careful

two

"Okay, you're all settled," Gina decides, looking around Nina's freshly unpacked room. It was still a bit of a mess, but that mattered very little to Gina. "You'll start tomorrow. Take the kids to school, pick them up; deal with them. Evan and I are leaving now. You know, for his conference."

Nina nods. "The conference, right. And what about bedtime tonight? Do they have separate times?"

Gina stops and turns to Nina, a curious look cast upon her face. "Their bedtimes are in the handbook." Nina nods at her, to which Gina responds with an exasperated sigh. "Just make sure they're both in bed by 9. Ella will appreciate the extra half hour. We're about to tell them bye, so please come get Ella because she's going to cry." The woman's deadpan almost concerns Nina.

Gina was correct, Ella does cry. In fact, she cries so much that she falls asleep before her bedtime anyway. That leaves Nina in the company of Sadie alone. They sit together in the living room, looking at each other.

"So," Sadie asks, "Do you hate us yet?"

Nina's eyes go wide for a second. "Why would I hate you?" she questions. The little girl leans back against the couch, completely relaxed. Nina wonders how she can hold such a conversation so casually.

"Well, one of our nannies quit because she thinks my mom is absent and overly specific. Do you?" And the kid looks genuinely curious. Nina feels obligated to answer honestly.

"I feel like your mom has a lot of rules, yes. I wouldn't call her absent, she just seems very busy, you know?" And then she thinks for a moment and asks, "How many nannies have you had, exactly?"

She leans back against the couch and thinks for a minute. "Well, my first nanny stayed until a little before Ella was born. Maybe like when I was three and then she retired. And then we had another one and she hadn't taken care of a baby before and Mommy said she was incompetent so she fired her. And then the next one quit as I said. And then we had one for a while, but she got married and they moved so then we got another one and I didn't like her so we fired her. And then we had one who was good but then Ella broke her arm because she wasn't paying attention. And then the one right before you? Well, Mommy said she's a whore and I don't know what happened."

"Well, let's not call people whores, alright?" Nina tells her. "But you've had seven nannies before me? So like one for every year of your life."

"I'm 10," Sadie corrects.

"That's what I said," Nina jokes. Sadie gives her a look that is completely unamused and even a little bit annoyed. "I'm kidding. Gosh, kid."

Sadie stands up and brushes off her nightgown as if to tidy her appearance. In the soft glow of the living room lamp with her hair down and brushed out, she almost looks human. Nina recalls the first impression she'd received of the child: the tight-knit braids, the hand-tied bows at the end of them, and her little digital watch that she checked almost constantly. Not a single thread had been out of place on her school uniform and she looked like she'd just jumped out of a private school brochure. Nina worried that there was just too much structure for the little girl who seemed to function like a little robot, not a 10-year-old child.

She turns to Nina, her hand outstretched to catch her attention. "Hey, don't forget that breakfast starts at 6:30, alright? We've gotta be at school at 7:30 so make sure you're on time." She says softly.

"Chill out, kids, I read the handbook, I get it." The little girl rolls her eyes at Nina and then disappears down the hallway toward the home's elevator.

And in the morning, when Nina enters the kitchen, the girls are dressed and eating breakfast. Ella's face is red and she looks miserable. Nina smiles at both of them, delighted to see that they were ready as they had both been absent from their rooms when she peeked into their doorways on her way down.

Sadie doesn't hesitate to comment, "You're late."

"Well, yes, but it's only been five-"

"No buts," Sadie interrupts. "Look at Ella. I had to brush her hair because of you and all she did was cry like a big, dumb baby. Breakfast starts at 6:30, which means you're up no later than 6:10 to help Ella get ready. That's your job, not mine."

Nina sighs. "Got it. I'm sorry, Ella."