The Daddy Box Set

“It would have been great if Ricky didn’t age at all and could stay at home forever with me as his nanny. He was the perfect kid,” I said.

“I’m sure it helped that his parents were rich as hell,” Sierra said.

Her obsession with wealth and superficial things always boggled my mind since she was the one to shop in vintage discount stores. “I’m really going to miss that paycheck each week. But the family was lovely too. Not seeing them every day makes me a little down. With Ricky’s mom being older, she felt like a surrogate mom for me. And his dad always invited me on their little weekend getaways.”

“Now you’re making me want to be a nanny for a wealthy family,” Sierra said.

“You taking care of a child?” I asked sardonically.

She made a face. “Nah, you’re right. I’ll stick to what I know.” She pulled out a few more records. “With a recommendation from his parents, I know you’ll be able to get something soon. If that’s what you want.”

“It’s more about what I need right now. I have a little saved up, but I want to keep working.”

“You know, you can always work here in the meantime,” Sierra said. “It would be so fun working together!”

“I doubt Harold would go for it,” I said.

“He’s a pushover. If I play my cards right, I might get a promotion out of it.” She winked at me.

Working at a record shop wasn’t of any interest to me, but I didn’t want to offend Sierra with her choice in career. Besides, I wasn’t in the habit of burning bridges. If a nanny job didn’t show up soon, I might need to take her up on that offer at least as a way to pay my bills.

“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll think about it. I’m going to check out some nanny jobs in the area first.”

“No problemo,” she said.

“What are you up to this afternoon ?” I asked.

“I’m working until two, and then I’m going home to take a nap. I’m exhausted from staying out at that show last night. Too bad you didn’t come.”

“You know metal bands aren’t my thing,” I said.

“They don’t have to be your thing to have a fun time. Besides, the musicians are super-hot.”

“I’m sure they are under all that eyeliner,” I said. “I’ll probably head home and do some job research. Want to come by the apartment later? We can do takeout and rent a movie?”

“Only if I get to pick the movie,” Sierra said.

“Sure.” Sierra preferred the horror genre, but I was sure I could convince her of something less gory.

“I’ll text you later,” Sierra said.

“See ya,” I said and headed out of the shop. As much as Sierra didn’t care about interrupting her work day, I knew the Baker brothers did. And if there was an off-chance I’d work there, I didn’t want to ruin my chances from the start. Though I hoped another long-term opportunity came up for me soon. I didn’t like jumping from job to job, especially when there was a child involved.

The rain had let up by the time I left Sierra to her work of organizing the latest shipment of records. I couldn’t believe the place was still in business with the invention of digital music. But from what Sierra told me about the clientele was that collectors were willing to pay a lot of money for the vintage records. And it helped that the Baker brothers inherited the building from their father who started the business.

Thinking of their family brought forward a flash of memories of mine, which I quickly pushed away. There was no need to think of the reason I’d left Australia, especially now when things were about to get more complicated after my recent unemployment.

I popped over to the local coffee shop around the corner and grabbed a coffee and an egg sandwich before heading home. I promised myself starting tomorrow that I would keep track of what I spent on unnecessary items. I could easily make food at home, but I enjoyed it more when someone made it for me.

The moment I got into my car, it started to rain again. I flipped on the wipers and pulled out of my spot. It was only halfway through April, and I was sick of the rain. And coupled with the cooler temperatures, going outside was not my favorite thing to do. At least with Ricky, if we needed to stay inside, his house was massive enough for us never to be bored.

Thinking of that blue-eyed little darling made tears spring to my eyes. Of course, I was happy that he was growing up and no longer needed someone to care for him as much, but not seeing his face each day was taking a toll on me.

When I got home, I raced across the lot to my building through torrents of rain. By the time I reached the door, the rain soaked through my brown paper bag and my coffee sloshed over the side of the cup from me jostling it.

I groaned and shoved my key into the front door, pushing through into the small lobby.

I took the two flights of stairs since the elevator had been out for over a week now. I was grateful I only lived on the second floor versus any of the higher levels.