Part 2 (2/2)
”Okay, Mo her Startac closed Her departure is like the suicide drills froets just a few feet farther away, Grayer cries and she scurries back, ad boy” Only once Grayer is in complete hysterics does she look ather watchandwith a”NowMoone
We sit on the only empty bench in the shade, while he sniffles, and eat our sandwiches, which have sonaAs he raises his sleeve towipe his nose I notice for the first ti from beneath his untucked shi+rttails, what appears to be a business cardpinnedtohis beltloop
I reachout ”Grayer,what'swith the?
”Hey!” He swats my hand away ”That's my card” It's dirty and bent and has clearly been around the block afew times,butI thinkI canmakeout Mr X's nameinfadedtype
”Whosecardis that,Grayer?”
”You know” He pounds his forehead, exasperated by s!”
By the tiiven him a few pushes it's time for us to walk over to his play date I wave as he runs into the apartment ”Okay, bye, Grayer! See you toue out at me and then runs off ”Okay, have fun!” I suegame!”
Once I'm on the subway to school I pull out the blue folder, which has my pay envelope paper-clipped inside
MRS X
721PARKAVENUE,APT 9B
NEWYORK, NY, 10021
DearNanny, Welcome! Theattachedis acopyofGrayer scheduleofafter-schoolactivities Caitlinwillshow you theroutine, but I sureyou ebeentomostoftheseplacesbefore! Letmeknowifyouhave anyquestions
Thanks,Mrs X ps ?I ealsoincludeda listof somepossiblefunactivities pps I reallyprefer itif Grayer doesn nap intheafternoons I glanceatthescheduleandshe's right'm aveteran of every activity onthelist MONDAY 2-2:45: Music lesson, Diller Quaile, 95th Street between Park and Madison (Parents pay an astronoious music school where four'jear'olds usually sit in stone-cold silence astheircaregivers singnurseryrhyton (Asthenaroupisnannies) TUESDAY 4-5:00: Swi lesson atAsphalt Green, 90th Street and East EndAvenue (One emaciated wowith toddlersto ”Getinthewater!”) WEDNESDAY 2-3:00: Physical educationatCATS,ParkAvenueat64thStreet (Deepinthebowels of acold, dankchurchthatsamesforthepint-sized athlete) 5-5:45: Karate,92ndStreetY onLexington (Kids who quake with fear do fifty push-ups on their knuckles as a warm-upThe one class daddies attend) THURSDAY
2-2:45: Pianolessonathome with Ms Schrade(”Music” tobetorturedby) 5-6:00: FrenchClass,AllianceFrancaise,60thStreetbetweenMadisonand Park (Standardafterschoolactivities conductedinanotherlanguage) THE NANNY DIARIESFRIDAY
1-1:40: Ice skating,The Ice Studio, Lexington between 73rd and 74th Street (Coldas fuck nd daeof Terror,” sharp etoniceforfortyain) I will letyouknohenheisscheduledforthe: Optician Orthodontist Orthodicfittings Physical therapist Ayurvedic practitioner Intheeventof a class cancellationthefollowing ”nonstructured”outingsare peranLibrary TheFrench CulinaryInstitute TheSwedishConsulate OrchidRooFloor TheAngelika(PreferablytheGer with subtitleswill do) I shrug and open the envelope, thrilled to discover that despite only working two hours, she's paida nanny Traditionally, we're kept off the books and dealt with strictly in cash, which always keeps irl I knew lived-in with a family whose father slipped a few hundred dollars under her door whenever his wife dranktoo tables oujustnever knohenthecustohtbeoverwhelmed withappreciation
”Caitlin? Hi, I'ue is blond andAustralian, which makes her fairlyeasy topick outathe workI recognizeherfrom theXes'photosessioninthepark
She looks up from where she sits on the school steps, sensibly outfitted in an Izod shi+rt and jeans, a sweatshi+rt tied round her waist She's holding Grayer's apple juice in her right hand with the straw alreadyin it I', our charge and his classmates are released by his teacher and the courtyard becoh the croard Caitlin, butscreechesto ahaltwhenheseeshhis Keds
”Grayer, Nanny'11 be co to the park with us this afternoon on't that be fun?” I sense froh riot ”He's always a bit cranky when school lets out,buthegetsover itfineoncehe's hadhis snack”
”I'm sure”
It is chaos around us aschildren are snackedand play dates are made I'm impressed by the finessehichsheworksGrayer froconversationwith three of his classie opened, homework unpinned from his lapel, and a stroller strapped under hi the play in hthandonstroller handle,lefthandpulldoeater,twostepsleftandsquat”
We headtoward theparkastheychatter away Shepropelshi+ht load with his sand toys, school stuff, and backup supplies of snack
”Grayer,who's yourbestfriendatschool?”I ask
”Shut up, stupidhead,” he says, kicking out at my shi+ns I walk the remainder of the ell outside his fieldof stroller vision
After lunch Caitlin takes round, ive et the sense I won't be theweek?” sheaskssuspiciously
”I'ure out how she found someone who only wanted to eekends” What? Weekends what?
She reties her ponytail while she continues ”I'd do it, but I wait tables on the weekends and, really, one needs a bit of a break by Friday I thought they had a girl orked weekends in the country, but I guess she didn't work out Are you planning on driving out with thethetrain?” ShelookspointedlyatmeasI starebackatherinconfusion
Thenit is suddenlyclearto both of us e aren't meant to discuss the ”transition” I'm not the pinch hitter,I'm thereplaceethesubject ”So,what's with thecard?”
”Oh, that grotty old thing” She ss ”He carries it everywhere He'll be wanting it pinned to his trousers and in his pajamas It drives the Mrs crazy, but he refuses to so much as put on his underpants withoutit”Sheblinks a fewtimes andthenturnsaway
We make it full circle back to the sandbox where another fa shell suitsandoverwhel
”He's so cute Is he your only child?” the mother asks in a flat Midwestern accent I'm twenty-one He's four
”No,I'et out of here, you bad wo at the top of his lungs
Blood rushes to my face as I retort with false confidence, ”Yousilly!” The tourist clan focus intently on agroup sand-castleproject
I consider taking a playground poll as to whether I should ”get out” and, if I choose not to, does this, in fact,hts the stroller as if his throwing it were part of a fabulous ga ”Well, looks to y and wants hing deeply He slides down the slide and she catches him He hides behind theoverall I start to chase her as she chases hi ”STOaaaooop”I walkto a benchAs I watch theic act thatis child care, creating the illusionof aneffortlessrelationshi+p; shecouldbehis s him over to me with a Frisbee in hand ”Well now,Grayer, whydon't we teach Nanny the Frisbee gaular formation as she tosses the Frisbee to racefully receives it by sticking out his tongue and turning his back to both of us I pick up the Frisbee from where it has landed by his feet and toss it back to her She throws it to himandhecatchesitandthrowsitbackto her It seecircuit thatcomes to a full stop whenever contact is required between hiue at any effort to prove otherwise We play on and on because she wants to ht and thinks maybe she can wear him down to the point where he will at least toss htsjust alittletoohigh
Three days later, just as I bend over to pick up the grubby little sneaker Grayer has hurled into the Xes' I jerkupright,still holdinghis shoe
”shi+t”
”I heard you! You said 'shi+t' You said it!” h theheavydoor
I steadymyvoice andreachfor a low, authoritative octave ”Grayer,openthedoor”
”No! I can stickthitikin out, too” He's sticking his tongueoutatme
Okay, options Option One, knock on crotchety- todothen?CallGrayer?Invite hierssweepoutbeneaththedoor
”Nanny, try to catch ers! Do it! Do it! Coonthem