Page 5 of What I Needed

After I patted her back for a minute, her soft cries became sniffles until she eventually fell asleep. Her breath hitched a few times, and it was the cutest thing ever. River hadn’t touched his food because he was too busy watching us.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“I didn’t do anything special. Sometimes, it’s about your energy. When she cries, do you feel anxious?”

“Hell yeah.”

I handed her back to him, and he placed her in her car seat.

“She can feel your anxiousness.”

“You think so?”

“I’m pretty sure. I took a few childcare classes in high school, and that was one of the things we learned.”

“That’s good to know. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy your dinner.”

I got back to work, checking on him every so often to see if he needed anything. When he was ready to pay the bill, he asked me if he could talk to me for a moment. I looked around for my boss, and when I didn’t see him, I sat on the other side of the booth.

“If I get caught, my boss will give me a hard time, so please hurry,” I told him.

“I guess I’ll cut to the chase. I need a nanny.”

“Excuse me?”

“I need a nanny, like yesterday.”

“And you’re telling me because . . .”

“I think you’d be perfect,” he responded with confidence.

“You don’t even know me.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty.”

“Do you have a criminal record?”

I frowned. “What? No.”

“I already saw that you're good with kids. Do you love this job?”

I looked around to see if any of my coworkers or my boss were within earshot.

“I hate it, but it pays the bills.”

“Erissa! This isn’t social hour! We got customers waiting!” my boss, Aaron, shouted.

I knew he’d be looking for me sooner rather than later. This job wouldn’t be so bad if Aaron wasn’t such an asshole. The food was good, the customers rarely caused any problems, and although my coworkers weren’t the friendliest, they weren’t mean.

My boss was the only person who made working here insufferable most days. I thought when he promoted me to assistant manager, he would treat me with a little more respect, but nothing had changed. In fact, his attitude might have gotten worse.

“I gotta get back to work. Are you ready to pay?”

He gave me his card for payment, and as I went to the register, I looked at the name on the front. River Westmore. It didn’t ring a bell, but I filed his name in the back of my mind to look up later. When I returned, he took his card and placed something in my hand. I looked down and saw a huge wad of cash.