Park Avenue Player(8)

“It was Ruby Woo Retro Matte.”

“Ah…bright red. Bold.”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “The lady who caught me didn’t call the police. But when I told her I’d left the after-school program, she made me tell her where I went to school, and then she called the principal to tell him I was at Macy’s. I took the bus back to school and then came here.”

I finished off my water. “Okay, here’s the thing… While sometimes it feels good to do something bad, it’s only a fleeting satisfaction. You just end up wanting to do something else, and it never really satisfies the itch for very long. The next time you try something like that, you’ll get into even bigger trouble. Eventually, these things will catch up with you, and the lady at the store won’t be so nice. But I get it. Doesn’t make it right, but I get why you did it.”

“Thanks for not judging me.” She stood up and wandered over to the vending machine. Wearing neon pink Chucks, she looked about ten or eleven. She tapped her foot as she thought about what to buy.

Turning to me, she asked, “You wanna share a Twix bar?”

My stomach growled. “Oh...no. Can’t. I’m on a diet.”

“What kind of diet? You don’t look fat.”

“Well, thank you. I had candy already today, and when I’m not cheating on my diet, I try to eat mostly protein. It’s called Keto.”

Her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth. “Oh my God. Keto? With a K? Nooo!”

I tilted my head in confusion. “Yes, why?”

“Do you have Keto crotch?”

“What?”

“Does your coochie smell like bacon?”

My mouth fell open. “Wha…no! What are you talking about?”

“I heard about it on the news. I didn’t even know what Keto was. But I do know Keto crotch. My friends in school…we tease each other about it. Like, ‘Haha, you have Keto crotch’.”

“Well, I most definitely do not have Keto crotch. I think that’s a myth anyway.”

“Well, that’s good.” She giggled. “Because that would stink.”

“Literally.”

“Yeah.” She snorted.

What has this conversation turned into?

She opened the wrapper and took a bite of her candy bar. “You’re really pretty.”

Taken aback by the sweet comment, I said, “Thank you. So are you.”

“What’s your name?”

“Elodie. And you are?”

“Hailey.”

Hailey.

Hailey?

Oh shit. Hailey.

I froze. Holy crap. How had I not made the connection?

“Your uncle doesn’t know you’re down here?”

“No. Not yet. When there isn’t someone to watch me, I sometimes come here and hang out when the after-school program gets out anyway. But he might not know I skipped today. Please don’t tell him…in case the principal never called. If the principal told him, I’m toast.”

“Uh…okay.”

“So…you know my uncle? Do you work here?”

“No. I mean… No, I don’t work here. But I do know him.”

“Sorry to hear that,” she joked. “Just kidding.”

“I hadn’t put two and two together. I knew he had a niece, and I knew your name was Hailey. Just didn’t connect the dots until now.”

“So, if you don’t work here, how do you know my uncle Hollis?”

I wasn’t sure whether to admit I’d interviewed to be her nanny. I didn’t want to badmouth Hollis in front of her. And there was really no good way to tell that story without it reflecting negatively on him.

“Your uncle and I... We got into a little fender-bender earlier. I was here handling some business.”

“You messed up his precious car?”

I cringed. “I did.”

“You might be in more trouble than me. Did he yell at you?”

“Not really.” Well, that certainly isn’t the truth.

She took another bite of her bar. “I know how to get him off your case.”

“How?”

“Ask him to buy you maxi pads. Shuts him right up.”

I chuckled. “Okay, probably won’t be doing that, but thanks for the tip.” I took her in and pondered what she’d just said. “Wow...aren’t you…a little young to have your...”

“I’m eleven. And I have it...so no, I’m not.”

Jesus. It hit me just how much of a handful Hollis had inherited. I could only imagine how overwhelming it must have been for him to have to suddenly take on this responsibility. From what Addison told me, he was doing the best he could for his niece, but he’d had to figure things out as he went along. It had understandably been a struggle, thus the need for a nanny.

“You sure you don’t want my second Twix?” she asked. “They give you two bars so you can share one.”

Just as I was about to open my mouth, a deep voice from behind me answered, “If they were Junior Mints, she’d gobble them up like a Hoover.”

I jumped and flipped around, my heart pounding. Hollis had entered the cafeteria. It felt like a teacher walking in on two kids gossiping, for some reason. His gorgeous eyes were piercing.