AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Be a good girl for Mama.”
Mama? I don’t overthink it. She probably says that to all her clients’ babies out of habit.
My eyes stay on her as Isa latches on to the latex or whatever it is. As she sucks greedily, the owner of the restaurant comes by.
“Bonjour, Monsieur Sinclair!”
“Bonjour, Nanette!” The robust redheaded sixty-something proprietor has been here forever…since I was a kid. My mother adored her.
I rise and stoop down so we can exchange kisses on both cheeks, the way my French mother used to embrace her.
I sit back down and her eyes instantly go to Marley and the baby.
“Ah, your beautiful new wife and newborn baby!”
Away visiting her family in France, she was unable to make it to my wedding and has never met Ava. On impulse, I refrain from telling her that Marley’s our child’s night nanny.
Marley makes eye contact with her. “Thank you. Her name is Isa.”
“Magnifique! So thoughtful you named her after Monsieur Sinclair’s beautiful maman. She would have been so happy to have a grandchild,” she adds with a sigh.
She’s right. My parents were so adamant about having a grandchild, an heir, and for me taking responsibility for it that they wrote it into their will. And stipulated that I had to stay married to the child’s mother until he or she was eighteen for me to receive the bulk of my inheritance, which is being held in a trust fund. It’s a boatload of money, close to a hundred million, but is it worth it? I wonder as Marley continues to feed Isa, the bottle now half empty.
Nanette turns her attention to me, her cheerful voice hurling me out of my conundrum. “So, chéri, can I bring you some café au lait…breakfast eez on the house!”
“Thanks, Nanette, but you don’t have to do that.” The poor woman and her café barely managed to survive the recession. She’s still struggling to make ends meet.
“I insist!”
I acquiesce; the stalwart woman has pride. I’ll leave her a big tip.
Fifteen minutes later, Isa once again soundly asleep, Marley and I enjoy our milky coffees, herbed omelets, and buttery croissants.
“This is amazing!” she gushes. After another bite of her croissant, her expression grows serious. “Ned, have you thought further about my offer?”
I look at her dumbfounded.
She polishes off her coffee. “You know, about working for you and Ava full-time. Becoming your live-in nanny.”
A flush of embarrassment creeps up my cheeks. I forgot about that.
“Honestly, I haven’t. I conked out last night and this morning Ava was sick as a dog.”
She swallows a forkful of her eggs, then folds her hands on the table.
“Listen, Ned, I’ll be frank with you again. I really don’t think your wife’s capable of taking care of Isa during the day. I’m worried.”
Sipping my coffee, I let her go on.
“With her PGP and C-section, she simply doesn’t have the strength. She’s healing slowly…too slowly. I fear that something terrible might happen to Isa, like Ava might fall down while holding the baby or drop her. And yesterday afternoon when I returned to your house…” Her voice trails off.
“What happened?” Concern racks my voice. My eyes stay fixed on her.
Marley’s voice lowers as if she thinks people will overhear her, though there’s no one in the restaurant except us. “Don’t tell your wife I told you…I found Isa lying in your bed on her stomach under the heavy comforter. So close to the edge she could have fallen off. She could have died from a fall, or suffocation, or SIDS.”
I have no idea what Sid’s is. Except the name of my pricey shoemaker. “What’s that?”
“S-I-D-S. Sudden infant death syndrome. It happens to some babies, often when they’re infants, and there’s no explanation.”
