Chapter Five
Reed
I’d enjoyed my week with Trinity, and the time together had been good for both of us. But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I needed to get back to work. I’d never taken off long periods of time off from work, and even when I’d taken off a day or two, I felt guilty. I had a long list of clients that were waiting to see me, and the more I delayed my work, the more I was going to have to do when I got back. I’d called Warren to see how things were going, and he’d assured me that everything was fine. But I knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t being entirely honest. He was also busy, and taking on my work along with his couldn’t be easy for him. But I still hadn’t found a nanny to look after Trinity.
After everything that Trinity had gone through, I’d made the decision to enlist her help with finding a nanny. It was important that I was happy with the person I chose, but it was even more important that she was happy. She was going to be the one that would be spending all her time with the woman. Not me. I’d thought it would be easy, especially because after advertising online, I had already found four women that seemed perfect for the job.
Three women came for the interview yesterday. They’d all seemed nice, and very polite, but Trinity hadn’t liked any of them. She’d rattled off a list of things that she didn’t like, but it mostly boiled down to the fact that she didn’t feel comfortable with them. Trinity had proven to me time and time again that she was an excellent judge of character, and I’d learned to trust her intuition. If she didn’t like someone, there was usually a good reason for it. The fourth lady was just about to arrive, and I only hoped that this one was going to be the one. When she knocked on the door, I turned to Trinity and grinned.
“This is the one. I know it!” I said. I figured that adding a positive spin to it would help my cause.
The woman that walked in was a tall, attractive woman with green, cat-like eyes.
“Reed. Trinity,” she said before I had a chance to say anything. It was a strange way of greeting someone. No hello. Just our names.
“Uh, yes, hi. You must be Wanda.”
“That’s me. So, let’s talk business,” she said and walked in.
“Uh. Okay,” I said. The woman made me feel nervous. She certainly seemed like she would get the job done, but I almost felt like she should be behind a desk and not in front of a child.
We sat for fifteen minutes, which I knew because I kept glancing at the clock while she rattled off all her positive qualities. She’d also created a spread sheet for me showing all her pros and cons—the pro list being much longer of course. When I asked her if she had any references, she became a big cagey and told me that her list should speak for itself. It was only when she left that I realized that in all the time she’d been there, she hadn’t once looked at Trinity.
“Well, she was nice,” I said as I closed the door.
Trinity looked at me, and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Okay, she was awful.”
“She was scary,” Trinity said.
“Yeah, even I was scared of her.”
“You won’t . . . you won’t hire her? Will you?” Trinity said. I often forgot that she was only six. I often treated her as if she were so much older. But looking at her now with her lips trembling, I felt myself soften toward her.
“Of course not. I want you to actually like the person. Don’t worry. We’ll find someone nice. I have a list of people to still go through. I’m sure there’s another Linda out there just waiting for us to find her.”
“She wasn’t nice, Daddy.”
“No, she was not. And I’m not just taking anyone.”
“Can’t you stay?”
“I wish I could, my darling. But you know I can’t. I’m doing the best that I can, though.”
“I know you are.”
I smiled at Trinity. “You’re such a good daughter. I’m very lucky to have you in my life. Now, how about we figure out something to eat for dinner?”
“Are we having eggs again?” she said and made a face.
I laughed. “No, I know you’re sick of that. So am I, actually. How about I make you something tonight. How about a nice stew?”
She giggled. “Does it have eggs in it?”
“I’m sure I can cook something other than eggs, you know. Okay, let’s go to the shop and get some ingredients. Come on; it will be fun.”
“Can we make a chocolate cake too?”
“You’re pushing my limitations here. How about we just buy one of those box ones where you add the milk and eggs to it? I can do that.”
“I like those ones,” Trinity said.
“So do I,” I said and smiled at her. I really was lucky to have her in my life. I’d heard horror stories about children before, and considering I was looking after Trinity all alone, I think I was doing a good job. Either that or I’d gotten lucky with her.
We made our way to the grocery store and started walking up and down the aisles. Linda had always done our main shopping while I’d always just popped into the shop to get bread and milk top ups. So this was completely out of my comfort zone. I had no idea where to even begin, and for a while, I just stood there staring at the shop in front of me and wondering when I’d become so hopeless. How could a guy that was so good when it came to his work turn into an idiot at a grocery store?
“Okay, let’s just go up and down and grab what we need. So if you see anything that relates to a stew, you let me know. Okay?”
“Okay. Ooh, how about these?” she asked as we got started.
I laughed when I saw what she was holding. “A box of cereal? That’s not exactly going to go in the stew. But we do actually need that. So yes, put it in. And let me know if you see milk. We’ll need that too.”
