“Brittany!” the kids called in unison.
I turned to see the two of them galloping across the foyer with huge smiles on their faces, clearly not having listened to me.
“Hi, you guys!” Brittany sang and crouched with her arms out.
Karli blew straight past me and launched herself at her old nanny. Brittany wrapped her in a hug. “Oh, I miss you already!”
I knew in that moment, which I really had known all along but had never seen it on full display, there were people on the earth who were meant to work with children, and I was not one of them.
Kaden danced around them in a circle, bouncing on his toes like he was waiting his turn for a hug too. Brittany beamed at them both and squeezed them tight. The sight actually made me smile.
My smile snapped out like a light when I heard a voice behind me.
“What’s going on?” Melanie asked.
“Mom! Brittany came back!” Kaden shouted.
Melanie approached with a towel hung around her neck. A light sheen of sweat glistened her brow. She dabbed at it as a tight smile stretched her lips.
“I see that, sweetie, and what a … surprise!” Her laugh was a few degrees above frigid.
I stepped back on reflex.
Brittany set Karli on the ground and smoothed her shirt. “Hi, Melanie. I’m not staying. I just came by to drop something off.” She extended the books. We had crossed into very hot water very quickly.
Any explanation would circle back to a lie I had told to one or the other of them. Plus, I didn’t want to get into the details of why I’d fled the bookstore and left the books behind.
“Oh?” Melanie said with a tilt of her head like she couldn’t wait for the explanation I was rapidly forming in my head.
For a moment, I considered if feigning ignorance was a viable option. Perhaps I could claim I had no idea who Brittany was, and it was all a mistake.
I decided a version of the truth was the safest route.
“Yes,” I said. “I got a gift for the kids yesterday, and I met Brittany. We got to talking and found out we have a lot in common.” I chose my words carefully so as not to call their mother out for firing their nanny in front of her kids. Although, perhaps they already knew.
Melanie eyed the wrapped books, clearly distilling there was more to the story. “And Brittany is … delivering them for you?”
I was skating on a frozen lake, which could crack at any second. I would plunge into the icy black water and drown. I was usually so quick on my feet; lies were second nature. But something about Melanie had me scrambling for the correct thing to say.
Or maybe it wasn’t completely Melanie. Maybe it was because the truth about the day before and the books I had left behind was still too terrifying to fully think about.
“I am,” Brittany chimed in. “We were out of wrapping paper at the store, so I told her I’d bring them over this morning once we got more and I had the chance to wrap them.”
I threw her the sincerest look of gratitude to ever fill my face. I couldn’t say why she’d covered for me, but I took the pass, and assumed Brittany knew how to behave around Melanie better than I did. The lie had to be better than explaining I had abandoned the books when I’d been chased out the door.
Melanie’s face held a forced grin as her eyes narrowed. “That’s right, you work at Sweet Briar now, don’t you?” The wordsbecause I fired yousomehow managed to be silent and deafening at the same time.
“I do,” Brittany said with a tight smile. “Well, I need to get going. It was great to see you guys!” She ruffled Karli’s and Kaden’s hair with each of her hands and turned off the porch.
Luckily, I had the distraction of the gifts to give the kids to avoid the pending awkward confrontation with their mother. I squatted down in front of them and tucked the books behind my back. “Guess what? I got you guys something.”
They both bounced up and down in excitement.
I whipped them out and saw Brittany, bless her, had put a sticker with the right name on the right book. I handed them over to delighted squeals.
“Kids, why don’t you go open your gifts in the playroom,” Melanie said. “Mommy needs to talk to Lauren for a minute.” The tone of her voice sent a chill up my spine. I almost opted to throw myself in the children’s way to stop them from leaving me alone with their mother.
They ran off with their shiny packages like little traitors.
