The Daddy Box Set

Speaking of the adorable devil, Gina bounded into the lobby, shooting through the crowd as if fired from a cannon.

“Daddy!” she cried, running right past me toward the stairs to the second floor.

Gina’s nanny, Layla Porter, looked like a drowned rat as she shuffled through the crowd calling for Gina. She tugged at the tips of her short graying hair as she scanned the crowd. I glanced out the window. I didn’t realize it had been pouring outside. With Gina’s excitement, it looked like she’d forgotten her coat and Layla had forgotten an umbrella.

“I got her!” I called to Layla over the music.

Layla’s head snapped in my direction and recognition flooded her face. She waved at me and stopped walking to catch her breath.

I tried not to cringe at her. She looked exhausted. A sinking feeling weighed in my stomach. I pushed it aside and bolted after Gina before she took her first step onto the stairs at the far end of the lobby.

“Honey,” I said, and she turned around.

Her big brown eyes widened, and her crooked grin spread ear to ear. “Daddy!” she exclaimed and attached herself to my leg. “I missed you. Is this party for me?”

“No, honey,” I said with a smile. “Let’s go upstairs, and you can tell me about your day,” I said, lifting her up and holding her against my hip.

She rubbed her tiny hands over my chin. “Scruffy, Daddy.”

I smiled. “You don’t like it?”

“Umm, I guess.”

I dug my face into her neck and growled. Her cries of laughter rattled my ear drum, even over the thumping bass music from the DJ booth.

Once we reached the top of the stairs, she took off into my office at the end of the hallway. She had her own corner with a desk and art supplies which she called “work.” Sometimes I wished my job involved crayons and colored paper.

I glanced down the stairs and saw Layla slowly ascending. She looked more weathered lately, and this was the perfect opportunity to speak with her about how she was getting along with Gina. She’d called me earlier in the day and asked if she could talk with me. Since I wasn’t going to leave the building before the party, I asked her to come in with Gina. I wondered if that had been a bad idea. Lately, she and Gina remained at home for most of the day. Gina had plenty of toys and a massive swing set outside, but she required a lot of activity to tire her out. Layla wasn’t a spring chicken, and bringing Gina to the park or anywhere else was a handful.

I had a bad feeling about this conversation, but I wasn’t one to shy away from it, especially when it was about my family. If Layla wasn’t the best for Gina, so be it. But a part of me wanted to be wrong about this, even though my intuition was rarely wrong.

“Mr. Stone,” Layla said.

“Layla,” I said, waiting for the floor to drop from under me.

“I think you know what I’m going to say,” she said. “Your daughter is a beautiful child.”

“But energetic?” I offered.

“Very,” Layla said when she reached the top of the stairs. She leaned heavily on the railing. “It’s not her fault. I remember my own children at her age. But I’m not a woman in my twenties anymore. I have grandchildren of my own. Ones who I can give back to my children when I’ve had enough. I’m getting too old for this.”

“I understand,” I said, putting on an impassive expression while inside I wanted to scream. It had been hard enough to get Layla on board after meeting Gina. I’d had to convince her that Gina was only excited because Layla was new in her life. It didn’t take long for Layla to get to know the real Gina as my little ball of never ending energy.

“I can stay on until you find a replacement—” Layla said.

“That’s not necessary,” I interrupted. Layla had held her tongue long enough about the subject. Whether out of politeness or the fact that she knew the end of the quarter was my busiest time. “I’ll have her over the weekend, and I’m sure we’ll have several applicants by Monday.”

“I’m sure you will,” she said. “I’d like to say goodbye,” she said.

“Of course,” I said, leading her down the hallway to my office. All the while, I couldn’t help but bite my lip about the whole situation. Come Monday, what the hell was I going to do with Gina?

An hour later, Layla left with her final paycheck. She and Gina had colored for a little while, and Layla brought up the topic of her leaving. Layla was such a patient and kind woman, which was why I’d hired her in the first place. When she opened the door to leave, the sound of the music from the first floor flooded into my office.

Today was supposed to be smooth sailing with the party. And now I had Gina and no nanny. I could care for Gina, I was her father after all, but with the company doing so well, I needed someone to keep Gina busy at least until she was old enough to go to school. I considered sending her to preschool early, but I wanted to hold off until she was at least four. I had the means to have a nanny, and I wanted to preserve her childhood as much as I could.

“Daddy, sit,” Gina said and patted the child-sized chair next to her. I shoved away all thoughts of my nanny woes for now and focused on my daughter.

I kissed the top of her head and sat in the chair, leaning forward, so I didn’t put my full weight on the legs. I didn’t know the effect of Layla leaving would have on Gina so that coupled with the possibility of breaking her chair might be the deciding factor in a total meltdown.