13. Emmy
THIRTEEN
Emmy
“Hello?” Eric says groggily on the other end.
“Well, finally,” I groan as I pull into the driveway of my dad’s house.
“What’s going on?” Eric yawns. They are three hours behind, so why is my brother so tired at 6 p.m.
“Why are you sleeping?” I ask, his tiredness catching me off guard.
“The age-old: sleep when the baby sleeps. Which I think is a joke if you have twins because one is always awake,” Eric explains.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just important, and I need some advice.”
“Okay, what’s up? Everything okay?” He snaps into protective older brother mode.
“I got an offer on Dad’s house; it’s way over the asking price because they want to move in next week,” I explain.
“That’s crazy. Are you going to do it?”
“I should; the money would be helpful for school, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about the mortgage payments or anything else.” I sigh.
“But moving in a few days is crazy; they can’t give you more time?” he asks.
“No, that’s the reason for the bonus. They’re desperate to buy a house in town as soon as possible,” I say.
“That’s weird. What would make them randomly need to move to that town? Is something going on that you don’t know about? They’re not going to flip the house or something, right?” My brother is a bit of a skeptic, so his questions don’t surprise me.
“I don’t believe so; Dad’s house is in the middle of so many others. I just think they’re looking for a house. It’s not exactly a good buyer’s market right now.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” He takes a deep breath.
“It’s obviously up to you, but I would take it if you’re able to move out that quickly.
You don’t want to stay in it anyway; the mortgage and interest are high.
At least you’d have some money to save for school while you work.
Are you going to stay and work at that nannying job? ”
“Yeah, that’s the next thing I wanted to talk about…”
“What?” he asks while I’m gaining the courage to spit it out.
“So the mom, my boss, offered to let me move in. Because she understands and figured it would be impossible to find somewhere new to live this quickly,” I start.
“That’s sweet and totally makes sense.”
“But there’s something I sort of haven’t told you. We sort of hooked up once before I took the job; I didn’t know it was her until I turned up for the interview. And she seemed so desperate for help, so I just said we can ignore what happened.”
“You hooked up with your boss, and now she’s asking you to move in?” he asks.
“Yes. But she wasn’t my boss when we hooked up.” I wince.
“Okay, but she’s asking you to move in anyway. And you’re thinking about it because I assume you like your job and you’d need to find somewhere to live quickly.”
“Yes. I just don’t know if that’s like a total recipe for disaster,” I admit.
“It just depends on whether you can keep your hands to yourself. I guess if you’ve truly put it behind yourselves, then there’s no issue. It just could get complicated if the lines get blurred because then you could end up jobless and homeless.” He sighs.
“It’s not like I’m a horny teenager; I think I can keep my hands to myself.” I laugh. “I just feel like I’m helping a lot by being there; I wouldn’t want to leave her searching for a new nanny again.”
“I think you’ve made your decision. Which is good, because my son just made me something else and I need to go,” he says with a long groan.
“Thanks, brother. Good luck.” I’ve had a few of my nephews’ presents, and they were as bad as when my brother uses the bathroom.
I hang up with him and call the real estate agent, Roxy, with the news.
She’s happy and says she’ll start the paperwork.
I decide not to bother Hattie until the morning; instead, I use my newfound energy to start cleaning up the last of my dad’s stuff.
If I’m going to have to move out sooner rather than later, I need to start making final decisions.
Most of his stuff will be donated. Clothes, furniture, and other items I have no use for, but that could easily be donated; someone in need will appreciate them.
It is the photos and mementos that I’m not ready to let go of yet.
I don’t know how big the room at Hattie’s house is yet, but I imagine there isn’t enough room for my stuff and my dad’s.
I might have to rent a storage unit or something for the time being until I have a little more time to go through his things.
I start dumping clothes in bags to give away and line up furniture in the living room to make it easier for whoever to move them out.
Most of my stuff had stayed in the car; only a handful of boxes and bags were moved into the house.
Obviously, I can’t get it all done overnight, but I’ve spent the last few weeks cleaning.
Now I just need to return the rental car and look for a more permanent solution.
At first, I figured a rental would make the most sense.
But now that I’m going to be living here, I need to have something of my own.
Sure, I’m not much of a car person, so it isn’t like I’m looking to blow all my money on a new car. I just need something that can get me from point A to point B. I noticed that Hattie drove a car but also had a pickup truck in the driveway. I wonder what the deal with that is.
I wonder if I should call Mom and see what she thinks about selling the place.
It was once the house they shared together, but she asked to be left out of everything.
She has long since moved on and doesn’t want to be reminded of the past. It’s a little hurtful to think about, but I get it.
