the time difference between Seattle and Japan made it difficult to continue any of the day’s discussions. Sometimes, it seemed hard to work globally—especially without Laurie. He’d been able to work all day and all night before she got sick. Laurie ran the house, Ryan ran the business.
Together, they helped each other achieve their dreams. It had been the ideal partnership, and although it had been nearly four years since ovarian cancer stole her from the family they’d created together, he still felt a twinge of regret when he thought of what was missing from his life and the kids’ lives. Some days, it felt very lonely without a wife and mother to keep all the balls in the air and to fill the four walls around them with love.
“Oh, I’m Poppy Summerall. Temporarily for You—I made a business card and everything.”
She handed him a business card that looked like she’d made it on her home computer. It declared the name of her business to be Temporarily for You Nanny Services. There were clouds dotting the background of the card. He’d never seen anything quite like it.
But at least he now knew who the crazy dancing lady in the front yard was. He’d gotten so caught up in the call that he’d forgotten she was supposed to come by today. “Yes, you’re Megan’s sister.”
Megan had become a friend over the years. Their kids played together. Megan had brought Zoe and Zach home from school in a pinch when one nanny or another quit or Ryan needed to work late. She dished out practical, thoughtful mom advice without making him feel like a clueless dad.
Ryan trusted Megan. So, when she said that her sister Poppy would be perfect to take care of the kids, Ryan believed her.
“And you’re Ryan Larson,” Poppy said.
If he’d been oblivious to everything this afternoon except conversations with techie types, he wasn’t now. Poppy had an easy smile and a twinkle in her blue eyes.
She looked like someone the kids could warm up to. Eventually. Poor lady probably didn’t even know what she was in for. The kids had taken all of their recent nannies by surprise.
And there had been a string of them lately.
He took a deep breath and nodded, opening the door wide for her to enter. “Yeah, come on in.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
“No. I just looked for the only house on the block without Halloween decorations.”
Her observation brought back more memories of Laurie. Ryan had been so caught up in the presentation he needed to make in a few weeks that he’d put off everything having to do with the upcoming holiday. And now it was basically too late. Laurie never would have let that happen. Laurie had a way of making every holiday special.
“Yeah…yeah…Halloween was kind of my wife’s thing.” Ryan hoped the new nanny couldn’t hear the regret in his voice. He didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot with this one. Goodness knows there had been enough wrong feet with the wrong nannies around here for a while.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Poppy apologized.
Ryan hadn’t intended for her to feel badly about his observation. He needed to change the conversation quickly and keep this moving forward. “No, no… It’s okay. It’s been almost four years now.” Ryan needed this nanny to work out. “Anyway…thank you for coming. My company is expanding one of our apps. It’s crunch time.”
“I can crunch!” Her voice squeaked up a few octaves. She reminded Ryan of a cheerleader on the sidelines of a college football game.
“Great—great.” Poppy’s enthusiasm set him at ease. There was just one more hurdle to clear. But it was the big one. “Well, let me introduce you.”
“Okay.”
Ryan walked to the base of the stairs and shouted upward at the kids. “Hey, guys—come and meet Poppy.”
“Do we have to?” Zoe’s skepticism echoed from the second floor.
“She’s your new nanny, so, yes.” Ryan’s jaw clenched. Why was his daughter being difficult?
Zoe’s stubborn streak didn’t go away. “We don’t want a new nanny.”
“Tell them I’m a mermaid,” Poppy whispered, leaning close to Ryan’s ear.
He caught a slight whiff of her perfume. He thought it might have been patchouli—which seemed fitting for someone named Poppy.
It felt ridiculous to tell the kids that their new nanny was a mythical creature. They were way too smart to believe that. But he didn’t have any better options, so he went with it as the kids stepped down to the staircase. “She’s a mermaid.”
After a pause that felt like it could be measured in years, not seconds, the kids came down the stairs. Zoe’s low, dark pigtails gave a defiant bounce as she screeched to a halt at the landing. Zach just barely cleared his older sister’s shoulder. He kept everything but his mop of blond hair tucked behind it, as though Zoe was not just a sibling, but a defensive fort.
“Hi.” Poppy stayed just behind Ryan as she gave a half-wave.
Zoe rolled her eyes. If Ryan didn’t know better, he’d swear his eleven-year-old fifth-grader had fully morphed into the junior high years right before his eyes. “I told you she’s not a real mermaid.”
“Ah, that’s Zoe.”
“Hi, Zoe.” The chipper sound of Poppy’s voice belied any inner turmoil she might have reasonably had after the first impression Zoe just dished out.
“Hello.” His little teen-in-training now sounded as flat as a puddle.
“And the boy hiding behind his big sister is Zach.” Ryan tried to read his son’s face, but it remained emotionless. Only the quirk at the far end of the left eyebrow betrayed his carefully stoic appearance.
Zach leaned over to Zoe as she whispered something behind a cupped hand. In spite of the cold shoulder she had to be feeling from the kids, Poppy forged ahead with the pleasantries.
“Hello, Zach. You know, I’ve got a big sister, too. Her kids go to your school.”
Without another word, the kids ran back up the stairs. Their behavior embarrassed Ryan. He knew they were just kids and that things had been awkward for so long. First, they’d lost their mother, and ever since, there’d been a constant stream of nannies. Poppy was just another face in a long line of temporary help brought in to manage the chaos.
But Poppy didn’t know that, and he feared that the bright woman with the eager grin and shoulder-length curls would start to plot how soon she could make an exit.
And when she did, that would upend everything. With the Yamoharo Global presentation coming up, he didn’t have time to find another nanny. He barely had time to make the introductions for this one.
Maybe if he laughed off their sullen reactions, she’d laugh them off too. “Ha ha. Sorry. They’ll warm right up to you.”
“That’s
