Before we got to the room, the sound of screaming pierced the air. I winced but rushed forward, used to it. There was hardly a day at school without the sound. Griffin had hurried through a door at the onset of the scream, but when I got inside, he was standing still, looking down on the kid screaming on the floor.
Unsure of how to proceed, I looked at him and found him looking back at me. He seemed unsure himself, so I pushed my shoulders back and went to work.
Kneeling on the floor next to the screaming girl, I gently touched her back. “What’s wrong, honey?”
An older boy stepped forward, a matching scowl to his Daddy’s on his face. “She’s just a baby. Only babies cry like that.”
When Griffin didn’t step in to correct his son, I just shook my head at the boy. “I’ve known grown men who cry sometimes. It’s not a bad thing.”
His scowl deepened. “That’s dumb.”
Choosing to ignore him, I focused on the girl. “Caroline? That’s you, right? I’m Autumn. Can you talk to me?”
She flopped over onto her back and stared up at me with big green eyes and the cutest pout. “Jones pushed me.”
I looked over at the boy and saw his cheeks redden. “Jones? Is that true?”
“What do you care?”
“As your dad can tell you, I’m going to be here with you for the summer. So, I care. I care that your sister isn’t getting pushed around and I care that you’re not a boy who pushes people down.”
Jones looked up at his father and crossed his arms over his little chest. When Griffin nodded, the boy’s cheeks darkened even more, and then he stomped out of the room.
I looked up at Griffin, expecting him to follow Jones to talk to him, but he just stood there, watching me. It was almost like watching another clueless boy, ignorant to what he should or shouldn’t do. I’d seen plenty of parents like him, but it never annoyed me any less. Kids were just smaller people. They deserved conversation and communication, just as much as adults.
“Caroline, are you okay? Is anything hurt?” I smiled gently. “Besides your feelings? Sometimes, those are the most painful things people hurt, aren’t they?”
She sat up and nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, okay.”
She giggled at my silly joke and stood up, tears forgotten. “Can I show you my room? Are you my nanny? My friend, Katie, has a nanny. Her name is Margaret. Do you know Margaret?”
I stood up and scratched my head like I was thinking. “I’m not sure. Is she the Margaret with the tall pink hat who only walks backwards? Or the Margaret with the pack of cats that she walks every day?”
Laughing, Caroline took my hand and pulled at me. “Come on, silly; I have so many things to show you!”
I looked up at Griffin and tried to keep the frown off my face. “Where’s Grace?”
He stared down at his daughter for a moment before shoving his hands in his pockets. “With Con. He took her to see her mom for the day. He’ll be back tomorrow.”
I scooped Caroline into my arms. “That means I get more time to get to know you and Jones, then, doesn’t it?”
Instantly wrapping her arms around my neck like I wasn’t a complete stranger, she cheered. “Just me. Jones is in timeout.”
“Hmmm...” I looked up as I pretended to think. “I don’t remember putting anyone in timeout.”
“You did. I saw it.” Grinning, she wiggled to get down and ran out of the room. “Jones, you’re in timeout!”
“You’re not the boss of me, idiot!”
“I’m telling!” Caroline sprinted back into the room where I was still standing next to her dad and looked at me. “Jones called me a bad word.”
I glanced over at Griffin to see if he was going to step in at all, but it was clear that he wasn’t. I couldn’t help the way my eyebrow went up when he met my eyes. Shaking my head slightly, I hurried into the hallway. “Okay, we’re not going to call each other names, but we’re also not going to try to get our siblings in trouble on purpose.”
And it just...went like that. Caroline screamed and threw tantrums the moment things didn’t go her way. Some were even directed at me, with her pushing me away when I tried to comfort her. Jones hated me and made sure I knew it. It was an exhausting day of playing referee in between bouts of trying to get to know the kids.
At dinner, Greta called us over the intercom to come to the dining room. Griffin sat at the head of the table, waiting for us to show up, an annoyed look on his face. “The kids are to be at dinner, promptly.”
