During my bitter moments, it made me mad because I’d lost both Scott and Adan before I turned thirty, which left me with a long life alone. But in my positive moments, I told myself that some people aren’t even lucky enough to find one person who makes them feel warm and right and good, and I’d had two. Of course, they’d shattered my trust and my spirit, but it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, right? At least that’s what they say. If you ever meet “they,” kick him in the shin for me, would you?
All right, that’s enough naval gazing. Are you ready to hear about the next picture? Okay, well, to understand this one, I have to tell you about the worst thing that ever happened to me.
My sister died.
She was living in Nevada with her two kids from two different unnamed fathers. She had been working late. There was a drunk driver. The roads were slick with September rain. And I got a call in the middle of the night from her friend-slash-nanny telling me that Rachel was gone and my six-year-old niece and seven-year-old nephew needed me.
My mother and I flew down there, got Bobby and Stephanie into counseling, and agreed that more changes wouldn’t be good for them, so they should stay in Las Vegas, at least to finish out the school year. My mom was in her late sixties, not in the greatest health, and married to a man who owned a business in Florida. So once things were settled, she went back to her home at the other end of the country. That left me in Nevada as the legal guardian—on the way to becoming the adopted father—of two small children.
None of it was what I’d expected or wanted, but life throws shit at you and you have to deal. At age thirty-five, I’d long since figured that out. So I called a buddy who worked at one of the Vegas shows, got a gig dancing and training under the lead choreographer, and moved my life to Nevada.
As you might recall, Scott’s father and stepmother lived there and, last I’d heard, so did he. When my sister broke up with the guy who moved her to Vegas, she was looking for work. As luck would have it, Scott’s parents were looking for a nanny right then. My decision to cut off all contact with his family didn’t apply to my mother and sister, so Rachel had ended up nannying for Lloyd and Julia. Thankfully, she had respected my request not to talk about Scott, understanding how painful that breakup had been for me.
The downside to that courtesy was that I didn’t realize she had kept in touch with Scott long after the nannying gig for his father ended. And that lack of knowledge left me completely unprepared for what happened next. Are you ready? Don’t worry, the bad shit’s over, I promise.
Daniel, a guy I’d sort of dated and who had remained one of my closest friends was in town for the weekend, and I’d promised I’d meet him for dinner and dancing one night. I hadn’t done anything but work and bond with Stephi and Bobby in the month since I’d moved into town, so I was looking forward to it. I called Stacia, my sister’s friend and the kids’ former nanny, and asked her to babysit.
So far so good. But then, minutes before I was expecting her, my phone rang.
“Hi, Charlie, listen, I’m sooooo sorry to have to do this, but I feel like shit and I just threw up, so I can’t watch the kids tonight.” Before I could buck up and tell her it was okay and to feel better, she added, “But I didn’t want to leave you hanging, so I asked someone else to fill in.”
Other than people from work, I didn’t know anybody in town, not even any of Rachel’s other old friends, so I wasn’t inclined to let someone else watch my kids.
“Thanks for the offer, Stacia, but don’t worry about it. I don’t feel right leaving the kids with a stranger.”
“Oh! He’s not a stranger. Don’t worry. The kids love him. He’s—”
The doorbell rang and both kids screeched, “Let’s hide! Let’s hide!”
It was a favorite game whenever anybody came into the house, including me. I can’t for the life of me explain why it was entertaining, but there you have it.
“I think he’s here, Stacia, I’ll take care of it. Thanks again and feel better.”
I hung up the phone and walked over to the door, trying to decide whether I should trust this person on Stacia’s word or send him away. I was so lost in thought, I had the door open before I looked up. I raised my head when I saw two sets of feet walk in.