Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Hadley handed her picture to Nanny J and put the red glitter crayon back in the basket. Rudolph’s nose was so pretty and red.
“This is beautiful, Hadley. I’m sure Master Finn will be so proud of your hard work,” Miss Phoebe said, putting the coloring page into Hadley’s cubby.
She smiled around her pacifier. She did hope Finn really liked it.
“Alright, boys and girls, let’s all go sit on the carpet for Circle Time,” Nanny J said.
Hadley stood and pushed her chair in before tiptoeing to the carpet.
Mindy giggled and mimicked her. Hadley could tell by her playful smile she wasn’t being mean, though.
Both girls sat on the carpet. Miss Samantha and Miss Phoebe joined them too. Hadley liked that the grownups sat with them.
Nanny J sat on a stool in the middle of the carpet. In her hands, she held a pink stick with bells on the end.
“Lori, it’s your turn to adjust the Christmas Countdown.”
Lori stood and rushed to the bulletin board where a red paper chain was hung. She ripped off one piece at the end.
“How many rings are left?” Nanny J asked her.
Lori counted. “Six!”
“Wow, so it’s only six days until Christmas!”
Excited whispers filled the room. Hadley wondered if she and Finn could make a countdown chain like that for their room.
“This is our talking stick, friends. When it’s pointed at you, you may speak, but if it’s pointed at someone else, you need to have your listening ears on,” she explained, still holding the pink stick.
Nanny J pointed it at Nate.
“Can you tell me what holiday is coming up?”
“Christmas!”
“Good job!” she praised.
“What other holidays are happening besides Christmas?”
“Hanukkah,” Lori said when the listening stick was pointing to her.
“Great job, Lori. I have so many smart friends in my class!”
“Any more?”
The pointing stick chose Mindy next. “Kanaza, Kanwai, no Kwa…”
“Kwanzaa, very good, Mindy. I like how you kept trying.”
“Thank you, Nanny J.”
“What are some things we see during the month of December?”
This time the talking stick pointed to Hadley. She flipped to her weather cards and tapped snow.
“That’s right, Hadley. It does get colder around December and we see more snow. Had you seen snow before visiting Rawhide Ranch?”
Hadley shook her head.
“What did you think of it?”
Hadley flipped through her cards.
Wet.
Nanny J chuckled.
“It is wet. It’s not my favorite thing about Montana.”
“What else do we see, Nate?”
“Santa!”
“Oh, that’s a good answer. Santa does come in December.”
“Mindy, can you tell me who helps Santa make all the toys for the good boys and girls?”
“The elves at the North Pole!”
“Oh my goodness, you guys are so smart! Yes, the elves do! And we have a very special elf that came all the way from the North Pole to read a book to you!”
Cheers erupted and Hadley jumped.
“Hey, hey, let’s use our soft voices, okay?” Nanny J redirected.
The class immediately quieted, but Hadley felt a bit off. She flapped her arms before realizing how silly she looked. She sat on her hands so she wouldn’t do it again.
“Hadley, sweet girl,” Miss Phoebe called from the sink area. “Can you come here, honey?”
Hadley stood obediently and walked over to the waiting teacher. She hoped she wasn’t in trouble.
“Did you get a little overwhelmed with the excitement?”
Hadley’s face flushed and her vision blurred from the instant tears. She was never going to get it right. Flipping through her cards, she tapped Sorry.
“Oh, honey, don’t cry. It’s okay. You don’t ever have to be sorry for flapping your arms. That’s totally an okay thing to do. As long as the things you do to help yourself feel better, don’t hurt you or anyone else, they’re perfectly fine. There was a lot of noise suddenly and I’m sure it was overwhelming. I just wanted to give you a chance to recover. Sometimes when I get nervous, I run my hands under cold water. Do you want to try?”
Hadley nodded and Miss Phoebe helped her climb the stool to the sink. She turned on the tap and Hadley let the cool water run over her skin.
“Is it making the creepy-crawlies in your brain go away?”
Hadley nodded again, smiling.
Miss Phoebe helped her dry her hands and then sent her back to the carpet with a soft pat on her diaper.
When Hadley sat back on the carpet, Nanny J sent her a soft smile. “Are you doing okay, Hadley?”
Hadley nodded. She was embarrassed she’d gotten overwhelmed, but at least everyone had been nice about it.
“Alright, boys and girls, this is a super special visitor, all the way from the North Pole. Can we snap our fingers to welcome, Shane the Elf?”
Hadley was so thankful that Nanny J didn’t ask them to clap. Snapping was much softer on her ears.
