Nina nodded, recognizing the shift to business.
“Sure.”
“I’ve scheduled an interview with Holyoke Academy on Monday at two p.m.,” Theo began. “It’s a family interview, of course, for this age. They’ll want to talk to Jack, but also to us, which means it’s our first big hurdle for our fake family.”
Nina nodded. “Sounds like it. Is the interview at the school?”
“No, they’ll come here.”
Nina’s eyes widened. “Here?”
“Is that a problem?”
“It’s just…” She looked around at the austere décor. “No one’s going to believe that a woman and child live here. No offense, but your style is very modern-bachelor, not very family-man. If an interviewer comes here, the house will sabotage our ruse before she asks a single question.”
Theo looked like he wanted to protest, but then he sighed. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked around. “I suppose you’re right. I just… It doesn’t matter. Fine. What do we need to change?”
“I think just adding a few homey touches would do it,” Nina said. “A lamp here or there, maybe, or some different curtains. Maybe a few pictures.”
“I give you full artistic license to do what you need to,” Theo said. “But please don’t do anything that can’t be undone.”
