careful

seven

"Sadie, let's go," Nina calls out as she brushes Ella's hair into a neat half ponytail in the bathroom. "You're gonna end up missing breakfast!"

As she starts to tie the bow around Ella's little ponytail, Sadie shuffles into the bathroom and starts to say, "Nina, my stomach feels sorta-" and then throws up all over herself and the floor right in front of her.

"Ew, Sadie, you're disgusting!" Ella screams and pulls herself away from Nina and runs out of the bathroom and back into her own bedroom.

Nina sets down Ella's hairbrush and moves over to Sadie. "It's okay, honey. Just take off your clothes and get into the shower, okay? I'll be right back."

"Okay," she says.

Nina guides Ella to the staircase that leads directly to the kitchen and sits her down at the table in their little breakfast nook. Their cook set down two plates and then a third.

"Sadie's not feeling well, so she won't be down right now, can you set hers aside, please?" she asks politely. He nods and takes the plate back, flashing a smile at Nina. "Thanks!"

She rushes Ella to eat faster so they can get to school. Before she goes, she talks into the little intercom to find Jenn and asks her to look after Sadie for just a little bit.

"How come I still have to go to school?" Ella questions from the backseat.

"Well, you're perfectly fine," Nina says. "If you throw up all over yourself at school, I'll come to get you but don't go getting any big ideas, kid."

So when Nina arrives back at home after dropping Ella off, she heads directly to Sadie's room where the little girl is laid out both dramatically and pathetically in her bed. She sits on the edge of it and strokes Sadie's rather sweaty forehead.

"Can Uncle Ricky come over?" the very sad sounding little girl asks.

Nina shakes her head with a frown. "I really don't think that it would be wise to invite him over while you're sick. We don't wanna get him sick, right?" Sadie sighs and nods in agreement. "I mean, he's literally always here anyway, so in the event that he shows up, I'll leave that decision to him." At Sadie's request, she lays with her until she falls asleep. Then, she figures it would be nice to find some use in her free time by getting to working on the girls' schedules and outfits ready.

It seems like she isn't alone for long before she hears, "Hi, Nina!"

The tiny voice shocks her, yanking her out of a semi-conscious daze. She looked up from the calendar to see Ella standing before her, an embarrassed Ricky right behind her. The pair had snuck in through the kitchen door, unaware of Nina working in the breakfast nook.

"Why are you here?" she asks plainly. She eyes Ricky viciously.

The little girl grins at her. "Oh, well Uncle Ricky picked me up from school, and then we went to McDonald's and then-"

"That's enough," Ricky says. He looks up toward Nina. "I went to have lunch with the girls but when I found out that Sadie was sick, I just pulled Ella out for the day."

Nina sets down her pen and clasps her hands in her lap. "And why did that seem like a good idea, exactly?" she questions.

"Well, Sadie isn't in school. Does Ella really have to be?" he replies. She doesn't answer. "Well, I made sure she got the rest of her work for the day."

"Can I talk to you in the dining room for a second?" she asks politely. Ricky moves as slowly as possible over to the next room and Nina takes this as an opportunity to take a deep breath. "You're kidding me, right? Now she's gonna think it's okay to just not be in school."

He rolls his eyes. "It was one time, Nanny. She's fine. Is she not allowed to have fun sometimes?"

"Absolutely! In her free time, Ricky!" she exclaims. "I will have you banned from picking them up, I mean it. Don't do it again. And quit it with the McDonald's now, that one's hooked on it."

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbles. "Can I at least go wake Sadie up for a second?"

Nina looks at him for a second, her lip caught between her teeth. Sadie did ask to see him after all. So she says, "Yeah, go ahead."