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At the same time, I could see Libby responding to her much better than I had expected she would. I knew my daughter was headstrong, and I knew she would test Erin at times, but I did talk to her before she met Erin and asked that she behave.
“I’ll be nice if she’s nice to me,” Libby had said.
I didn’t push it.
The dinner went well Friday night, and Saturday was a nice day spent at the house. For the most part, the two of them seemed to get along very well.
“Do you have homework on the weekends?” Erin asked when Libby came out of her room about ten o’clock on Saturday morning.
I was sitting at the table in the dining room, and there was coffee brewing in the kitchen when Erin had come out of her room about half an hour before. She and I didn’t have a lot to say to each other besides the typical good morning greeting, then she insisted on getting her own coffee and sat across the table from me.
She then became absorbed in her phone, and I did the same with my own. I wanted to talk, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. By the time I figured I would just ask her about her life, Libby came out and Erin dove into conversation with her.
I wasn’t sure if she was relieved to have Libby to talk to, or if she just wanted to keep building their relationship, but she didn’t hesitate to start with the questions.
“Sometimes,” she said. “Not usually. Teacher says I’m ahead of the rest of the class, so I spend a lot of time helping the other kids.”
“I know how that is,” Erin said. “I was the same way when I was in school.”
“It’s boring.”
“What do you like to do in your free time?” Erin asked, diving right into another topic.
“I like my American Girls dolls, but only that kind. The rest are for babies.”
“Can I see them?”
“They’re put away right now,” Libby said.
I winced slightly when she cut Erin off. I had been in her room just the night before, and I knew her dolls weren’t put away. But I wasn’t going to embarrass her by calling her out on her fib in front of Erin. I figured right away this was one of the ways Libby was testing the waters with her new “assistant,” as I called Erin.
“Okay,” Erin said. “Maybe next time?”
“Are you coming back next time?” Libby asked. “Dad said you were going to stay for two days, but you might not be coming back.”
“Do you want me to come back?” Erin asked.
Once again, my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t expect the two to be so direct with each other, but it seemed Erin was both respectful of Libby and her desires, but also treated her as though she really did matter. I hadn’t seen that a lot with other nannies and the way they treated the kids in their care; I appreciated it about Erin.
“I like you,” Libby said. “I’m just afraid you’re not going to come back.”
“I’ll come back if you want me to come back,” Erin said. “And, of course, if your dad wants me to come back too.”
“I do,” I said. “If you think this is going to be a good fit for the next few months, I’ll hire you officially. I can write up the paperwork for the legal purposes, and you can sign it when you come back down next weekend. How does that sound?”
“That’s fine with me,” she said with a smile. “No rush.”
“I like to do things by the book,” I said. “So, I’ll have them ready. Although, I will pay you in cash this weekend, so you don’t have to worry about factoring that into any of your taxes or anything this coming season.”
“You already paid for my ticket and everything while I was here,” she argued. “I would say that’s enough for the weekend pay.”
“No, no, no,” I insisted. “I hired you to come down here and help us out, so I’m going to pay you for the work you’ve done. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do anything for free.”
“I don’t,” she said. “But hey, I’m also not going to argue if you insist on giving me money.”
“As your employer, you shouldn’t argue with me anyway. I’m sure you get away with that a lot with your father, but I would like you to avoid arguing with me in front of my daughter. I’m not asking when I tell you something,” I announced.
“Right, sorry,” Erin said, clearly embarrassed for the reprimand in front of Libby. “I’ll take the money if you would like.”
