The Nanny (3 page)
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen my daughter and grandson,” Barbara gave her daughter a polite kiss and hug before she pulled back. “Tiana, you’ve gained some weight.”
Tiana immediately covered her stomach. She silently admitted she put on a few pounds but it only made her clothes a little snug. She could still fit into them. “Not that much.”
“I guess those rose-colored glasses are helping you some,” Barbara let herself inside the home.
Tiana rolled her eyes. She loathed seeing her mother, no matter how short the visits were. All her life she was nitpicked at about something frivolous; from the natural style she wore her hair, to why she drove a Prius instead of a BMW, to her clothing choices. If she didn’t have to attend some high-priced gala, she was comfortably dressed as a bohemian love-child, with long, blowy skirts, tank tops, wearing flip-flops, and carrying a hobo bag. She found out she got better treatment when people didn’t look at her as if she was a pompous bitch.
Tiana was already dreading her mother’s short visit.
She followed her inside her home and promptly started a pot of tea. Barbara always called their mother-daughter visits “tea time” as if it was something pleasant. Maybe it was pleasant for Barbara but it was far from it for Tiana. Tiana knew the “tea time” was Barbara’s passive-aggressive way of airing all the grievances she had about her daughter while drinking chamomile tea.
“How are you doing, Mother?” Tiana asked.
“I’m doing just fine. Finally got my life back now that I don’t have Tyson keeping my time,” she smiled.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” Tiana took out a few Oreos and put them on a saucer for her mother. “I’ve hired a nanny now so you can get back to your meetings and what-not.”
“Oh, I didn’t mind, but I do think you hiring a nanny was one of your smarter decisions,”
Barbara glanced down at the Oreos and pushed the saucer away. Just then Kieran entered the kitchen, holding a fussy Tyson. “Well, hello?”
“Hello, ma’am. I’m Kieran.” He gently rocked Tyson who was growing fussier by the minute. “I would shake your hand but I’m kinda busy here.”
“Oh, let me take my grandson since he’s unhappy,” Barbara grabbed Tyson from Kieran. “Are you making him a bottle?”
“I was getting ready to do it.”
“Well, stop talking to me and get to it,” Barbara politely smiled.
Tiana bit her lip to prevent her own sass coming out against her mother. It was one thing to insult her; it was a different ballgame to insult the hired help. “So Mother, what brings this visit?”
“I just wanted to drop in and say hello. I think I’m still allowed to do that, you know.” Barbara smiled.
Kieran handed Tyson’s bottle to Barbara. “I’ll leave you two ladies alone now. Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” He smiled at Barbara.
Barbara looked at Kieran and smiled at him, as he walked away. “He seems like a nice fella.”
“Oh, Kieran?” Tiana smiled. They had become great friends over the past few weeks and he brought back something inside Tiana she had lost through her marriage: trust. “He’s great, isn’t he?”
“He is,” Barbara nodded as she fed her grandson. “Have you heard from Christopher lately?”
Tiana felt tension inch up her spine. Just hearing her ex’s name made her disgusted. “No, I haven’t, Mother.”
“You should probably put a call in to him, Tiana. He probably wants to see his son.”
“I’m not keeping him from his son, Mother.” Tiana knew the truth; each time Christopher called her it was regarding money and not child care. “He can see Tyson whenever he wants.”
Barbara wiped Tyson’s mouth with his bib. “He made a mistake, Tiana.”
“It’s not the first mistake, Mother,” Tiana argued, “It’s the first time I caught him with my own eyes.” There were rumors of Christopher’s infidelity for a short while and Tiana chose to ignore them even though she knew there was some truth to them. Her philosophy was as long as she didn’t see it firsthand and Christopher wasn’t so insouciant about his indiscretions, the rumors would stay just that. She should’ve known better. She was the laughing stock amongst her friends and others all over the world.
