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“I’ll text her if you want,” Candy said. “Her name is Ava. Joey, do you remember her last name?”
“Gardner,” Big Mike said, and the older people laughed.
“It’s Adams, wise guy,” Roberta replied. “We served on the altar committee together at church. She’s been through a lot.”
“Oh no, I’d forgotten about that,” Big Mike said. “It’s too depressing.”
“Tell me,” Leon said. “Wait, Candy, maybe I’d better hear this story before you contact her.”
“Oops, too late,” Candy replied, holding up her phone.
“Her husband was killed in a plane crash a year or two ago, and when it happened, his ex-wife took back custody of their two children, whom Ava had been raising. She’d never adopted them because although the ex-wife wouldn’t relinquish her rights, she didn’t want custody of the girls either.”
“I sort of remember the story,” Leon said.
“It’s not the kind of thing guys would focus on,” Joey said. “I only know about it because Candy’s friendly with her now.”
“Uncle John knew of him,” Roberta said. “They weren’t close friends, but they knew each other from some car thing they both went to.”
“I don’t really have time to socialize,” Candy said. She was a medical student. “But we are friendly. Oh, she answered my text. Listen up. ‘Yes, I’m still looking for a nanny position.’”
“What do you think, Leon?”
“Should we ask her here?”
“That’s a good idea,” Roberta said. “Let her pass the gauntlet test.”
“She’s been through much worse,” Candy said.
“We’ll be nice,” Roberta replied.
“How old is she, anyway?” Leon asked.
“Too old for you to date,” Roberta snapped, the others laughing.
“Oh yeah, don’t date the nanny. If you break up, you lose your nanny. Not smart.”
“I don’t even know if I’m going to hire her,” Leon said, looking down at the sleeping baby. “It’s going to be weird leaving Violet when I go back to work.”
“Aw, he’s attached already.”
“It didn’t take long,” Leon replied, kissing Violet’s head.
“Okay, best behavior, everyone,” Candy announced, looking at her phone. “Ava Adams is on her way over.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said, leaving the room.
He wanted Violet to be presentable the first time she met her possible nanny. Back in his bedroom, he sorted through the clothing again and found a little white knit outfit with pants, and a long-sleeved shirt with pink hearts embroidered on the front. He washed her again, and this time she didn’t scream. She began to gnaw on her fists, sucking on her fingers.
“You’re so cute. Baba time,” Leon said softly.
The family sat around the table, nibbling on snacks and drinking wine before dinner, when he returned with the baby.
“Aw, that’s a cute outfit,” the women echoed.
“She came with bags of clothes I have to go through.”
Then a knock on the door.
