She gave him one of those adorable, dimpled grins. “I like to eat. And I prefer living in a house to roughing it on the street in a cardboard box.”
Victor scowled, even though he knew she was just jerking his chain. “Answer the question. You said before starting as Pip’snanny, you worked fourteen-hour days. And I’ve seen the hours you put in for my sister. You take full-time employment to a whole new level.”
She giggled despite the fact he wasn’t joking.
“I love Vivian and Pip. To be perfectly honest, Vivian’s house is the first place that’s ever really felt like a home to me.”
That caught him off guard. “Where’s your family?” It was probably way late in their association to ask that question, but it was just occurring to him that she never talked about her family or—as far as he knew—spent holidays with them. She’d been a part of his and Vivian’s “Team Christmas” since Pip was born.
“They’re everywhere,” she replied. “I was the youngest of nine kids, so by the time I came along, Mom and Dad were sort of over it all. My three oldest siblings were already out of the house by the time I was born, so they always felt more like glorified aunts and uncles than brothers and sisters. When I was a baby, my thirteen-year-old sister, Flora, was my primary caregiver, because my mother had some complications following my birth that meant she was bedridden, recovering for several weeks after. When Mom was finally able to get up and do stuff, she just sort of…let Flora keep tending to me.”
Victor’s expression must have been darker than he realized, because her eyes widened briefly as she held up her hands.
“Don’t get me wrong. My parents loved me, and I loved them. It’s just…” She shrugged. “With so many kids, all different ages, living in a too-small house, it was easy to get overlooked. When I graduated from high school, Mom and Dad were more than ready to be empty nesters, so they gave me five hundred dollars for a deposit on an apartment.”
“They kicked you out? Ateighteen?” he asked, aghast.
Belle laughed. “Don’t look so scandalized. It wasn’t like they kicked me out on the street that same day. It took me a couple months to figure out my work situation. I’d been working part-time at the coffee shop and preschool during my junior and senior years, so my bosses were willing to give me more hours and set my schedule up so I could keep both jobs.
“After that, Mom and I went apartment hunting together. She and my dad and my siblings all helped me move in, and they furnished it with stuff from their homes that they didn’t need. I took my bedroom set from home, and a couple of my sisters filled my kitchen cabinets with hand-me-down pots and pans and dishes. My oldest brother, Jimmy, had an old TV in a guest room he let me have, and so on. With the exception of the couch and chair, which I bought at Goodwill, my family provided everything else I needed.”
Victor guessed that all sounded okay, but he still hated the idea of an eighteen-year-old girl living alone in Baltimore, working such long hours. There was no way in hell he would have kicked Vivian out, and Pip would have a room in his house until the day he died.
“You see your family much?” Victor asked.
Belle shrugged again. “Mom and Dad bought an RV and hit the open road about ten minutes after getting me settled. A couple of my siblings still live in Baltimore, but they’re the older ones who I never really spent a lot of time with growing up. Flora moved to California with her wife. We FaceTime every now and then, but she never comes back, and I’ve never really had the time or money to fly there to visit. Between Flora and I were three brothers, and while they were all close to each other, I was considered too young to be included in their games. There were five years between me and the next youngest, Bill, and while Mom never said it, I’m sure I was a major oopsie.”
“There’re six years between me and Vivian, and she’s my best friend.” Victor hadn’t really intended to admit something so personal, but he was struggling to understand siblings who didn’t make time to see each other.
Belle twisted slightly in her chair so that she was facing him more fully. “She says the same about you. I’m not going to lie, I’m very jealous of your relationship.”
Victor was sorry he’d shone a light on himself, because he was shit when it came to talking about personal stuff. Besides, now that she’d started sharing details about her life, he wanted more. He wanted to know it all. “I can see why you’re happy at Viv’s. Her house is pretty homey, I guess, if you don’t mind dealing with four million fucking throw pillows.”
Belle laughed loudly as she threw her head back. “Oh my God! Seriously. That woman has an addiction to pillows. I swear it takes her a full hour to change them according to the season or holiday, with special pillows for every room in the house and a big-ass closet dedicated to storing them when they aren’t in use. I remember the first time I saw that closet.” Belle shuddered dramatically.
“Bet you considered making a break for it, because only a lunatic owns that many fucking pillows. I swear to God, it takes me twenty minutes to shove the pillows aside so I can sit down on her couch. Always feel like I’m in danger of suffocating.”
Belle tilted her head, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “I might have had some concerns she was a serial killer or something, because it really was over-the-top. Now, though, I kind of like them. And…” She paused for dramatic effect, and suddenly Victor understood where Pip had learned that trick. “I helped her set up an organizational schematic for storing them. Complete with a?—”
“List,” they both said in unison.
“She dragged you to the dark side,” Victor grumbled.
“Completely,” Belle said, unembarrassed. “My bedroom growing up was tiny, with only enough room for a single bed and a dresser. When I needed a desk for homework, I used the dining room table. The apartment I moved into after highschool was small too, everything in one room with the exception of the bathroom. The walls were paper thin, so I could hear the neighbors’ TV, as well as my own, and I was privy towaytoo many of their early-morning fights about whose turn it was to walk the dog. Moving into Vivian’s house felt like a dream. My bedroom there is bigger than my whole apartment was, and it’s just so clean and warm and inviting. I thank my lucky stars every single day that Phil picked me to be Pip’s nanny.”
One of the few stories Victor did know about Belle’s past was how she came to be the nanny. How she’d made Phil’s Americanos for several years, and how much she’d impressed him with her work ethic. It was the one thing Vivian had said over and over during those first few weeks after Pip’s birth, when he’d eventually expressed concern over a relative stranger not only moving in but being charged with his beloved, tiny niece’s care. Vivian reassured Victor that if Phil trusted Belle, then they could too. It turned out, Phil had been right.
Victor considered everything she’d said, then recalled the way this conversation had started. “So what things are you thinking about doing now that you have the time?”
Belle leaned forward just slightly, giving him the impression she was about to impart some big secret. “I want to start dating.”
“Start?” Victor said, frowning. “You’ve never dated before?”
“Oh no,” she said, waving her hand. “I don’t mean it like that. Of course, I’ve dated before. I had a couple somewhat serious boyfriends in high school, and I went out with another one of the baristas at the coffee shop for the better part of a year before we realized we were better off as friends. It’s just…” She paused for a moment. “Since starting as Pip’s nanny, I haven’t bothered going out and meeting anyone. At first, I was just trying to keep my head above water, learning how to be a nanny as I went along. And you remember how difficult that first year was,” she said quietly, alluding to Vivian straddling the line between newmother and new widow. Victor was still in awe of just how fucking strong and amazing his sister was.
“I remember,” he muttered.
“I didn’t want to leave her or Pip alone because they needed me. And I like being needed.”
