Chapter Seven

|Naomi's Truth|

It was Saturday when Arthur started to feel better. He'd received numerous well-wishes through Buster, who called him the night before, but so far the most sympathetic person was Naomi. She'd been in constant contact with him, providing him with comforting words and an even more comforting sandwich recipe. It was the first solid food Arthur had and he enjoyed it.

Arthur's thoughts were on this sandwich as he answered the front door midmorning. Mr. Sanders was there, a folder in his hand and a smile on his face. He entered briefcase-first into the Read household, taking a seat at the crowded breakfast table like he was one of the gang. Everyone stared, namely the twins because they'd never seen a man like this before. David and Jane had no choice but to pull the man into their master bedroom; Arthur decided to follow and was allowed inside.

"I've found some pretty damning evidence, if you don't mind me saying so," Mr. Sanders grinned, sitting on the foot of the bed—again like he owned the place. The Read's exchanged glances as he opened the folder on his lap. He slyly put on a pair of reading glasses and moved sheets of paper until he came to a photocopied page of yearbook photographs. "This is Naomi, but this isn't St. Mary's School for Girls, and it definitely isn't recent."

"So she's older?" David asked. Mr. Sanders nodded, "Twenty-two to be exact, but this could even be fake. My resources are helping me decipher this right now, but something more important came up. She did leave school a year early, but it wasn't to attend Metropolis University. She's there now, sure, but then?" he asked, smiling widely as he flipped to the next page.

"Is that…a birth certificate?" Jane asked. Mr. Sanders laughed confidently, "Indeed it is, Mrs. Read, a recent one from about five years ago. Naomi's last name is Williams. This is Abigail Leigh Williams, her daughter. She still has custody, and the girl's address is the same as hers. She was living at home up until she moved next door."

"Who's the father?" David asked. Mr. Sanders shrugged, showing him the blank line on the certificate, "But I do know she seems like an honest girl, aside from lying about her age. Her childcare experience is legitimate, and no complaints have been made to Child Protective Services. So if you're okay with this sort of person being around your vulnerable sixteen-year-old boy, so be it, but I think this is plenty of evidence to get rid of her."

"Thank you for your help," Jane smiled, helping Mr. Sanders stand. A moment later, he was gone, and Arthur's parents were locked in the master bedroom discussing Naomi's fate.

Arthur's head was swimming. So she was twenty-something young mother, he thought. She was the vulnerable one, not him. He almost felt sorry for her. He didn't know many people who had children at his age, namely thanks to the public service announcements and plenty of "The Talk's" going around. The few he did know had to give their children up for adoption no matter what, and of the one person he knew that kept their child, they quickly changed their mind, namely because the state took the child away.

As Arthur waited for his parents to decide, he continued texting Naomi as if nothing ever happened. Their conversations were free, bouncing between subjects happily as they discussed celebrities, politics, and local news. Naomi was friendly and had a lot in common with Arthur, and he wondered if an age difference could affect him. He was beginning to daydream about Naomi and him taking care of his siblings, his Smurf arm never hindering him.

Mid-daydream, his parents emerged and moved to the landline. Arthur listened as his father asked Naomi to come over. Arthur gulped and wondered if he should give her a hint of what was to come. As he debated the issue in his mind, his parents asked him to take the kids to the park. Arthur had no choice but to obey; DW had already gotten the twins ready to go. So, in the midst of this crisis, he left the Read house with his siblings, not knowing if Naomi would be a part of the picture when he returned.

|Naomi's Fate|

David looked over Naomi carefully. She was wearing polite clothes, he noted, and she seemed as happy as she always did. He wondered if she knew anything as he exchanged glances with his wife.

"This seems important," Naomi laughed nervously. "What do you want to discuss with me? Do you need more help around the house? Is Arthur alright?"

"Everything is fine, but…we want to learn more about you," Jane explained. David nodded; he wanted her to continue this difficult conversation. "Arthur is friends with someone whose family had a bad experience with a live-in nanny, and they were kind enough to offer some resources to us in order to research your background. We want you to tell us what they might've found that would need to be aired out. The more honest you are, the easier this will be."

"You found out about Abby, didn't you?" Naomi smiled. The Read's nodded. "She's my pride and joy, but…I found that people were being less accepting of me because of her. They assumed I was a…well you know the word. I just happened to make a mistake with my high school boyfriend. We'd been dating since freshman year at Elwood City High, and I was a junior, and…he said the right things. He left me right afterwards, so I never included him in Abby's life. That was a good decision. Teenage boys don't know anything about the world. I leave all people my age and younger alone now. They simply aren't worth the trouble."

"So you went to a different school as well?" David asked. Naomi nodded, "St. Mary's helped me after I did some work for them, and they didn't seem to mind me saying I went there. Abby was my little secret, so it seemed like a good choice. I…I just really love children now that I've had her, so I wanted to work with them. The neighborhood wasn't too accepting, so I branched out and, well, here we are," Naomi smiled. "I love your children, Mr. and Mrs. Read, and I really want this to work out. If you're worried about Arthur, I understand. He's a handsome young man, but really, he's not my type. You have nothing to worry about."

"We thank you for your honesty," Jane nodded with a light smile. "I want you to know we're watching you carefully, but for the time being, I think you can stay. The children love you, and really, you having a child of your own just helps me know you'll do a good job with my children. And if you need help in making the right choices, let me know. It'll be nice to have some practice with young women for when DW gets a little older."

"No problem," Naomi smiled, shaking their hands. They thanked her before sending a quick text to Arthur. He was still at the park with the children, and in a few moments, a grinning Naomi would join them.

|Naomi's "Return"|

The mall's ice cream stand was fairly crowded when the Read children and Naomi arrived, but Naomi took over the task like a business woman. Soon they were at a table licking their various scoops, crowd watching as people bustled past their table.

"Arthur, who was that man in our kitchen this morning?" DW asked. Arthur shook his head, "Just someone who was helping them with some business. They wanted me to talk with them just so I could learn things."

"He looked like a lawyer," Kate noted. She then gasped, "They aren't—"

"No, they're not," Arthur said quickly. Kate stopped midsentence like he wanted. The twins knew about divorce because of the Molina's divorce, so he knew the word would upset them. Kate went back to her strawberry ice cream with a look of relief, making Arthur the nervous one. Should he tell them about Naomi's investigation?

"Sometimes your parents are going to have secret business. It's all a part of being a good parent," Naomi smiled, patting Ricky's head happily. "Your parents were checking on my past to make sure I was who I said I was. I'll admit to you all that I did tell a few white lies, but it was to protect me. Just know I'm a little older than I said."

"Are you over twenty-one?" DW asked. When Naomi nodded, DW got a huge smile on her face. When she was younger, she wanted to be thirteen. Now that she was only a few years from being thirteen herself, twenty-one was her new goal, skipping sixteen and eighteen altogether because Arthur was near those ages, making them gross and unacceptable.

"And…there's someone I'll see if you can meet," Naomi smiled, looking to Vicky and Ricky, both of whom were covered in their ice cream. "She's close to their age, and I think you'll all get along nicely."

DW and Kate both tried to ask questions, but Naomi busied herself in using hand sanitizer to help clean the twins. A few minutes later, they were walking home like normal, and Arthur couldn't help but smile.