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"Can you say hey?
Can you say oh?
That's right, what do you want from me?
I get the feeling we're on to something
I say jump and you start jumping.
Can you say hey?
Can you say oh?
That's right, what do you want from me?
What Do You Want From Me?
I don't know how we managed it, but Cady and I were able to sneak away from Mom to pick out my dress for the wedding. Of course our escape wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been for Mrs. Clearwater's perfect timing; that lady was really starting to grow on me.
It wasn't that we didn't value her opinion, but neither of us was ready for a repeat of what had happened last week when we found Cady's dress. Besides, Mom had already put in her input on the topic; she'd made it clear that I needed something to draw attention to my figure, preferably in a light blue. The two of us had just rolled our eyes at her; one: we already knew what kind of dress flattered me and two: the wedding color was light blue anyway.
"So, have you seen Paul lately?" Cady asked nonchalantly as we sorted through the racks of dresses in the little bridal shop we had bought her wedding dress at.
"Nope." I replied simply, popping the 'p' as I did so.
"Yeah, you two don't seem to get along so well do you?"
I sighed, "It's not my fault he gets so defensive about organization."
Cady snickered and I knew she was about to put her two cents in when I interrupted her by pulling out a strapless light blue gown. The two of us stood there for a minute looking the dress over. It gathered to one side of the waist, which I knew would make my waist look tiny as I had had a few prom dresses like that in the past. The skirt flowed nicely and the material wouldn't be too hot for an August wedding, or too cold considering the fact we were in one of the rainiest places in the United States.
"Go put it on." She finally urged.
I did as told and a few minutes later emerged from the changing room where my sister was waiting with a brilliant smile on her face.
"You look amazing."
"You better choose this one, Cady."
"Definitely, wait until Paul sees you in it."
I sucked in a breath, "What the hell does Paul have to do with my dress?"
Cady's only reply was a smirk and a wave of her hand that clearly stated that I needed to go back into the dressing room and change so we could buy the dress and go get some lunch. What a jerk. If it's not enough that she told all of them the turtle story, she now decides to have fun by making ludicrous assumptions to get me stirred up!
"Wipe that look off your face, Sadie, and let's get something to eat."
Jerk.
* * *
With the convenient excuse of a headache I had begged off from accompanying Mom and Cady to the florist shop. I liked flowers, but the scents they produced always succeeded in giving me a headache or a worse one in some cases. That was something I shared with my Father, at least according to my Mom. It was a trait that she always found annoying and always made a point to mention so.
"You're not going?"
"It'll give me a worse headache." I replied as I watched the two of them put on their shoes from the comfort of the couch.
"Just like him I see." Mom scoffed. "Honestly, I can't even put on perfume without you coughing and keeping clear of me."
Cady's eyes met mine as Mom continued to mumble about flowers, perfumes, and the fact that he refused to ever wear her favorite cologne. Sadly, I was used to the acid in her voice when she compared me to him but just because I was used to it didn't mean it didn't hurt.
It wasn't even little things like that either. Even though Mom had kept her married name after the divorce papers were settled, via mail, she still liked to point out that the two of us were and would always be Harrisons. I was sure that even when Cady legally became a Clearwater, Mom would still point out that fact to her when she did something Mom considered 'Dad' like.
I was pulled out of my depressing musings by the sound of a knock on the door. I didn't even hesitate to stand up and walk over to the door of Seth's home here in this small town. If I had been in someone's house alone at home I would have pretended no one was home. You never knew who would be at your door there.
But when I pulled open the door I wished that I would have just stayed on the couch. It was Paul. He was holding a baby carrier and had a diaper bag slung over his shoulder. Despite the little bit of spit up on his bare forearm, he looked well put together, unlike the last time I had seen him.
"Can I help you?" I asked evenly.
"First, let me apologize for overreacting the other day." He began sincerely. "You were right; I do need to organize, so if you'll let me in I have a business offer to discuss with you."
My curiosity was seriously piqued now. A business offer for me? I stepped aside to let him in the house and closed the door behind him as he situated the carrier on the floor and himself on the couch.
"A business offer?"
"Yes." Paul nodded. "I'm sure by now you know Grace's story, and in the month I've been taking care of her I have had no work. But now I need to go back, but without the help of Hunter I don't know what to do with Grace. So that brings me to you. I need help not only with Grace, but with my finances and since you're an accountant and Grace seems to like you I thought you could be my nanny slash finance lady."
I sat there a moment and just stared at him, processing everything he just told me. Okay… so for a month he hadn't been working; that made sense since he had a baby to take care of and it made sense that he needed to get back to it now. But who the hell was Hunter and what did he have to do with taking care of Grace?
