Nanny for the Alien Lord by Tammy Walsh
Tauas
“Don’t we look pretty?”Daynnis said, gazing down on the sourest puss on Elken’s face I had ever seen.
I thought about making a wisecrack to ask if she was talking to me but decided not to.
Not because I didn’t think she might respond in kind but because I wasn’t in the mood for joking.
I hadn’t been for the past week.
I barely even smiled, only doing so when I gazed upon little Elken.
Even now, with her frowning, her bottom lip protruding in the unmistakable expression of total anger, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Why I not paint?” she snapped.
It was a rehash of the same argument from the past few days.
“Because the paint is messy,” Daynnis said. “And who’ll have to clean it up? Not you, that’s for sure.”
She set to combing Elken’s hair but the little girl kept pulling away.
“Now, hold still,” Daynnis said. “This will be much easier if you relax and let me get on with it.”
Elken had enough and she exploded.
“Belle let me paint! Belle let me make dress!”
“Well, I’m not Belle, am I?” Daynnis said, not blinking or getting angry at all.
She was used to Elken’s tantrums and would never relent.
I tried speaking with Daynnis about letting Elken paint on the patio on sunny days but Daynnis flat out refused.
“And who’ll clean the paint up off the patio after we’re finished?” Daynnis said, shaking her head and tutting as if it was a ludicrous idea.
Elken missed Belle, but it was more than that.
Her heart ached to be creative the way Belle had encouraged her, and my heart hurt to see that part of Belle’s influence on Elken begin to evaporate.
Finally, unable to take it any longer, I took Daynnis to one side and informed her that Elken would continue to paint and if there was any mess I would pay professional cleaners to tidy it up.
Everyone won.
Daynnis just looked at me, cocked an eyebrow, and folded her arms.
“Well?” I said. “Are you going to let her paint?”
“No.”
Her response caught me by surprise.
Her main complaint was the mess and if I took care of it, what difference did it make to her?
“Why not?” I said, irked by her response.
“Because giving into her now will teach her she can get whatever she wants so long as she whines long enough to her weak—and kindhearted—father.”
A bolt of anger shot through me that I had never associated with Daynnis before.
She stood staring back at me, her arms folded, her foot tapping as if I were the misbehaving child.
“And if I insist she be allowed to paint?” I said. “Even if I am weak?”
“Then I will not be the one to observe her while she does it.”
It was then I realized how much influence Daynnis had over me in taking care of Elken.
She knew how hard it was to find a good nanny, especially one that got on so well with Elken.
If she didn’t watch over her while she painted, it would have to be me.
I gave Daynnis a stiff nod and marched out of the room.
That night, I carried Elken’s painting materials outside onto the patio.
“What Daddy do?” Elken said wearing a deep frown on her brow.
“Daddy’s going to watch you paint.”
Elken clapped her hands excitedly and scooped up her paintbrush before pausing and noticing something was missing.
“Newspaper. You no use newspaper.”
“I know,” I said, sipping on my cup of coffee. “You go ahead and have fun.”
“It make Daynnis not happy. Mess.”
I grinned at her.
“Yes. Won’t it be fun?”
Elken snorted with a hand over her mouth in her very best mischievous look.
She lay down on her front and got to work.
By the time she was done, the patio was flecked with paint and although it did look a mess, I couldn’t have been any happier.
I re-scheduled my meetings for the following morning, just so I could be within range of Daynnis when she saw it.
She dropped her handbag on the kitchen counter, made her usual cup of tea, and then proceeded out onto the patio to enjoy the morning’s rising sun.
A strangled choke issued from her throat when she laid eyes on the mess.
She marched back inside and when she saw me, she raised her chin and muttered something about “spoiled child” under her breath before heading upstairs to get Elken up.
It was a victory, but a small one.
I was pleased I could be there for Elken every day so she could paint.
She always painted the same thing:
Belle.
Each painting was a mess but there were a couple that could be said to have a slight resemblance to Belle’s actual appearance.
I thought about her all the time.
She was constantly on my mind—at work, at home, and most of all, while I was in bed.
I could still feel her soft skin on my fingertips, her welcoming lips that coaxed me deeper and deeper into a passionate stupor.
All the while, I counted down the days to the big event when I would see her again.
I reached for my communicator many times over that week but could never find the words I wanted to say.
Each time I wrote a message, I refused to send it until I re-evaluated it and re-read it, and always, without exception, tossed it in the digital trashcan.
Today was the day I would see her again and I wondered how I would feel on the other side of it.
The fashion show was held in the V’sius Conference Centre.
The crowds were already large as we pulled into the parking lot.
When we entered, the wave of guests struck me and I realized the chances of seeing Belle across a crowded room as I had done at the very beginning of our relationship were virtually zero.
I clutched Elken close as she sucked nervously on her fingers.
She didn’t like being around so many people.
Daynnis followed in my wake as she was far too small to carve her own way through the crowd.
I approached a uniformed worker and asked where the show was being held.
“Hall F,” she said.
We weaved through the remaining crowd until we reached the main hall.
Simple chairs buttressed a long catwalk that lolled like a giant’s tongue.
The lights flashed and the music rolled as the finishing touches for the presentation were hastily completed.
We came to our seat numbers and I was immediately disappointed Belle wasn’t there.
I figured Abbie would pick seats that put us close together.
“I’ll go fetch us some drinks,” I said.
“Mus juice!” Elken said, raising her arm.
“Stun Drauell,” Daynnis said, “easy on the rocks.”
I blinked at that.
It was a strong drink and I’d never seen the nanny so much as sip a glass of wine before.
“Mus juice and Stun Drauell coming up,” I said, turning to find the drinks station.
I immediately bumped into someone.
“Excuse me—”
“Pardon me—” they said.
It was Belle.
I froze but let my eyes run over her face and body.
She wore a tight black dress that sported the frills her sister was a big fan of.
Her hair was pulled back into a severe bun that showed off her smooth skin and made her eyes appear bigger than usual.
I fell into them immediately.
My mouth turned dry.
“Belle,” I said, her name coming involuntarily from the back of my throat.
“Tauas,” she said politely, controlling her emotions better than I had.
“Are you all right?” I said. “I mean, is Abbie ready for her big night?”
“She was born ready,” Belle said, smiling up at me.
I’d fallen in love with that smile a hundred times—each time she flashed it my way.
The past week had been sheer agony not being able to bathe in its warm glow.
There was so much I wanted to say to her, so much I needed to say…
But right then, my lips were numb and I was dumbfounded.
I couldn’t say those words.
They were trapped on the desert of my tongue.
All I could manage was:
“I’m just going to the bar to get a drink. Would you like something?”
“No, thank you.”
Then Elken screamed.
“Belle!”
“Looks like I’ve been discovered,” Belle said sadly before affixing a grin on her face and scooping little Elken up into her arms.
Elken squealed so loud everyone turned to see what the fuss was all about.
When they saw the picture of what appeared to be a mother and daughter embracing, the strangers smiled before returning to their conversations.
They really did look like mother and daughter, I thought.
Their coloring was slightly off.
Elken had blond hair while Belle was dark in features, but they weren’t different enough that anyone would have questioned they shared the same genes.
With a twisting sensation in my stomach, I headed to the bar and wondered how I could convince Belle to give us another chance.
As I ordered the drinks, I resigned myself to my deepest thoughts and wildest desires.
