Darren stood with his hands in his pockets while Sherry arranged her Uber. He looked at her disposition and took in all the ways she’d changed – anguish had left its imprint on her face; she had gained a noticeable amount of weight, but was certainly still hot. Her blonde hair still swayed with every breeze and glowed in the midday sun. He shivered, not having anticipated that she would be needing transportation.
Darren checked his own phone – the time. Soon enough, he himself would need to be getting on his way to the daycare. He was due to get Gabriel today at 3 o’clock. “You know what?” he said, getting Sherry’s attention. “I gotta go and get Gabriel in a little bit. Maybe you could meet him that way. We have a little bit before I would have to leave to go to the daycare then I pick him up and I drop you back off at your place. What do you think?”
Sherry looked up from her phone, shoving clumps of her hair behind her ear. She smiled, unsure of what to say. “Oh, okay. I don’t see why not.”
Darren commented about it being too cold for her to be standing out on a windy street and waiting for an Uber. Quickly, he ushered her back into the house then insisted she sit in the foyer. Sherry did just that and waited on Darren to come back from the dining room with his laptop. He explained he needed to answer emails. Sherry couldn’t deny how dedicated this guy seemed to his work...whatever it was, as she didn’t really remember. In fact, she wondered what ever even happened to the business card she’d gotten from him.
“So, how do you like Fort Wayne so far?” Sherry asked, still thinking about her unanswered question. The longer she sat in the guy’s presence, especially in a different capacity than the last time, the more interesting he seemed.
Darren nodded. “It’s nice,” he answered. “It’s a big culture shock, I’m sure. Not really all that far away from Chicago, but I imagine so much different in terms of living.”
“Absolutely,” Darren said then rambled off a list of differences.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Sherry said, smiling as she figured out a way to pull
the answer she wanted out of Darren. “Since I would be the child’s nanny and primary caretaker, I would obviously be in the house with him more than you and maybe dealing with other things for the child. You talked about your second car out in the garage that I would be able to use, and I do appreciate that. But will the mother ever be coming to pick up the child? Will I have to interact with her and how often would she be coming and taking the baby for how long?”
Darren bit his bottom lip. Irony seeped into his high spirit. He had been thinking about this very question being brought up by some of the applicants. He never would’ve imagined the applicant would be the bartender from that night. The man sighed, glanced away, then looked back at Sherry. “Actually, you wouldn’t have to deal with that.”
“Oh,” Sherry said. Her face then turned somber as she assumed the mother died. She glanced down at Darren’s hand, thinking that the guy might be a widower. He certainly didn’t seem like the kind of person to have a child out of wedlock.
“No, it’s not what you’re probably thinking,” Darren said. The various, underlying societal stigmas he’d been facing in recent years came flooding back into his confidence. “He’s adopted. I adopted him a couple months ago. At first, I stepped away from my business for a few weeks then I found this great daycare that takes newborns and they’ve been watching him for five to six hours a day, usually. But, well, I’m not all that excited about daycare if I know my child could have better. I would rather he be at home and under the care of someone I hire or screen and not those of a daycare.” He smiled. “And so here we are.”
“Oh,” Sherry said. She rubbed the back of her neck as she looked away. She regretted asking the question at this point, as if brought about five more unanswered questions. And these were questions she wouldn’t dare ask someone she was asking for a job.
Sherry accepted what Darren said then the conversation moved on. Before they knew it, Darren escorted her out to his MKZ, held the door for her to get it, then they were on their way to the daycare. The ride only lasted less than ten minutes, but it felt longer to Sherry. Nearly a mile from Darren’s house, she realized what agreeing to riding with the guy could mean in regards to her getting the job.
Light snow started trickling from the sky as Darren pushed out into the wind. A blue blanket made of a strange fabric covered his baby’s head as he walked quickly down to the sidewalk. Sherry took it upon herself to step out of the car and take the baby from Darren. He then opened the backdoor and stood back as Sherry comforted Darren’s wrapped-up baby. The chill in the wind was getting sharper and there was no doubt such was irritating the baby. With her voice raised, she playfully talked to the baby about his rosy cheeks as she fastened him into the car seat.
When Sherry stepped back, Darren looked inside and nodded his head in approval. There was a long second where they locked eyes then Darren rushed around to the other side of the car and climbed into the driver seat. Sherry jumped into her seat as well.
