“I like to build hover blocks, but Minerva never wants to,” Bo pouted.
“I’ll build with you,” April offered. “If you show me how.”
“You will?” Bo seemed amazed.
“What did you do before, with your previous nanny?” April asked. “Is there anything you guys did together that we should keep in mind?”
“She talked to her boyfriend on her comms the whole time,” Bo said with a scowl. “None of them ever want to do anything fun. Except you.”
“They missed out,” April said. “You’re fun to hang out with. Plus, we have to enjoy it now. Next year, you’ll be going to school, too.”
“Minerva doesn’t like to take the air bus,” Bo said sadly.
“That boy sounds annoying,” April agreed.
“It’s not because of Tyd Brothwell,” Bo said, her dark eyes wide.
“Is she afraid of heights?” April asked, and immediately regretted it. There was no reason to project her own fears onto other people. “Or a different reason?”
Bo shrugged.
Interesting. Bo was very perceptive. She knew her sister well enough to catch the lie, even though her sister hadn’t told her the problem.
“Maybe we can figure out how to make it easier for her,” April said.
“Your job is to take care of me,” Bo said, as if by rote.
“Is that what the other nannies said?” April guessed.
Bo nodded.
“Taking care of you means making sure you feel content,” April said carefully. “When your sister is unhappy, do you feel content?”
Bo puzzled for a moment, as if trying to figure out the meaning of the words, then shook her head.
“There you go,” April said. “Then we should help her, right?”
“Right,” Bo said, with a big grin.
They finished their breakfast in companionable silence. The kid was onto something. The bread must have been from a local bakery. It was fresh and fragrant, and the uva-berry jam was delicious. April could definitely see eating nothing but this for a few days.
But not forever. Hopefully she could figure out something else Bo might like to eat.
April cleaned up the dishes and Bo put them away. It was clear she had never been asked to help in the kitchen before, and she seemed to enjoy it.
April made a note to herself to make sure she gave Bo some small chores.
They headed to Bo’s bedroom once the kitchen was tidied up, and Bo got out her blocks.
They were magnificent. There was a charged disc that sat on the ground and Bo could put together the magnetized blocks, which would then float above it.
It was best as a two-person job because sometimes the blocks had to be carefully balanced and adjusted, so if one person held the existing blocks the other could add the new ones.
Once again, Bo was intent on building an airship. She chose bright red blocks, even though real airships were generally designed in light colors to blend subtly with the sky and reflect more heat.
After about an hour April’s bracelet began to chime.
“What’s that for?” Bo asked as April turned off the alarm.