They were growing like weeds. I’d dropped not-so-subtle hints that we should keep one, but my parents outvoted me two to one. It made no sense to press the issue because I would be off to make my movies and then on to college in a few months. We all knew who would have to take care of the kitten when I was gone.
Brit and I had been talking to everyone about finding homes for them. So far, there were no takers. It seems Precious’s reputation had preceded her, and no one wanted the ‘cat from hell’ version 2.0. Even the more domesticated version of Precious had me sporting scratches when I didn’t follow her rules. That was after we’d had a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting when I found she’d shredded my favorite pillow. I might have been wrong in my assumption that she’d been a bad kitty.
In a weird reversal, Duke met us at the back door, and he was too full of energy. He got down in front of Precious with his butt in the air to get her to play with him. She made a halfhearted swat at him, and they bounded off into the backyard to chase each other.
Peggy came out the back door with Coby and Little David, which explained Duke being loose this morning. She wore her running gear. I took Little David and opened the garage to get their running strollers out. They’d outgrown their tandem one, and I saw that we now had two one-child strollers. The boys seemed to love their morning ride, Coby especially.
We let Precious back into my apartment, and Duke came and sat so he could get his leash put on him.
“Let’s run in the park,” Peggy suggested.
I took it easy on her and set a pace I knew she’d be comfortable with.
“We think we found someone to help me with the little ones,” Peggy told me. “I’m just not sure if you’ll be comfortable with them.”
She had a glint of mischief in her eye. I decided to play her game.
“I’m sure whatever you decide will be fine.”
“Pam and your mom said I had to get your approval before I had Caryn hire them.”
I rolled my eyes. If they’d gotten past my mom and Pam, I was sure they were okay.
“What’s the catch?” I asked.
“What would you think if we got a manny instead of a nanny?”
I know that I shouldn’t discriminate in this day and age, but I’d never considered a man for the job. Then I picked up on a vibe that Peggy might ‘like’ this guy. Believe me, I’m usually the last to catch on to anything like this. I was proud of myself for the discovery.
“You know you can’t sleep with the help,” I teased.
“That’s never stopped you,” she shot back.
Curse her and her female logic. Didn’t she realize the rules didn’t apply to me?
“Yeah, whatever,” I dismissed her.
“Aaron has his teaching degree with a minor in early childhood development,” Peggy began her sales pitch.
“I take it he’s attractive,” I teased.
“Your mom thinks so,” she shot back.
I about fell down when I tripped over an invisible crack in the pavement at that one. Maybe Dad needed to get involved in this hiring decision.
“Looks aside, is he the best candidate for the position?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“What does Scarlet think?” I asked.
“She said he was the best one we interviewed.”
“If you’re all happy, then hire him.”
“Thanks. Between hiring Aaron and the new car, it’ll make my life a lot easier.”
“Speaking of easier, tell Caryn to find someone to clean the house and do the laundry. It seems our old housekeeper quit,” I said, knowing full well that our original housekeeper had been Peggy.
“I could still do that,” she said, blushing.
“No. You have school and need to watch the kids. Maybe they could cook too,” I said, expanding the new hire’s responsibilities as they occurred to me. “And help out where needed.”
I had visions of after Thanksgiving when Ashley moved here, and all the little ones were running around. There would be a constant need to clean up and do laundry. If they would also get dinner started, it would be a bonus. I had a feeling that my mom would soon feel overwhelmed. If that happened, she might go back on our agreement for her and Dad to be in charge of Coby until after I finished college.
◊◊◊
We came home to find Wolf with Phil, Roc, and Yuri raking the yard. Dad was busy on a ladder, taking off the screens. It looked like Dad was getting the house ready for winter. I helped Peggy get the boys inside for their breakfast.
I left Duke outside to supervise and went to my apartment to get ready for church. When I came back, I found that my mom had gone to Granny’s West and picked up cinnamon rolls. She’d gotten enough to feed me and the crew working outside.
“Go tell them breakfast is ready,” she ordered.
I was impressed when they just dropped their rakes and came into the house. Nice.
“Hey, David, did you hear who we’re playing?” Roc asked.
“I didn’t look,” I admitted.
“McHenry. They’ve won their last six games by margins of at least three touchdowns. In the paper, they said that this is probably the game that will determine the next state champion.”
“Wesleyan also won in a shootout, 37–33,” Wolf shared.
