Chapter 10
Nanny J held Dallas’ hand as she led her into the room.
She helped Dallas hang her bag on a hook before looking around the room.
There was only one other friend in nursery right now, but he was napping on one of the bean bags chairs.
Dallas wondered why they were sleeping if everyone just woke up—it was only nine-thirty a.m. Maybe being a baby was super tiring.
Dallas looked around the room and clapped her hands when she saw all of the art supplies on the table. “May I paint, Nanny J?”
“You sure can, sweet girl. Let’s get you in a smock so we don’t get your pretty dress messy.”
“My Daddy buyed me this dress,” she told her.
Nanny J grabbed a pink smock and helped Dallas work it over her head. “Well, it’s so pretty and so spooky! Perfect for a Halloween-loving girl.”
“Thank you,” Dallas said as Nanny J helped her get settled in a blue plastic chair. “I love Frankie so manies,” she said, rubbing her hand over Frankenstein.
“Do you want to paint a coloring page or create your own art?”
“Create my own art, please.”
“Good choice!” Nanny J grabbed a white plastic basket from the shelf and set it down for Dallas to see. “We have some art sponges here that you can use too.”
Dallas pulled out a witch’s hat and a pumpkin-shaped sponge. “Thank you!”
Nanny J laughed. “I thought you might like the Halloween shapes,” she said before pouring some paint into trays for her.
“My Daddy said someone special was coming to read to us this week.”
“Well, your Daddy was right. We have a very special guest coming to read a very special book.”
“So ‘citing!”
“I think it’s so exciting too!” Nanny J agreed. “Do you like to read?”
Dallas nodded. She loved to read, especially spooky books.
A Little girl holding hands with two men walked into the room. Dallas waved at her and Nanny J turned to look. “Good morning, Eloise!”
Eloise had super dark hair and bright blue eyes. Dallas thought her hair was almost as long as Rapunzel’s.
“Good morning, Nanny J,” Eloise said, softly.
“We have a new friend today; would you like to come paint with Dallas?” Nanny J asked.
Dallas smiled at Eloise, hoping she looked friendly enough for the Little girl to come sit with her.
Eloise looked at each of the men with her before nodding. “Yes, please.”
Dallas dipped the witch’s hat in black paint while she waited on Eloise to say goodbye to her grown-ups. Each man kissed her cheek and settled her at the table.
“Eloise is a bit shy, but she would love to craft with you, right, baby?” one of the men said.
“Yes, Daddy.”
Eloise’s Daddy was tall, but not as tall as the other man with her and her Daddy had blue eyes too. Dallas thought that was so cute.
“We have Halloween sponges and glitter paints,” Dallas said, hoping to break the tension.
“Oh, we love Halloween, don’t we, babygirl?” the other man said.
“Yes, Papa. We love Halloween. This year my Daddy is going to be bread, my Papa is going to be jelly, and I’m going to be peanut butter for Halloween.”
Eloise’s Papa was a very broad man with dark hair and brown eyes.
Dallas’ ears perked up. “Halloween is my favorite!”
“You came to the Ranch at the right time then, Halloween is so fun here!” We wear costumes, and have a bonfire with s’mores, and there’s a corn maze, and hayrides, and special guests come by to read to us!” Eloise said, talking so fast her words almost sounded strung together.
“That’s so exciting! I love your costume idea.”
“Thank you. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are my favorite.”
Dallas wondered if Daddy knew they could dress up. She hoped he did and he’d packed costumes.
“Alright, you two Little ladies have a good day, okay? Eloise, Daddy will pick you up this afternoon.”
“Yes, Sir,” she answered.
Both men kissed her again before leaving.
“What are you going to make?” Eloise asked her.
“I think a Halloween card for my Daddy.”
“Did he come with you?” Eloise asked.
Dallas waited until Nanny J had placed a green smock over Eloise’s pink overalls before answering, “Yas, huh. He went to a class, but he’s coming right back.”
Eloise nodded. “Right back,” she said comfortingly.
Dallas pressed the black witch’s hat onto the paper and smiled when it turned out perfectly. “Oh, pretty!” Eloise said.
“You can use it next.”
“Well, what sweet girls sharing the paints and sponges,” another nursery worker said as she placed her purse in a cabinet behind the girls.
“Good morning, Ms. Phoebe,” Eloise greeted.
“Good morning, Ms. Phoebe," Dallas said, hoping it was okay that she used the woman's name. She must have been the same Miss Phoebe who’d called Daddy yesterday.
“Good morning, girls. How are you both today?”
“Good,” Dallas and Eloise answered at the same time. They grinned at each other before dissolving into Little girl giggles.
“Oh, no! I think we have a case of the sillies,” Ms. Phoebe said, sitting at the table with the Littles. “What are you two working on?”
“I’m making a card for my Daddy,” Dallas answered. She stamped the pumpkin sponge down on the paper under the witch’s hat.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Eloise asked, studying all of the art supplies. “There’s lots of choices.”
“There is no right or wrong answer,” Miss Phoebe said.
“Can I please do some sticker art instead?”
“Of course, sweet girl. Good job on asking for what you wanted.” Miss Phoebe stood and grabbed a bin from the art shelf and placed it on the table.
Dallas noticed there were lots and lots of pretty stickers. They were all sizes, super teenie ones, normal sized ones, big ones, and super huge ones. “Pretty!” she said, watching as Eloise sorted through them.
“I like the sticker sheets the best,” Eloise said, pulling out what looked like normal pieces of colored paper.
Dallas thought maybe the stickers were invisible.
Eloise picked up a pair of small scissors and started cutting shapes into the colored paper.
Her tongue stuck out in concentration. Once she cut what Dallas thought was a bat, she pulled the back off the piece and stuck it to a piece of white paper.
Oh! They weren’t invisible stickers, they were just one big sticker that you could cut into shapes. How fun!
“Good morning,” Tommy said.
Dallas smiled and waved at Tommy as he walked into the nursery with a woman. The woman told him to have a good day and gave him a hug.
“Do you want to paint, sweetie?” Ms. Phoebe asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Nanny J helped set Tommy up at the table with Eloise and Dallas. She pulled a yellow smock over his head and gave him some paint. “Do you want a coloring page or do you want to create your own art?”
“Coloring page, please. Could I have the unicorn if it is still in the folder?” he asked, looking so hopeful Dallas hoped it was still in the folder for him.
“You can, Tommy. I actually made a few more copies of it because I thought it might be popular.”
She handed him a picture of a unicorn with a pumpkin stuck on its horn. It was so silly, and Dallas giggled.
“Is so funny, right?” Tommy asked, cutting some sticker sheets. Dallas watched him in worry. Was he going to cover up the spooky unicorn? Much to her relief he didn’t. He cut small squares and placed them inside the picture.
“Is like tile art!” Dallas exclaimed.
“Yes, mosaic-inspired art,” Tommy nodded.
“That’s so fun!” she exclaimed.
“Do you want to help me put the stickers on?”
“D-Do you mind if I help you?” Dallas really wanted to craft with him, but only if he really wanted her to.
He giggled. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you to. We don’t lie to each other, silly goose!”
Dallas giggled too. She was glad Daddy had made her come to the nursery.