Chapter 2
Jessie sat on a bench in the park checking her phone for status updates from her friends. Behind her, Zuri was playing in the sand and waiting on her friend Jamie to show up. Jessie sighed as she looked up. Jaime was ten minutes late so far, which pleased Jessie aside from Zuri possibly being upset. She sighed heavily and fixed her hair nervously. Where was that heavenly nanny she kept hearing about?
"Jaime! Oh, I love your dress!" Zuri exclaimed. Jessie turned around to see a girl in a full princess outfit, complete with sparkly sequins that almost blinded bystanders due to the bright light reflecting from them.
"My nanny made it for me. I'm in a princess club downtown and the dresses have to be authentic," Jaime said, walking towards a bench to sit down. "She made my shoes as well, but my feet are killing me."
"Hi, you must be Jessie," a voice said. Jessie turned to see a blonde woman with perfect skin and makeup. "Hi, I'm Lily, Jaime's nanny. Sorry we're late, but she's not used to her new shoes yet. I'll get you some ice in a minute, Jaime!"
"Thanks!" she called back.
"It's nice to meet you. I hear you make a lot of things yourself," Jessie smiled, twirling her hair around her finger nervously. Lily was perfect, completely perfect, and Jessie was worried.
"Well, I only have Jaime to watch, and while she's away, I have all that time on my hands. So the first thing I made her were clothes, then I started learning to make my own food, namely for her vegan mother, and then…I think I made the dollhouse next. Either way, with so much time on my hands, I figured I'd make myself useful," Lily smiled, peeking back to Jaime before looking back to Jessie. "I hear you have four kids to watch over. That must get pretty hectic."
"Sometimes," Jessie nodded, "but I handle hectic pretty well. I'm from Texas, so I'm used to crazy situations. Being here in the big city has really changed me."
"Wow, that is a pretty big transition. I've lived here my whole life," Lily said, peeking back to Jaime again. "Listen, it was nice meeting you, but I think I need to get Jaime home. Do you mind hailing me a cab while I get her?"
"No, no problem," Jessie nodded, moving towards the street. Zuri and Jaime followed Lily, but instead of going straight to the street, they stopped by an ice cream cart first. Jessie scoffed, watching from afar. She hoped they got her an ice cream, but when they finally arrived, there was nothing for her but a sticky-handed Zuri.
"Thanks a million, Jessie. Come along, Jaime," Lily smiled, closing the taxi door and disappearing into the distance.
"Sorry we didn't get you anything, Jessie, but I just couldn't decide," Zuri shrugged, eating her ice cream with one hand and holding Jessie's hand with her other hand. "Lily's great, isn't she?"
"Yes, great," Jessie sighed. "I'm ready to get home. Bertram might still be acting all zombie-like and I don't want that crazy neighbor of ours to call him into Homeland Security again."
Zuri didn't argue, and soon they were back at the apartment, where Jessie disappeared for a good cry.