A very tall elf walked into the classroom and waved at everyone. It was so silly because he was way too big to be an elf. Hadley was pretty sure elves were supposed to be tiny. Shane the Elf also wore candy-corn socks. Wasn’t that a Halloween thing? Hadley wanted to see his elf credentials.
He came and sat on a stool beside Nanny J.
“Hello, boys and girls,” he said, waving.
“Hello, Mr. Shane the Elf,” Nate said.
“I heard the Caterpillars Room loves to read.”
Everyone nodded.
“That’s great. I am here to read my favorite book to you,” he said, turning and holding the book so everyone could see the cover. “Today I’m going to read The Littlest Elf. ”
Hadley sat with her hands in her lap and her legs crisscross-applesauce while she listened to the story of a tiny elf with a very big job.
“Why dun you talk?” Nate asked, taking a bite of his spaghetti, slurping a noodle so hard, sauce splattered all over his face.
Hadley froze, his question making her tummy hurt.
“She does talk. Just not like us,” Lori said, shooting him a firm look.
Hadley took a small bite of her cheese stick.
“But why? Are you scared to talk? Was someone mean to you about talking? Was it here? Tell me their name,” Nate demanded. His concern helped ease the knot in her belly.
“Why do you always smell like a puppy dog?” Lori asked.
“I do not!” he yelled.
“Isn’t that what Little boys are made of?” Lori taunted.
“No, it isn’t!”
“Yas-huh, snails and puppy dog tails!”
“Nu-huh!” he yelled, slamming his green cup down on the table in frustration.
“Littles, do we need to have a silent lunch?” Miss Phoebe asked from where she was standing and feeding Mindy baby food from a jar.
“No, ma’am,” Lori and Nate answered together.
“Do you like being here so far?” Nate asked instead once the teacher had walked away.
Hadley nodded and zipped her lunch bag up. Maybe she could eat the rest when Finn picked her up. She kinda hoped he came soon. She missed him. She missed him a lot, actually.
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes before Mindy spoke up.
“Are you going to do any fun things while you’re visiting?” she asked, now sitting at the table with a small bag of animal crackers.
Hadley flipped through her cards and tapped the one that Finn had made for her last night. The Reindeer Team and the carriage ride.
“Oh! I’m on the Reindeer Team too. At 7:30. What time is yours?” Lori asked.
Hadley frowned before she shrugged. She wasn’t sure. Finn would know though, he always knew everything.
“It’s okay! We can ask your Daddy when he comes,” Nate suggested.
Hadley shook her head. Finn wasn’t her Daddy.
“He’s not her Daddy,” Mindy translated. “I think he’s her… friend.”
Hadley nodded, but the knot in her tummy grew. Why did it suddenly make her so sad Finn wasn’t her Daddy? He’d never been her Daddy. Did she want him to be? She pushed the thought away. Finn was a good pseudo-caregiver, but that’s all he was, and she was sure that was all he wanted to be. Besides, she could never risk losing him from her life by asking him to be more. Her struggle must have shown on her face because Lori’s hand moved to cover hers.
“Aw, don’t be sad,” Lori said, patting her hand. “It’s okay to not have a Daddy or a Mommy. I didn’t have one until I came here with my Daddy and now I have a Mommy and a big brother! He’s in the Butterflies class.”
Hadley nodded and lifted her pacifier to her mouth again.
“Are you sad because maybe you want him to be your Daddy and he’s not?” Nate asked.
“Nate, I think you’ve asked enough questions for today. Let Hadley have some space. How about you come help me set out the nap cots?” Nanny J interrupted.
Mindy reached over and softly patted Hadley’s hand, just as Lori had. “I’m sorry Nate asked you so many questions. He just gets excited to meet new people.”
Hadley smiled. She liked Nate. She was just a tiny bit overwhelmed.
“Was he right though? Do you wish that man was your Daddy? He’s super hot.”
The same jealous feeling she felt before with Sadie filled her belly again. She didn’t like that Mindy thought Finn was hot.
Maybe. She tapped her card.
Yes, she corrected after a second to reflect.
“Did you realize it before coming to the Ranch?”
No. Today. She said, tapping .
“You just realized it today?”
Hadley nodded, thankful she had enough picture support cards to communicate.
“It’s the Rawhide Ranch magic,” Lori whispered.
“Do you know about the magic?” Mindy asked.
Hadley shook her head.
“Rawhide has special magic that brings everyone together. Friends become couples, second chance romances bloom, families get created. I think it’s even stronger during the holidays,” Mindy explained.
Hadley’s tummy fluttered with butterflies as she considered the possibility of leaving with Finn as her Daddy.
“Maybe you should tell him how you feel,” Lori suggested.
Hadley considered her words. Maybe she should talk to Finn. Even if he didn’t feel the same, it would be nice to just put it out there.