No one spoke about Tiana Morris, the woman who founded and ran her own investment
company. No one mentioned her articles in many magazines and appearances on daytime talk shows. No, that was boring. Instead, everyone gossiped about Tiana Morris-Schmidt, the woman who was the long-suffering wife of Champagne Cris. They talked about the stories of many side women on gossip boards. They talked about the explicit lyrics Cris rapped about in some songs, lyrics that may or may not have been about her or one of his many side girlfriends. They talked about Cris’s girlfriends being so cavalier about their trysts and gifts Cris had given them.
Tiana loosened the tightly clenched fists just thinking about the damage to her reputation caused.
Her hard-earned reputation. She would never make that mistake again.
“You should consider counseling,” Barbara reasoned. “It worked for me and your father.”
Tiana slammed the refrigerator door shut. Did her mother just drop a bombshell on her? “What?
Daddy had an affair?”
“Your father had several affairs,” Barbara sad matter-of-factly.
Tiana scrunched her nose as she digested the bombshell her mother just gave her. Her father was Prince Charming and a well-respected member of the community. He always adored her mother and showered gifts on her. Tiana often looked at her parents’ marriage as ideal. “What?”
“Back in my day, we didn’t make such big deal about affairs. You just kept it quiet and moved on.” Barbara replied.
Tiana couldn’t believe her ears. Everything she knew about her parents’ perfect marriage was one big fat lie. “Are you saying I shouldn’t have left Christopher?”
“I’m saying Tyson needs both parents in his life,” Barbara picked up her grandson and began to burp him. “You should reconsider.” She then walked away.
Tiana stood in the middle of the kitchen, exasperated. Her parents always felt they knew what was best for her, without considering her own wishes and needs. “Unbelievable.”
“That sounded like an enlightening conversation,” Kieran suddenly appeared in the entryway to the kitchen.
“Her and my father always told me what I should’ve done. If I was too fat, they told me to lose weight. If I didn’t get an A on a test, they told me I wasn’t trying hard enough. If I wasn’t smiling enough, they told me I need to stop with the attitude.” Tiana shook her head. “And their whole entire marriage was just a big-ass lie. I was just there to help keep up their façade.”
Kieran walked over to Tiana and stood beside her. He put a hand on her back. “You did what you had to do in order to protect you and your son.”
Tiana felt the electricity from Kieran’s touch. It was warm and comforting. “That doesn’t matter to them,” Tiana shrugged. “They don’t care. I got out of a bad marriage and I ruined their reputation. They always talked about other people’s lives and their horrible children but when one of their own makes the gossip rounds, I’m the original sin.”
Kieran rubbed Tiana’s back, causing small lightning bolts to move up and down her spine. “I still think you rock,” he said softly.
Tiana felt a weird tingly sensation. It couldn’t have come from Kieran. Did he make a pass at her? No, he didn’t. She simply wished he did. It was simply too warm in the kitchen and she needed to open up a window. “Thank you,” she quickly moved away to get some fresh air.
“Um, I’m going to take off now unless you need me to stick around?” Kieran offered.
“No, I’ll be okay. My mom is here and she likes spending time with Tyson. We’ll be fine now.”
“Okay,” Kieran began to walk away but stopped and turned around. “Say, I’m heading to the farmer’s market. Why don’t you come with?”
“Farmer’s market? What’s that?”
“What’s that?” Kieran was almost flabbergasted. “Don’t you ever venture outside your home and office?”
Tiana was embarrassed at the answer before she even said it. “Not really.”
“Come with me,” Kieran walked over and pulled Tiana by her arm. “You’ll really like it.”
“Um, okay,” Tiana hurried grabbed her purse and light sweater, “Mom, Kieran and I are going to farmer’s market. We’ll be right back!” The door closed behind them.
Barbara walked out of the room, still holding Tyson. Her daughter had always made questionable decisions and her choice of nanny didn’t go unnoticed by Barbara. Still, she couldn’t fault her daughter’s behavior. She would’ve gotten out of her marriage a long time ago if she’d had the same choice.
****
She saw vendors selling beautiful flowers, fruits and vegetables straight from their farms, local bakeries selling their pastries. Children were laughing and playing on a rented bounce house, a street performer was singing an old rock tune, and college students were in a corner haggling over prices of their purchases.
No one was stuffy. No one complained about their gardener or maid. No one complained about the mileage their newest luxury car was getting. Everyone was…real.