"Who is Hunter?" I asked suddenly.
I don't think he was expecting that question because he looked confused for a second before he finally replied, "Hunter is Grace's other uncle, her Father's brother. He's finishing up his graduate dissertation and I'm not sure when he'll be here to help me."
Okay, that made sense. Back to processing everything he told me. So he wanted me to watch Grace while he was at work and organize his financial crap?
"Alright, so while you're at work you want me to watch Grace, do chores around the house and organize and manage your finances?"
"Hmm, I didn't think about the chores, but that sounds good to me." He shrugged.
"Okay, five days a week or what?"
I was seriously considering this. I mean…why not? I was going to be here for the entire summer and most of the wedding planning was being done by Mom and Cady; they didn't need me that much.
"Yes, but my hours vary each day."
I nodded in understanding; he was a contractor he worked on a job to job basis.
"How much are you willing to pay me?"
Paul sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Well since you'll really be doing two jobs I suppose I have to pay you a bit more."
"Got that right."
He chuckled, "Is ten dollars an hour good?"
"Twelve."
"Nope."
"Twelve."
"Ten fifty."
"Twelve."
"Eleven?"
"Eleven, with the chance of a raise to twelve." I smiled.
Paul rolled his eyes but nodded his head in agreement.
"Well, I think we have a deal Mr. Riverly." I stated and stuck out my hand for him.
His large hand enclosed mine and gave it a quick pump before he let go and suddenly stood up.
"So, do you think you could start today?" He asked sheepishly. "Just watching Grace today though, starting tomorrow you need to come to the house."
"You sure were confident that I was going to agree."
He shrugged, "Well, I'm really only going to buy some supplies for Mrs. Crane's porch and I could've taken Grace, but since you agreed you guys can have some bonding time here in the comfort of your sister's home."
I glanced at the clock; it was already one in the afternoon. "Fine, when will you be back to get her?"
"Probably around three or four. Everything you'll need is in the bag, so I'll be going now."
"Okay."
"Have fun."
Just as the door shut behind him Grace let one rip before she giggled and looked up at me innocently. Oh this was going to be delightful.
After my time with Grace I realized that I was a natural with babies. It surprised me because I had mostly avoided babies up until this point, due to the fact that I thought I would be horrible with them. But after my three hours with Grace it became apparent to me that she and I would work just fine together. I may not be as natural as her own Mother would have been, but my own motherly instincts had kicked in as soon as she had smiled at me after I changed her diaper.
* * *
"You're working for Paul?" Cady asked with an amused smile on her face.
She wasn't the only one. Seth looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter, and Mom just looked confused as she twirled her spaghetti around her fork. Hell, I probably would have laughed too if someone told me that I would be working for Paul yesterday when I was still pretty annoyed with him. But here I was now; his nanny slash finance lady.
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Wait. Explain how this all came about, please." Seth said, trying not to chuckle too much.
I shot him a look before I complied with his request, "After Mom and Cady left today he came over and immediately apologized for his rude behavior. And then he hit me with a business proposition. And now I am Grace's nanny and his finance lady."
"How much is he paying you?"
"Eleven an hour, but I'm sure that he'll see that it's only fair to give me a raise after a few weeks."
Seth couldn't hold in his laughter this time, "I can't wait to see that go down."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked defensively.
Cady smirked, "He means that you two rub each other the wrong way."
"He doesn't rub me the wrong way all the time, so I'm more than happy to take money from him in return for my hard work."
They just shook their heads at me before they returned to their spaghetti and meatballs.
"Can you handle Grace by yourself?" Mom asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had descended around us.
"I did today for a few hours; I think she and I will be just fine."
Mom smiled, "Then I guess that's all that really matters because that baby needs a woman's touch."
"Mom's right." Cady smiled. "You always did take good care of our dogs."
"Dogs are not babies." Seth pointed out.
"Yeah, I know that, honey." Cady rolled her eyes. "I just meant that she has always been the nurturing type."
Seth chuckled darkly, "She's not very nurturing towards Paul."
"Why would I be?" I quirked an eyebrow. "He's a grown man."
After our lovely dinner conversation the four of us went our separate ways. Mom and I disappeared into our rooms and Seth and Cady stayed behind in the kitchen to clean up dinner. Even though they had definitely been having fun at my expense, they had made me feel better about taking care of Grace. She was really all that mattered at the end of the day. My actual work on his finances would have to be done when she was sleeping or occupied with something else. Organization could always wait, baby girls could not.