For much of the ride across town to the address Sherry had given as where she lived, she turned and glanced back Darren’s baby numerous times. When the boy started to fuss, she would make just as loud of a whining noise. Every so often, she would readjust his blanket, in tune with whether or not he might be getting too hot. There was an instance where she caught herself staring off at the street as Darren drove, remembering the way she would do the same for her little nephew when she still lived at home with her mom and dad. Sherry turned her head more and gnawed on her bottom lip in thought. I wonder how they’re doing.
Darren followed his GPS then pulled up in front of a different apartment than where he remembered Sherry living the night they hooked up. “Oh, I see you moved. This is nice. When you start, what will happen with your lease?”
When I start? Sherry’s eyes darted around. Does that mean he’s hiring me? He hasn’t officially told me. “Um, well, it’s not actually my place. I’m just staying with a friend for now.”
Darren looked at Sherry, still wondering what it could be she’d gone through that made her a bit more mature. The more he looked at her face as well as her eyes, the more he felt convinced. “Oh, I see,” he said.
“Yes, well,” Sherry said, deciding she would end this strange, unconventional interview the best way she could. She never saw Darren again after the first time they met. This time could very well be no different. Finishing up a job interview on a good note then never hearing from the employer was nothing new. “First, I should thank you for the ride home. You really didn’t have to, but thank you. I enjoyed the interview today as well and hope that you’ll stronger consider considering me for the position.” She glanced back at Darren’s baby once again. “Your son certainly is a nice soul.”
Darren smiled, glancing back at Gabriel. A nice soul? Darren found Sherry’s word choice to be so interesting. “If I consider considering you for the position.” He chuckled. “Well, I guess I’ll consider considering considering you for the job.”
Sherry giggled, realizing how she must’ve sounded. This Darren guy was far more charming than she remembered. Maybe it was living in Ft. Wayne, or maybe it was being a single father to an adopted son. He seemed a little looser – a little more personal. “Thank you.”
“When can you start, Sherry?” Darren came out and asked. “Look, I noticed the way you put him into the seat and how nurturing you seemed when taking him from me out in the snow. It was pretty clear you have experience taking care of a baby, and you clearly have the drive to be in this kind of role. If you would accept, we can definitely sit down and discuss a salary and whatnot. I just need to know when you can start.”
Sherry smiled, excited that she got the job. She nearly broke out in laughter. This was one hell of an interview. Whoever heard of some stuff like this happening? A guy from Chicago I hooked up with from The Blue Ivy winds up hiring me to be his nanny? This is almost too hard to believe. “Oh, okay. Thank you, thank you.” She was gracious. “Um, I can start as soon as possible. Maybe give me a couple days to gather my things up here and all that and bring stuff over, I guess.”
Darren nodded. “Tomorrow, I’ll arrange to bring the car over so you can go ahead and start using it. I’ll need to give information from you so I can put you on my insurance, but that won’t be a problem.”
Sherry nodded, processing it all. The last year of agony she’d been through was finally looking up. She kept time in mind and climbed out of the car so she wouldn’t hold Darren up. Before stepping away from the curb, she leaned behind the front seat and stuck her finger out toward Darren’s son’s closed fist. The little baby snickered in his sleep. Memories reminiscent of when she watched her nieces and nephew as a baby flooded back into her heart. There was something about holding Darren’s baby that made her soul glow in a way it never had with another baby. After all, she had experienced this very same feeling in the delivery room when the obstetrician finally brought her brand new baby boy into the world and up to his mother’s arms. There’s something about this baby.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a couple days little...” Sherry’s face scrunched up as she realized she still hadn’t been told the baby’s name. She wondered if Darren noticed her voice trail off. Would he be looking for her to remember because he perhaps had brought it up casually?
“Gabriel,” Darren said. “His name is Gabriel.”
Sherry’s stomach dropped; her heart skipped a beat. Her mouth hung open for a couple of seconds too long. Blinks were now few and far between. With a stiff neck, Sherry turned back to Darren’s baby – to Gabriel. She forced herself to finish her goodbyes with the baby as genuine as possible. She then backed up, she and Darren telling the other they would be in touch about her moving in, and watched Darren’s MKZ pull off and ride down the street. Sherry’s eyes followed Darren’s taillights until they were out of sight.