Part 25 (2/2)
”I've beenso busy I'll trytogettothebankthisweekThatis,assoonasyouwrite upyour hoursforaroundthedoorway ”GRAYER!” sheshouts We bothfreeze ”Whatisthehouserule?” Helooksupat her ”Nopenisesinthehouse?” ”That's right Nopenises inthehouseWheredopenisesstay?”
”penisesstayinthebedrooets his clothes on?” Grayer walks solenoises onthemarble
I seetheballed-up clothes onthefloorofthebathroom
”I hadanaccident” Hepushesatoneof his woodcarswith his toes
”That's okay”I pickuptheclothesandturnonthebathwater ”Let's getyoucleanedup,okay,bud?”
”Okay”Heputshi+s arms out forme topickhim upI pulloffmydirty sweatshi+rt and lifthim upAs ait for the tub to fill I bounce hiht of his head toasleep I walk hi him in a toweltokeephihisthutheferryintoyour calculations,butI havetopointouthtatit canaddanotherfullhourtothejourney Ionderingif youcouldeither(a)catchtheeleveno lock bus Friday night, which would get you to Nantucket at 6aetyoutherebyone,intiolate Letinto alternate transportation for me While I in no ant to inconvenience you, I feel it would be impractical to comraduation events on Friday evening I will be in Nantucket by 7 PM and, of course, anticipateyouwill adjust ifyou've hadthechancetogettothebankasmyrentisdue
Pleasefindattached a listof ain,I reallyappreciatetheoptions
Thanks! Nanny Nanny, Iaourdeparture However,Istillhopethatwe canreachacompromise Perhapsyoucouldarrivebythreeandtake ataxitothePiersons?
DearMrs X, As I, of course, do not wish to be anything other than accoht be able to make it there bysix
Nanny Nanny, Never ency furnished us ill look after Grayer until yougetthere
ps I would like to have a conversation regarding the hours you listed for Wednesday the third I believe I tookhithatday
DearMrs X, I defer to your records regarding the 3rd Also, as I mentioned, I'll need to leave by two on Thursday becauseI havemythesisdefense Thanks,Nanny DearMrs X, Just a quickreminder thatmythesis defenseistomorrow,so I'll needtoleaveat2 o'clocksharpAlso,if youcouldpayreat
DearMrs X, I'll seeyouattwo!
”Where is she!” I look at the oven clock for the millionth timy thesis in exactly forty-seven minutes Myentire academic career is aboutto culatesanemptychairaboutchilddevelopment!
”Don't shout”Grayer looksup, his eyebrows scrunched
”I'onnapee?”
”Yes Don't forget yourhis melon and walk into the maid's bathroom, turn onthefaucet,shutthe door, flush the toilet, and scream into a hand towel ”fuck!” My voice is absorbed by the terry cloth
”Where the fuck is she? fucking fuck” I sit down on the bathroo to well at the cornersof myeyes
”fuck” I shouldhavewritten ”two o'clock”with lipstickonevery enumber two on the end of her pash Grayer and runningdown Madison screa her name like Marion Brando My frustration becodownmyface
I take a deep breath, slapmycheeks a little, dry ling a bitwhenI walkbackintothekitchentofindMrs Xstandingover him
”Nanny, I'd appreciateitifyoudidn't leaveGrayerunattendedwith silverware”
I lookdownatthespoononhis Linnaeusplacemat ”I'm sorry?
”My,you're dressedup”Shepicks a pieceofmelonoffGrayer's plate
”Thanks,actually it's formythesisdefensewhich startsinthirty-five ht there was so on the counter ”ILet's sit down in ave me?Shepulls anenvelopeout
”Great,thanks,butI reallybetter run,”I sayover htthishadtobedonetoday”
”Well, ifI don't go I'll belate,”I callbackfrome backintothekitchen
”Besmart, Nanny!” Grayer craneshi+s headfromhis boosterseat ”You'll besht now is the only convenient time for me to do this I don't knohen I'll beabletositdoith youagain,Nanny I went all thewaytothebank?
”Great No,let's do it Thankyou” I pull out of mystackof papers a typed, revised list of all thehours I workedinthelastfiveweeks ”So,asyoucansee,itaverages betweenfourandfivehundred aweek”
She looks down at the paper for a few ht froinally discussed”
”Well, theoriginallistI gaveyoueeksagoandI've accruedover sixtyhourssincethen”
She sighs and starts counting out twenties and fifties, slowly sliding theers to ensure that none of the bills are stuck together She hands theether”It sureis a lotofmoney”
I smile back at her ”Well, it adds up over five weeks” I turn onGrayer's head as I pass hiuys!”
I slather conditioner intointo iving Mr andMrs X a good,swift cartoonkickthatlandsthee becomestie,looksup atme expectantlywhile his parentsflail around inthe my face under the hot water And then there's the onearlyhalf ofwhatMrs X finallypaidhts and I pull the curtain aside to see George, silhouetted in the candlelight, sitting pri for me to splash him I drop a little water on his head andhedartsbehindthetoiletintoshadow
At least I have a quiet night to myself to celebrate a successfully defended thesis And an eleven PM phone date with H H to look forward to I wrap the towel around my torso, scoop upthe bathroo from the far endoftheapartment Myend,tobeprecise
”hello?” 1 call out into the bright light I can always tell when Charlene is hoht
”I'm home,” Charlene calls back flatly Myheart sinks I pull the towel tight and walk past her screen to my side of the rooetting in the shower She standswithHairyPilot mybed
”It's kind of aup the tape measure ”Go over there and let's do thatsideoftherooetostandnear mystereo
”I hadht” I stepoutofthe way, tuckingmy underwear into a less visible spot in the ball under my arm as she walks with purpose to join her ?”
She hands him one end of the tape measure and walks it back to the other wall ”I wanted to see if his couchwouldfithere” MystoI hadinher navy skirt ”Nanny, I wanted to talk to you this week, but you never answeredthephone?
”MyleaseisupI' inattheendoftheives you, like, teeks to find sorabbing a penoffmydresser to write theover to play cards in an hourAre you cool with that?” She steps pastshowers in the darkagain?That's soweird”Sheshakesherhead