you all right, sir?”
“Mason, my man, I’m about as right as a guy can get. How’s everything going? I’m in love. Are the twins more than you can handle? Did I tell you I’m in love? Did they eat? They’re kind of sloppy. This is such a great feeling. By the way, I found the dog.”
Mason stared at his new employer. He met all kinds of people in his line of work. “I’m certain Mrs. Anders will be happy to hear that. Perhaps she’s the one you should be telling. I’m happy for you. The boys are fine. They ate ravenously. They’re playing in the family room. They’ve been changed, and I’m considering what to make them for lunch. About dinner…is there anything in particular you fancy?”
Hank gaped at the nanny. What the hell was he saying? “No, no, not Mrs. Anders.” He motioned Mason to join him at the window. “Her. I’m in love with her.”
Mason pursed his lips and glared at Hank, disapproval in every line in his face. “I see! Then my advice is not to tell Mrs. Anders.”
“Dammit, no. That’s not…I guess I didn’t explain. I’m not the husband or the father of the twins. I’m their uncle. I live in New York. My brother is Mr. Anders. He’s the husband, but he’s in Iraq. I’m just visiting. Don’t worry about dinner. Fix something for yourself. I have to go to a wake this evening. Can you stay past bath time? I’ll pay you extra of course. Did anyone…you know…call?” Please, oh, please say Alice called.
Mason looked befuddled. All he could think of to say was, “I see.”
“You already said that. What is it you see, Mason?”
“That things in this household are topsy-turvy. Or as my old mum used to say, at sixes and sevens. There were no phone calls. But, your e-mail has been pinging ever since you left. I assume that means you have messages.”
Alice. Alice must have e-mailed again. “So can you babysit this evening?”
“Of course, sir. I charge twenty-five dollars an hour.”
“Fine, fine!” Hank said as he leaped over the gates that held the twins prisoner in the family room. Just one big playpen. The minute the boys saw him, they started to cry. Mason was on the job immediately. A second later the boys were laughing and playing peekaboo with their nanny.
Hank clicked on the e-mail and was chagrined to see it was from his brother Ben and directed to Alice. He told himself he had to read the e-mail. Told himself he wasn’t being sneaky. He had to find Alice for the boys’ sake. It was such a sweet e-mail, Hank felt his eyes burn. Ben apologized again and again for not being home for the holidays. He thanked his wife for the recent pictures of the boys she’d sent him. He asked about the tree and who she was going to get to put it up. He said how much he loved her and couldn’t wait to get back to her waiting arms. Then came the clunker that made Hank’s back stiffen. I know you said I shouldn’t do it, but Hank will understand. He won’t hassle us to repay the loan sooner than we’re able. Hank’s my brother. I’d do the same for him. I can see the stress and strain on your face. Photos don’t lie, Alice. I know you’re killing yourself with all you have to do. Start looking for someone to come in to help. With Hank coming for Christmas, he’ll give you the money. This is no time for either one of us to be too proud to ask if we need help. I didn’t get an e-mail from you yesterday or today. I hope nothing is wrong. Write me, honey. I love you. All my love, Ben.
Hank clicked off the e-mail but saved it. “Mason!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“Yes, sir.”
“Can I hire you for six months?”
“I would think so, sir. Contact the agency and arrange it. I need to warn you, I’m in demand. I say that with all due modesty.”
“Even with the dogs?”
“I suppose I can get a book on dog training.”
“Good, good. Okay, I don’t have time right now to call the agency. Will you do it and reserve yourself for the next six months. I’ll…what I’ll do is…throw in a bonus. Name it and it’s yours,” Hank babbled as he backed out of the door.
“Very well, sir.”
A blustery gust of snow flurries slammed Hank in the face the moment he stepped outside. He laughed when he saw Churchill and Miss Sadie trying to catch the elusive flurries.
“Damn, I’m sorry, Mandy. The twins…and then there was an e-mail from Ben I had to read. You hung all the lights! You didn’t need me at all.”
“Sure I do. I waited for you to plug in the lights. Cross your fingers that they work.”
Hank inserted the plug. Amy clapped her hands in delight. “I have a package of extra lights. It’s amazing that they still work after all these years. Well, our work here is done. You can carry the ladder back to my house and put it on the back porch. Should I keep the dogs, or do you want to take them to your house?”
“Yours. The nanny doesn’t have a dog book yet. Yeah, yeah, your house. My car or yours?” Then he remembered Alice said the SUV needed gas. “Yours. Alice said hers is low on gas. I’ll fill it up later, but since I don’t know how much driving we’re going to be doing, let’s use yours.”
“Okay,” Amy said agreeably.
Ten minutes later, the snow still swirling and twirling, Hank and Amy settled themselves in the big truck. “Pretty fancy set of wheels,” Hank said. “Is it yours, or is it a rental?”
“I bought it when I got here. Mom and Dad’s old cars are still in the garage. I didn’t want to take a chance on either one of them. I knew I was going to need a vehicle. I might decide to stay on longer than I originally planned. I might even decide to drive cross-country when it’s time to leave.”
Leave. She was talking about leaving. Hank felt his loss. Well, he couldn’t let that happen, now could he? “It’s really snowing. Looks like it’s going to keep up. If it does, maybe we could go sledding like we used to. We could pull the twins on the sled. I think our old sleds are still in the attic. You could use Ben’s if you don’t have one.”
“Sounds like fun. I’m game. But not until I get the house set up for Christmas. You any good at setting up a tree?” She twinkled.
“The best tree-setter-upper there is. Takes two people, though. Ben and I always did it. It’s the lights that are a killer. The tinsel can drive you nuts. Ben always insisted on hanging one strand at a time. It took all night.”
“Really? Mom and Dad always did it after I went to bed. When I woke up, there was this magnificent tree all lit up, with all the junk I made through my school years. We didn’t have any fancy heirloom ornaments. How wonderful for you,” she said sadly.
“I didn’t know that, Mandy. What did you do for a tree in California?” Hank asked.
Amy bit down on her lip. “Flo wasn’t big on cleaning up pine needles in July. She said that’s how long it took to get them out of the house. We always had an artificial tree, and it glittered with shiny ornaments and white lights. The wreath on the door was artificial, too. It got a new red bow every year. We used to go swimming on Christmas Day and have a turkey. I did my best to sleep through the whole season.”
“I upset you, didn’t
