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“Cheese crackers for Eli,” I say in a singsong voice kids usually like. “Do you want to help me make them?”
Eli’s green eyes widen. “I can help? Daddy never lets me help,” he says excitedly.
“I think we can work something out. Will you be okay here for a moment, Maggie?” I ask.
She waves a hand dismissively and turns the channel to some show about horses and unicorns. I’m not going to win her over in a day, that’s for sure.
Eli follows me to the kitchen, and I set up a chair for him to stand on. I take out some shredded cheese from the fridge and crackers from the pantry.
Eli starts eating the cheese, but I’ve learned in early education to pick my battles, so I let him have a couple of tiny handfuls before I take it from him.
“Spread the crackers around on the plate,” I tell him, and he does so, fumbling a little and spilling some.
He looks down at the floor, dismayed. “I made a mess.”
I chuckle. “That’s okay. We all make messes. We’ll clean it up after we’re done,” I say easily and he gives me another sweet smile.
He looks so much like his father it’s almost eerie, especially when he smiles.
I let Eli press the button for one minute on the microwave and he bounces around excitedly until it’s done.
“They’re hot,” I say. “Don’t touch.”
He nods solemnly and puts his hands behind his back. I pick him up and put him on the floor and take the plate of crackers, carrying the box under my arm and a can of ginger ale in my other hand.
Maggie eats a few crackers and drinks her ginger ale before she conks out again. I guess that being sick that morning really tired her out. Eli and I play trains and watch television, and time goes by so quickly I don’t even think about eating myself.
I’m surprised when Derek opens the door, not realizing that so much time has passed.
I haven’t even cleaned up the spilled crackers, so I stand up and smile sheepishly.
“I made a bit of a mess in the kitchen,” I say. “I’ll clean it up.”
Derek looks around at Maggie, who’s woken up and is coloring on the floor while Eli and I put together a train track, and he offers me a big smile.
It lights up his whole face and makes him look ten years younger, and I feel myself blushing.
I feel kind of bad that he paid me five grand for just a few hours, but Derek looks happy and picks up Eli to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“How you feeling, Magpie?” he asks, and Maggie gives him a little smile.
“Crackers and ginger ale made me feel better,” she says, and that’s the most glowing recommendation I could have hoped from her.
“I made cheese crackers. In the microwave!” Eli says excitedly, and Derek chuckles.
“I know it’s not the healthiest snack,” I say hesitantly, but Derek shakes his head.
“You did well, Kenna. Thank you so much. I was able to get a lot of work done, and I appreciate you staying on such short notice.”
He pulls out his wallet and hands me two hundred-dollar bills, but I shake my head.
“You’ve already given me so much,” I start.
“No, please take it. You deserve it,” he says. “Usually by now the nanny would have already quit, but you have a way with them.”
I take the money reluctantly. How much does hemake? Derek reaches into his briefcase and hands me a multi-page contract. “The contract extends just for six months, just in case you end up finding something else,” he explains. “I hope you find the salary to be decent.”
My eyes bulge out of my sockets when I see how many zeroes my six month salary has. “Are...are you sure?”