“Well, what do you think?” Kieran asked.
“It’s so…so…” Tiana inhaled a deep breath and a big smile formed on her face. “…wonderful.”
“Isn’t it?” Kieran slowly walked down the street, occasionally stopping to check out the local vendors. “I go here all the time to pick up fresh fruit and veggies. Some of the local cuisine is really good as well. Support local farmers and businesses.”
“Is it every Thursday?” Tiana asked.
“Yes, from six to nine p.m.,” He nodded.
Tiana mentally began penciling in her new schedule. “I guess I can see if I can make some time.”
“I think you’ll like coming here.” Kieran stopped by another vendor and picked up a tomato, examining how ripe it was. “You come once and you’ll want to keep coming back.”
Tiana watched how gentle Kieran was with the tomato. He slightly squeezed it, trying to feel how soft and firm it was. His hands were big, gentle, and strong and Tiana’s thoughts immediately went to how she would like him to apply the same pressure on her breasts as he moved inside her. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and concentrated on the zucchini before her. “So, do you cook a lot?”
“All the time. I prefer it to junk food.” Kieran grabbed a few tomatoes. “I like to eat out occasionally but with restaurants they put so much fat and grease into their food and you never really know what you’re eating. When you cook at home, you always know. And besides, what better chef to prepare your meal than yourself?”
“I guess,” Tiana had never been much of a cook. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to cook; she simply didn’t want to. Since her split, she had relied on leftover Chinese food and take-out on the way home. She had gained ten pounds already.
Kieran smiled at Tiana. He found it particularly amusing she was studying the various vegetables in front of her with a scrunched-up nose and pursed lips as if she really didn’t know what she was looking at. “Having difficulty deciding?”
“No, it’s not that,” Tiana rested her chin on a palm. She had eaten out so much within the past week, she was starting to run out of options. “I just don’t know what I want for dinner tonight. I hadn’t even thought about it.”
“I’ll make you dinner,” he offered.
Tiana looked back up at Kieran and was greeted with another smile, followed by his equally warm eyes. She had never seen such love and compassion in them. “And what’s for dinner tonight?”
“Whatever the lady wants,” Kieran grabbed Tiana’s hand and kissed it, “the lady gets.”
****
It was cozy and quaint. Maybe it was little too fabulous for Kieran but he never complained. As she looked around, Tiana saw a little personification from Kieran: his motorcycle helmet on one of the end tables. His vast array of sneakers by the front door. A wide selection of DVDs and blue-ray discs. There were a few pictures of his friends and family.
Tiana got up from one of the bar stools and looked at a framed picture of Kieran and his mother.
He towered over her short and stocky frame. She boasted the same huge and welcoming smile he had. “Beautiful woman.”
“Yeah, I’m a Mamma’s Boy,” Kieran glanced over at her as he chopped up vegetables. “It was just me and my brothers growing up. A single woman raising five sons on her own. It wasn’t easy.”
Tiana thought she had it rough with Tyson. All she had to do was go to work and leave him in the care of someone else for the day. She had a life of luxury most would dream about and needed to count her blessings. “It doesn’t sound like it.”
“I’m the second-oldest. My dad left when we were all young; I think my youngest brother, Tony, was no more than a few months old. He just took off one day and that was that. I had a hand in raising all of my brothers.”
“Doesn’t sound like you had much time for a social life,” Tiana commented.
“I was in sports; I played football. I dated a little in high school but it really picked up in college.” Kieran quickly sliced the zucchini. “But after everything was done, I was at home doing chores and cooking.”
“Cleaning as well?” Tiana rejoined him in front of the bar.
“Oh no,” Kieran chuckled, “I don’t clean.”
“I bet you were real happy with the maid service coming over,” Tiana smiled.
“You betcha,” Kieran stopped chopping up vegetables and stirred his marinara sauce. “Here, try a taste of this.” He scooped a small bit of sauce on a spoon and held it to Tiana’s lips.
“Mmm…” Tiana nodded in amazement. “That’s delicious! Where did you learn how to cook?”
