Chapter7
Linda showed up looking woeful, clutching a bag of fruit.
“Mrs. Lawson,” she said the moment she saw my mother, her eyes turning red, “I… I came to apologize.”
My mother’s face frosted over instantly. “We don’t need a nanny anymore.”
“I know, I know,” Linda hurried to say, waving her hands quickly before thrusting the fruit forward. “I’m not asking to come back. I just couldn’t shake the guilt. That day was my fault-I scared you and the baby. Please, take this fruit as a small gesture of apology.”
She carried herself with humility, her voice thick with sincerity.
It was hard to slam the door on someone smiling so sweetly. My mother kept her face cold, but she didn’t shut her out either.
Seeing the opening, Linda stretched up on her toes to peer inside. “Where’s the baby? Sleeping? Has she been good these past few days?”
She acted so concerned, as though her affection were real.
“It’s none of your business,” my mother replied flatly.
“Mrs. Lawson, please don’t misunderstand,” Linda said quickly, her voice laced with tears. “I just… I care too much about her. Even though I only cared for her a few days, in my heart I already saw her like my own granddaughter. That night, I went home and thought it over-I regretted it more and more. I truly came here to apologize.”
Her words sounded so heartfelt that, from my crib, alarm bells went off inside me.
This woman… she had no good intentions.
Why had she really come back?
Just then, Grandma’s voice floated from her room. “Is that Linda?”
Linda’s whole face lit up as if she’d been thrown a lifeline. She raised her voice. “Yes, Mrs. Lawson! It’s me! I came to see you and the baby!”
Grandma’s tone warmed at once. “Come in, come in! Sit down!”
My mother’s frown deepened, but for Grandma’s sake, she finally stepped aside and let Linda in.
Carrying her fruit, Linda strolled in like she knew the place by heart. The moment she saw Grandma lying in bed, she set the fruit down and rushed to clasp her hand, fussing over her with syrupy warmth.
“Mrs. Lawson, are you feeling better? Has your back been giving you trouble? Have you been taking your
Chapter7
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medicine on time?”
Her tone was more affectionate than a real daughter’s.
Grandma’s face broke into smiles under her coaxing, and she kept saying, “Much better, much better. Thank you for thinking of me.”
The two of them chatted away, lively as old friends, completely ignoring my mother standing in the doorway.
My mother’s expression grew darker by the second. She glanced at Linda laughing with Grandma, then back at me in the crib. A flicker of complicated emotion crossed her eyes. She seemed on the verge of saying something-but in the end, she kept silent and turned into the kitchen.
My unease grew stronger.
Sure enough, after a few minutes of small talk, Linda shifted the subject with feigned casualness.
“The baby hasn’t been fussy these past two days, right? It must be hard for Mrs. Lawson to manage alone.”
Grandma sighed. “Of course it is. Charlotte’s a first-time mother with no experience, and she’s worn herself out. She looks pale as a sheet. Michael’s out of town, and I can’t help the way I used to…”
Linda’s eyes gleamed. She seized the chance instantly. “Then why don’t we do this? I haven’t taken another job yet. If you don’t mind, let me come back and help. Don’t worry about pay—I just can’t bear to be away from the baby. And I’d love to ease the burden for you and Mrs. Lawson.”
At last, her true colors showed.
Chanter
