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Sighing, I picked up my phone. “I’m not sure we should call her. I really think you should wait for your daddy.”
She tapped the screen with her fingers. “So I can see, CJ. Pease.”
I studied her eyes, the green glimmering with the potential of meltdown tears, and her pouty lips. Would it really hurt to ask her grandma if she was available? “Okay, I’ll text her and ask if she can talk. That’s the best I can do. If she can’t, then you’ll have to wait for your daddy to get home.”
The self-satisfied smirk that slid onto her face made me want to either laugh or take back my offer. I wasn’t really sure which one.
Hello. This is CJ, Lexi’s manny. She wants to call you. I think she wants you to see the rainbow she drew. I told her I’d ask, but I also told her that she might have to wait for her daddy to get home, so no pressure.
My phone rang immediately, so I put it on speaker. “Hello.”
“Hi, CJ, this is Lorraine, Lexi’s Nana. Can we do a video call? I’d love to see her picture.”
“Nana,” the little girl called, trying to see the phone screen. The perturbed pout when her grandma’s face wasn’t there was comical.
“I think we’d better now,” I said, laughing. “I’ll have a two-year-old mutiny on my hands if I don’t.” I got us all set up, and then Kevin’s mom’s face appeared on the screen. She was lovely, with silver-streaked hair and a wide smile. I saw immediately where the father-daughter duo had inherited their eye color. “Hello, Lorraine. I’m CJ. It’s nice to officially meet you.”
Grabby hands reached for my phone as she responded, so I set Lexi in her chair and let her talk to her grandmother. She talked so fast that it was virtually impossible to make heads or tails of the stories spilling out of her mouth, but Lorraine worked most of it out on her own, and what she couldn’t, I filled in. Finally, the little miss had shown her picture and exhausted her words. “Bye, Nana.” She shoved the phone into my hands and jumped off her chair, running to her playroom.
“Walk.” Lexi slowed down, and I lifted the phone to see Lorraine’s smiling face. “I guess she’s done for today.”
Lorraine shook her head. “She’s a little tornado.”
“That she is.”
“Thank you so much for calling me. We usually do a video call over the weekend, but I miss her face during the week.” Her face fell, and my heart went out to her.
“You live in Florida, right?”
She grimaced. “I do. My late husband and I moved down here about ten years ago for his health.”
Kevin had made little comments about his mother here and there during dinner, but I hadn’t realized he’d lost his father. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She forced a smile. “Thank you. It’s been hard without him. I’m just glad he lived long enough to spend time with our girl. Knowing that Kevin was a father gave him peace. And she brought him so much joy before he passed.”
My nosy ass wanted to ask why that gave him peace, but I was the hired help. It was none of my business unless Kevin shared it with me. He might not be thrilled I called his mom in the first place, so he definitely wouldn’t be happy if he found out I’d been twenty questioning her about his life. “I bet she did. She’s a wonderful girl.”
The faraway look left Lorraine’s eyes as she focused in on me. “So tell me a little about yourself, CJ.”
A quick check into the playroom showed Lexi vrooming around with her trucks, so I sat back. “There’s not really a lot to say, honestly.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Twenty-six.”
“How long have you been a manny?”
“Since I was eighteen.”
“Is this what you always wanted to do?”
I bit back a snort. I didn’t want to twenty-question her, but apparently, she wasn’t having that same problem. Of course, her precious grandchild was in my care so that made sense. “Not originally. I actually only planned to babysit while I was in college. I discovered that I loved it, and here we are.”
She leaned into the phone, her face taking up the whole screen. “So tell me, CJ. Are you gay?”
“Mom!” Kevin yelled from behind me.
I hadn’t even heard him arrive home, so I jumped in my seat, fumbling my phone. “Jesus, you scared me.” Lorraine’s laughter reminded me that she was still there, so I lifted the phone back up. “Sorry. And the answer to your question is bisexual.”
