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“The stuff. In your car. I ran to the school this morning and when I came home, I saw a suitcase in your back seat and some blankets and pillows.”
“Oh, that,” I say, chuckling. “That’s just…stuff that I…borrowed. From a friend of mine. I’m returning it today.”
He watches me for a long minute before nodding then heading out of the kitchen, retreating back into his office and leaving me letting out a long sigh of relief.
Not that it matters. Well, it shouldn’t matter. But it does. Especially now.
Who wants to hear that the person nannying their child is living illegally in a shady highway motel?
Not Colton, that’s for sure.
The guy might not be giving me angry looks around the clock anymore, but it’s still clear that he doesn’t like me, regardless of how great I am at taking care of his son.
So the next morning, I make sure everything is tucked inside my trunk instead of the back seat, that way Colton can’t get an eye on any of my belongings and asking any more questions.
“Look at you!”
Teddy beams at me as he floats on his back in the pool while my hands hover beneath him in the water to make sure he doesn’t sink.
“You’re floating all on your own!”
“I’m foating!” Teddy says, his little kid speak making me laugh.
This morning, the weather was so gorgeous and the pool looked so enticing that I decided it was time to get Teddy in the pool and see what he knows. He was very quick to tell me he’d only been in the pool one other time, so it was easy to infer he doesn’t know how to swim.
Well, welcome to Ms. Emily’s Toddler Swim Class.
I love to swim, the time in the water creating a place for me to escape from my very difficult, often overwhelming life. I was on my high school team, though I wasn’t quite good enough to transition into intercollegiate athletics at a DI school like UCSB.
But teaching kids is a breeze. And a blast.
The thing about teaching really young kids how to swim is how important it is to start with teaching them how to save themselves if they fall into the pool when they’re alone. Thankfully, the design of the Palmer back yard means Teddy can’t get into the pool area without a grownup’s help, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be an accidental situation where he falls into a pool somewhere else.
Which is why we’re working on floating.
Teddy is quickly mastering it, his little body floating on the top of the water without any kind of floatie assistance.
“What the hell are you doing?”
My head shoots up at the sound of Colton’s voice, the anger-infused tone a clear indicator that he’s not happy.
It’s the third time he’s snipped at me this week, and to be honest, I’m getting a bit sick of it.
“Teaching him how to float,” I reply with a smile and an upbeat cheer in my voice. “And look how good he’s doing!”
At the realization that his dad is watching, Teddy loses focus, his body dipping just slightly below the surface. But my hands are still there, so I grab hold of him and he clings to me, turning his head with a smile to his dad.
“I can foat!” he shouts with joy, splashing at the water as I hold him. “I foated, daddy!”
Looking up at Colton, I can see him arguing with himself.
“Come see me once he’s down for a nap” is all he says before storming off and back into the house.
“Did he see?” Teddy asks, watching his dad walk away. “I foated.”
“Fllllllloat,” I say, dragging out the el sound. “I fllllllloated.”
Teddy watches my mouth, seeing how my tongue touches my teeth, and tries to imitate it.
