Chapter Sixteen
Rachel
“Hello, thank you for calling All Four Seasons Art Gallery, this is Rachel speaking,” I said into the phone.
“Hi, Rachel. I’m Mark Summers, and I’m calling on behalf of my client Ryan Jacobson. He’s supposed to have a show there next weekend, and I just wanted to make sure everything is in order. He’s supposed to have three large pieces with him, and I want to make sure you have the accommodations for that.”
“Of course. James is out of the office right now, though he’ll be back shortly. I’m his new assistant, so I’m not certain of all the details, and I would hate to give you the wrong answer. So, let me check in with him as soon as he comes back, and have him give you a call,” I said.
“Thank you, Rachel. Can you make sure my message gets to him this time?” he said.
This wasn’t the first time a client had said this to me. Janice had obviously built up a reputation for herself, and for James. I laughed, “Please don’t worry; I’ll make sure to let him know.”
“Thank you. It’s just that the last few times I called, my messages were never actually delivered to him and I had to email him several times just to get a response.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. Please don’t judge James too harshly on that though. He was just trying to be nice and give his former assistant a job, and she failed miserably at it, despite his efforts to coach her along,” I said. I was hoping to make the man feel a little more confident in both James and myself.
“I don’t judge James on that. Thank you, Rachel. I do feel better about things. Have a nice day,” he said and hung up the phone.
As I was hanging up the phone, James and Nell walked into the gallery.
“Hi, Nell. How was school today?” I asked her. Instead of running over to me, she just walked slowly. Her head was kind of droopy, and she looked like she just didn’t feel well at all.
“It was okay,” she said, then sat down on one of the couches.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked her.
“She seemed a little off this morning when I took her to school, and it seems like it just got worse over the course of the day,” James said.
I looked at Nell, “What’s wrong?”
“I just don’t feel good,” she said. “But I still want you to come over.”
I gave her a small smile and looked at James.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.
“But Daddy, I want Rachel to come over,” Nell whined.
“But you’re feeling sick, so it’s probably not the best idea,” James said.
Nell looked really sad, and I wished there was something I could do for her. But I wasn’t going to overstep. Not now. I had to listen to what James wanted. He was her father after all. Nell looked at me like she wanted me to do something, and I felt like my hands were tied.
“I’ll be up in my office if you need me,” James said, and then he walked off and headed up the stairs.
I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Nell, who looked really sad. I placed my wrist on her forehead and felt that she was a little warm.
“You do feel just a little warm, but it doesn’t feel like a fever,” I said.
“If it’s not a fever then you should come over,” Nell said.
“Yeah, but you should be getting rest, sweetheart. I can come over another time,” I said.
“But I want you to come over tonight,” Nell said.
I loved how much she wanted me to come over, but I didn’t want to step on toes. Especially not with this.
“But I want you to take care of me. My daddy doesn’t know how to take care of me; he would never check my forehead like that,” Nell said. It all just broke my heart, because I could tell she was craving some sort of female attention. She just wanted somebody to take care of her. Someone that had the female touch. This was a little girl who missed her mom, whether she remembered her much or not.
“Well, maybe I can come over for a little while, just to take care of you tonight. But we have to talk with your dad first.” I said.
Nell nodded her head. I told her to stay put, and I’d be right back in just a couple of minutes. I went upstairs and knocked on the open door much as I had done before. It made me wonder if he ever closed it, because since I’d worked there, it hadn’t been closed, not even once.
“Hey,” James said, “You can come in.”
“Hey, I was thinking. Nell said she really wants me to come over and take care of her.” I felt nervous. My hands were sweating, and my heart was racing. I wasn’t sure if that had to do with asking him if I could take care of Nell, or was simply from being around him.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“She said she thinks I could take care of her better,” I said with a laugh. To make sure that he knew I was only kidding and wasn’t trying to say anything bad. “I think it may be a scam,” I said, smiling.
“Well, I guess that’s actually true. I really don’t know what I’m doing half the time,” he said to me suddenly. It took me by surprise because it was such a big revelation from him.
“That’s okay. I think that’s part of it,” I said.
“I know,” he said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn’t.
“Listen, Nell feels a little warm; do you happen to have any Tylenol?” I asked him.