I wouldn’t want to go through my ex’s stuff either.
Plus, she knows I work as a nanny; it wouldn’t be crazy for her to know I’ll be moving in with them.
It isn’t like I’m going to tell her I hooked up with my boss.
It’s weird how chill Hattie is about that.
Our history, as she had called it. I don’t blame her, I guess; I’ve had my fair share of one-night stands.
But the way she brushed it off was a little hurtful.
I thought there was a shared connection, a little more than just a good fuck.
I’ve been thinking about it since the night we met, but I guess it was one-sided.
It’s a good thing, considering the situation.
But if I’m being honest, I wish she saw me as more than just her son’s nanny.
When I show up to work on Friday, I’m feeling a bit more antsy.
I had texted Hattie yesterday morning about me moving in, and she sent back some promising emojis.
But we decided to tell Ollie in person, and for some reason, that’s making me nervous.
I’m sweating even though it’s a cool sixty degrees out, and I’m not usually nervous.
This somehow makes moving in seem bigger than it is.
Like telling Ollie will turn it into something else.
“I only have a few minutes, so I told him to get ready quickly and come down.” Hattie smiles when I come in.
“No worries.” I’m relieved I’m wearing dark colors today, or she’d see the sweat patches and gauge how nervous I am.
“Hi, Mommy. Hi, Emmy.” Ollie jumps down the bottom two steps and races over to hug me. Thankfully, he’s half my height, or he’d ask why my pits are so wet.
“So, Emmy, and I have some news,” Hattie starts.
“Are you guys dating?” Ollie asks, and I almost choke on the air.
“What? Why would you think that?” Hattie asks calmly.
“I don’t know, I heard Auntie Lina talking about you dating someone, and I thought maybe it was Emmy.” He shrugs like he didn’t just figure out a goldmine.
“Well, no, Love Bug. But Emmy is going to be living with us for a while,” Hattie goes on.
“Oh, cool.” He looks up at me, smiling.
“My dad’s house is being sold, so your mom thought it would be fun if I stayed here. Is that cool with you?” I ask, wanting to make sure he’s okay with it.
“Yeah, are you sleeping in mommy’s bed? Because I don’t think mine is big enough.” He frowns.
“No, she’s going to stay in the guest room bed. The one we use in mommy’s office? That’s why I’ve been clearing my things out of there,” Hattie explains.
Ollie nods.
“Does that sound good? You’ll still get to hang out with Emmy, but on her days off she’ll probably do her own things and won’t be available to play,” Hattie goes on.
“What if she wants to play?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye.
“Yeah, what if I want to?” I smirk, looking at Hattie.
“As long as your homeschool work is done, of course you can. Just remember we’re going to respect boundaries if she’s busy or doesn’t want to. Okay?” Hattie asks Ollie.
“Okay,” Ollie says. “Can I have breakfast now?”
“Sure, go get the cereal out, and Emmy will be there in a second,” Hattie says, and Ollie disappears into the kitchen. She turns to me. “So, all good?”
“Yeah. Thank you again. I really appreciate not having to go apartment hunting, although I am in the market for a used car, if you know of one. Mine’s a rental, and I’d love to have something more permanent now that I’m staying,” I say.
“You’re welcome to use the pickup; I usually use the car since it’s just me. But if you wanna borrow it until you find something, that’s fine. The keys are on the hook by the door.” She points.
“Is it yours?” I ask curiously.
“It was Benny’s.” She sighs. “When she got sick and couldn’t drive anymore, she left it to me. I thought maybe I’d save it for Ollie or something. But I can’t bring myself to drive it; the inside still smells like her.”
I don’t know where it comes from, but I reach out and touch her hand. It’s a soft and friendly touch, but it feels so much more intimate. My fingertips gently graze the side of her hand, and we lock eyes. I’m not trying to do anything but make her feel comforted in this moment.
“I feel the same when I’m at my dad’s house. I couldn’t keep his clothes because they smelled too much like him,” I admit.
“I keep thinking it’ll get easier over time, but I think that’s a lie people feed us so we keep going on.” She chuckles, but a tear starts to run down her left cheek.
I catch it; my hand—the same one—brushes against the side of her face, softly rubbing it away as I gaze into her dark chocolate eyes.
I’m reminded of the night we spent together and how intense our chemistry was.
Does she feel it too? She has to. But she doesn’t say anything; instead, both of us jump apart at the sound of Ollie calling for me.
“I-I better get going.” Hattie wipes her face, glancing in the mirror by the front door. She heads out before I can say anything else, leaving me behind with her tear on my fingertip.