8. Chapter 8 #4
“So, what did you think?” Luna asks, tilting her head.
I admit I was a little taken aback by her question.
Judging by her attitude yesterday, I was expecting her to snap at me for spying on her or find a way to insult me and gloat about how she could do this job better than anyone else I tried to hire… and yet, she didn’t.
As if the beast of a woman I saw yesterday was put back in its cage, and the person I was with right now was a completely different person.
Interesting.
Her question sounds as if she was genuinely curious as to what I thought about her chart thing, so of course, I had to let her sweat for a few seconds, prolonging my opinion.
“I’m impressed. Theo can be incredibly picky when it comes to food, and you may have found just the way to fix that,” I reply, telling her the truth, even if it did bruise some of my pride. But if there was one of my mother’s traits I refuse to inherit, it’s the inability to acknowledge my wrongs.
“How did you come up with it?” I ask in a condescending tone, leaning back against the counter with my arms crossed.
I hadn’t heard of that technique before, but you better believe that after she was gone, I would be researching to make sure she didn’t rip off anyone else’s idea, as it was pure genius, and I needed a way to try to trigger her anger.
Something inside me wanted to meet the person I encountered yesterday, but sadly, this type of jab fell flat.
“Thanks, and it wasn’t me. It was my Grandad’s Idea; I wasn’t quite of age yet, but my brother was around Theo’s age when he went through a phase of only wanting to eat ketchup and rice, so my Grandad made up the chart and the wishes as a way for him to connect with my brother and develop a healthy relationship with food. ” She explains with a sad smile.
There was definitely more to that story than she was telling, but that wasn’t my business. What I was more focused on was how much I wanted the woman from yesterday to come out and play.
We are alone in the kitchen for several moments until Theo screams Luna’s name at the top of his lungs.
I follow her into the dining room to see him holding his empty plate up next to his face.
There wasn’t a single rice grain left. Luna drops to her knees in front of him and grabs his cheeks, rubbing her nose against his.
“Well done, Theo! You tried a new food, and you ate every bite. I’m so proud of you!” she beams, letting go, taking the plate from him and pulling the chart towards them, peeling off a gold star sticker and offering it to him.
“Now you get to put a sticker in the April box,” she recites, watching Theo bounce up and down so much that the sticker fell on the table once or twice before it made it on the chart.
Then, for the first time, Theo notices my presence and calls me over to show me his new chart. I act surprised as if it was my first time seeing it, and watch him giggle about how excited he was to get his first wish, whilst Luna clears up his mess.
After we stick his chart on the fridge, high enough so he can still reach it. We walk Luna to the door as she changes out of her slippers and into her shoes and coat.
Whilst doing his best attempt not to cry after Luna gives him a big hug, Theo acts brave while she tells him she would be back again soon, and dammit, of course she would; if I didn’t hire her now, I really would be a monster.
Maybe seeing the opposite of what I saw yesterday helped convince me that she wasn’t that bad… but that still didn’t mean I planned on letting my guard down just yet. I drift off into space. I snap back to see her looking at me, and no sign of Theo.
“Mr Walters, I just want to say thank you for giving me another chance and letting me spend the day with Theo. It was a pleasure,” she says professionally, giving me a purely white smile.
“And in case you were wondering, Theo ran off to pick out his PJs,” she adds, as I nod in relief, then watch her turn towards the door. Once she was standing on the other side, she spoke again.
“Oh, and just so you know, I won’t apologise for my behaviour yesterday,” her smile now gone.
“And if I’m hired, I promise to always remain professional and have Theo’s best interest at heart, though if you think for one second I’ll put up with you disrespecting me, you’ve been shown that doesn’t settle well with me.
” She, glaring at me, her five-foot-two height compared to my six-foot-two self, seems like an indication of weakness, but instead, shows me that she was small but mighty.
In the mere minutes it takes for Theo to run upstairs and back down, the woman from yesterday reappeared for a split second before disappearing again the moment Theo came back to give her one last hug. She hugs him tight with a smile.
Giving me one last nod, then walks down the steps and down the road. I close the door and let Theo tug me upstairs to help him get ready for bed, whilst Luna lingers on my mind and whether hiring her really will be a mistake or not.
Nevertheless, I sent Nigel a text to start up her contract and inform her within the hour that she has the job.
Mistake or not?
Bloody hell, we were about to find out.