He stood up from his desk and grabbed his keys. “I picked some up this morning; I just forgot to bring it in. Let me run out to the car,” he said.
I followed him out of his office and down the stairs, where Nell was still sitting on the couch. She looked like she was about to fall asleep. I felt bad for her. I hated it when kids were sick.
James came back inside a moment later, carrying a little bag. He pulled out the Tylenol and looked at the back, but he looked confused.
“Here, let me do it,” I said, taking the bottle from him.
I removed the plastic from the top, took the little cup off, and unscrewed the lid. I turned it over and read the directions on the back, making sure to pour the perfect amount for her age. I filled the small cup with the pink liquid and handed it to Nell.
“Does this stuff taste gross?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nope, it should taste like bubblegum,” I said.
Nell tipped her head back with the little cup and drank the liquid.
“Good job, Nell,” James said. Then he looked at me, “Thank you. Seriously, thank you.”
“It’s no problem,” I said to him.
I left work a few minutes before them so I could walk to my apartment and grab my car. I drove over to the gallery where Nell and James were patiently waiting for me in the car, then I followed them to James’s house. Getting out, we quickly went inside.
I’d never been inside their house yet, and it was just like I’d been imagining. Small, but not too small. Not like my apartment. It was a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home. So, they had some extra room.
Once inside, Nell led me to her room. I thought it was sweet that she wanted to show me her room so badly. It was pink and very ‘princessy.’ She told me about all of her favorite toys and books, and I loved that she liked to read.
“Do you need me to get anything from the store?” James asked me.
I gave him a list of ingredients that I use in my special chicken noodle soup. Nell had just asked for something to eat, and I figured it would be perfect. Then I turned towards Nell.
“Do you like chicken noodle soup?” I asked her.
“I do. I love chicken noodle soup,” she said.
“So do I,” James said, “I’ll be back with the ingredients.”
James left, and I sat with Nell on her bed while she read me some of her books. For being in kindergarten, she was very smart. I was surprised at how much she could read.
James returned fifteen minutes later, and I helped him unload the groceries. He pointed me in the direction of all the utensils I was going to need, and I started working on my chicken noodle soup. I typically liked to make the chicken from scratch, but tonight it needed to be quicker, so I just had him just grab a rotisserie chicken instead.
“Man, this is so good,” James said, as we all sat around the table and ate the soup.
“It tastes a little better when I can make it all from scratch,” I said.
“It can taste better than this?” he asked.
I laughed.
“I love this!” Nell said.
“Good, I’m glad,” I said.
For the first time in such a long time, I felt needed, something I hadn’t experienced in so long. It felt good to feel that way again. It had only been a few weeks since I started working for him, and yeah, I was already feeling ten times better than before. I felt that I owed it all to James and Nell.
He insisted on cleaning up, despite my protests. Nell picked out a movie, and I put it on the TV for her. I went back into the kitchen to help out, but he was already almost done.
“I told you I had this,” he said with a smile.
I laughed, and then we stood there and stared into each other’s eyes. For a moment, I thought that he might kiss me. And then Nell came into the kitchen.
“I think I’m ready for bed,” Nell said.
“Wow, you must really not be feeling well,” James said. Then he looked at me, “Usually, I can’t get her to go to bed.”
Nell didn’t say anything; she just smiled at me. I let her lead me into her room where I tucked her in and helped James put her to bed.
“Thank you, Rachel,” Nell told me.
“What for?” I asked her.
“For coming to take care of me,” Nell said.
I told her I was very flattered that she wanted me to come in the first place. She would never know how much it truly meant to me that she had wanted me here to take care of her while she was sick.
Once Nell was settled into bed, James walked me to my car. As we stood outside under the stars, I felt a spark of something again.
“Thanks for everything you did tonight,” James said.
“You’re welcome,” I said.
“Listen,” he started to say, but he seemed like he wasn’t sure how to word what he wanted to say next. “I’m sorry about the other night. I should have done a lot of things differently,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it. I understand. We both have a lot of things that we’re dealing with,” I said. And in a move that was a little bolder than I was used to, I kissed him on the cheek.
I got into my car and drove away before the perfect moment could be ruined.