Clad in her pink Bugs Bunny pajamas, Gracie snuggled with the stuffed animal watching television when Ms. Fine entered the room bringing her a glass of milk. She looked up from the screen and noticed her Nanny's wide grin as she put the glass of milk on the bedside table.
"You know, you can have extra fifteen minutes watching tv", said Ms. Fine with a big, affectionate smile as she settled beside Gracie.
"There must something you want that you're giving additional television time," said Gracie without taking her eyes off the screen.
"Come on, I don't need anything. I just thought it would be nice to have a little chat while you watch tv. You know… tell me about the girl Niles likes as you watch Charmed," smiled Ms. Fine.
"I'm not going to tell you, Nanny Fine. It's not my story to tell."
"Oh, Val and I have lots of stories to tell and they aint ours," protested Ms. Fine.
"Come on Gracie… can't you give me a clue…"
"You won't believe me anyhow…" said Gracie, reaching for her glass of milk.
"I'll believe you!" whined Ms. Fine.
Then she stopped short. Yeah, what if Gracie was wrong. She couldn't just listen to a little kid, spread the story to Val and her mother when the facts were wrong!
"How did you know anyhow?" asked Ms. Fine.
"Now that's your story to tell. Tell me now. Spill the beans…won't let you play with my make-up," said Ms. Fine.
Gracie put her milk down and looked at her Nanny.
"Okay, okay. I will tell you."
Ms. Fine switched off the television and laid on her stomach on Gracie's bed, swinging her legs up in there, all ready for a good story.
"Hey… I thought I could watch more tv!" protested Gracie.
"You watch after you tell me the story. I want you to concentrate," said Ms. Fine.
Gracie exhaled but gave in.
"You know how I love reading Nancy Drew …so I wanted to be Nancy Drew. I heard father looking for his fountain pen and I wanted to help, like Nancy Drew to solve the Case of the Missing Fountain pen… I searched the entire house looking for it."
"You went through all the effort to search for a fountain pen!" asked Fran incredulously.
"Just like in theater, there are no small roles, in being a detective, there are no small cases," explained Gracie.
"Go on," said Ms. Fine.
"So when I got into Niles' room…"
"What?! You went inside Niles' room!...You should have taken me with you, I'm curious what his room looks like…"
"Okay so I go into his room looking for the pen and I found this black Burberry Scarf neatly folded… and a bunch of tinted lip balms…"
Ms. Fine gasped! "Oh my god, that's why he doesn't want to tell me. It's me! His best friend, no wonder I keep losing my lip balms… and my counterfeit Burberry that looks so real."
"You lost your scarf in the park, remember?!" reminded Gracie.
She stood up from the bed in panic, pacing around the room with a problematic expression.
"Wait! I'm not done yet!" protested Gracie.
"What am I going to do? I'm in love with you father…. How am I going to face Niles… I only think of him as a friend"
Ms. Fine was ranting like a lunatic, deaf to Gracie's protests, talking to herself loudly.
"The scarf was authentic! And the lipbalms were expensive …it's a Lamer! They're Ms. Babcock's!" yelled Gracie.
"How do I deal with this? No wonder he was being so secretive…"
"I didn't say it was you!" said Gracie.
The little girl couldn't catch Ms. Fine's attention and the protests of her little voice all fell on deaf ears.
"Nanny Fine! Pls listen, it's not you…"
"I better go, Gracie… I don't know what I am going to do," said Fran absent-mindedly as she walked out of the room.
"Your flavored Chapsticks are with me… I'm sorry. I just like the different flavors…" she called out sadly, but her Nanny was already out of the room.
"Can I still watch tv for fifteen minutes…" she asked herself forlornly.