“And this?” she said hopefully and held up a chocolate bar.
“Oh no, are we going to come home with a cart filled with junk? Okay, you know my stance on eating healthy and how important it is for you. But I also believe in balance and a bit of fun. So, I’m going to get us this bag of oranges, and you can put in that chocolate bar. But no more sweets after this, okay?”
“Okay, Dad,” she said and I tried not to laugh out loud as I heard her saying goodbye and sorry to the rest of the chocolate bars. I threw an extra one in as we got to the end of the aisle and she whooped with delight. “You’re the best!”
We walked up and down the aisles, throwing in things that we needed for the kitchen, while I desperately tried to think of what I would need for the stew. When we got to the end, we went through the items in our cart while I wondered if I had everything.
“What about peas? Peas are good,” she said.
“Peas! Yes, great idea. Now, where would I find those?”
“Aisle one!” she said. “I think I saw them.”
I wheeled the cart all the way to the first aisle and threw a bag of peas in. “Okay. We have peas. What else?”
“I don’t know.”
“Neither do I,” I said and we both stood there for a while.
We must’ve looked confused because a woman came up to ask us if we were okay. She had a kind face, pale skin, and dark red hair. She was unusual looking, and absolutely beautiful in the most interesting kind of way.
“You guys need some help?” she said.
“Oh, uh, no, we’re good. Thank you,” I stuttered. I wasn’t sure why I sounded so nervous.
“Yes we do. My dad is making stew and we’re not sure what to buy,” Trinity revealed.
I laughed. “Well, there goes my idea of trying to act like everything was fine. It’s true, I’m making a stew and I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“He only knows how to make eggs,” Trinity revealed.
“Trin, is there any way you can at least try to not make me sound like a hopeless idiot?” I said to Trinity. Then I looked at the woman again and laughed. “I’m Reed, by the way.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Reed. I’m Kennedy. And you are?” she said as she looked at Trinity.
“I’m Trinity.”
“Whoa. Cool name.”
“Thank you,” Trinity said. “Yours too.”
“Thank you. Now, let me see. What have you got for the stew already?”
“Well, I think we have everything we need. We have chicken, rice, and peas so far. And flour. Although I’m not sure what to do with that.”
Kennedy chuckled. “Is that all?”
“Well, yeah. What else goes in a stew?”
“A little more than that,” she said and laughed again. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. I’m actually a chef. So it’s my job to know these things.”
“You’re a chef? Oh no. And here I am not even sure how to make a stew.”
“But you can make eggs, Dad,” Trinity said which I supposed was supposed to make me feel better.
“That’s great,” Kennedy said. “Do you know that eggs are super good for you?”
“They are?”
“They sure are. Although, between you and me I’d rather eat chocolate eggs every day.”
Trinity laughed. “Me too.”
“Okay, so—for the stew you’re going to ditch the flour. Then you’re going to get onions, tomatoes, garlic . . . .” She began rattling off a list of ingredients but stopped when she saw the confused look on my face. “Or, you can go over to the fridge in aisle four. They have already-made ones. You just need to heat them up. And they’re actually not all that bad.”
“You’re a lifesaver. I think for the sake of my child’s life, I’m going to go with that option. So, what restaurant do you work for?”
“Actually, I’m out of work at the moment. I was a personal chef for someone for the past few months, but he’s retiring and moving to another city. Which reminds me, take my card; if you’re ever looking for a chef, I’m the lady for it.”
I took the card from her and placed it in my pocket. “You don’t happen to be a nanny as well, do you?”
Kennedy looked at Trinity and then back at me and smiled. “I’m not. But she seems awesome. Why? Are you looking for someone?”
“I am. Any chance you’d be interested?”
“I’m not sure. I mean . . . I’ve never done that before.”
“Well, I’m currently interviewing people for the position. How about we go for dinner tomorrow? You can give me some more tips on cooking, and I can tell you about the position? Then we can take it from there?” I had no idea why I had asked her out for dinner instead of just inviting her to interview like everyone else. The words had just flown out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Dinner? Yeah, that sounds great. You have my number,” she said.
We finished our shopping, paid, and walked out. I was sure that nothing would come out of the dinner, considering she’d never even looked after a child before, but it was something to look forward to, anyway. Trinity had been usually quiet throughout the exchange. I looked down at her.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded as if she were in deep thought. “Yeah. I really liked her,” she said.
“Who? Kennedy?”
“Yeah. She’s the one.”
Uh oh. Of course, Trinity would choose the one person that would probably not end up even saying yes to the job.