Page 113 of Eleanor & Grey

“Hey, Dad,” she said, clearing her throat. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d said Dad without anger in her voice. This was beyond strange. I was definitely going to proceed with caution. “Can I talk to you real quick?”

“Yeah, of course.” I went back to the phone call. “Landon, I’ll have to call you back.”

“Okay! And now that I know your phone works, don’t ignore my calls anymore. Otherwise, I’ll start calling more. Tell the girls I said hi. Bye!”

I hung up and looked back to Karla. She seemed nervous for some reason, which in turn, made me nervous. “What’s going on?”

“Listen, I know Eleanor screwed up today, and I’m pretty sure you’re going to fire her or whatever because you’ve fired nannies for a lot less than what she did today, but…well, I just thought you should know she was just looking out for me and Lorelai. She’s a bit weird and stuff, and way too nosey and interested in my life, but for the most part, I think she’s pretty okay at her job. She’s pretty good with Lorelai, too. So, if you could not fire her, that would be great.”

I brushed the palm of my hand against the back of my neck. “You like her.”

She did; I could tell. Karla didn’t stand up for things or people she didn’t like.

She shrugged. “She’s fine, I guess.”

“I’ll keep her on if you tell me where you went during the school days at the beginning of the year.”

Her whole energy shifted and her face dropped. I saw a flash of worry wash over her and then she composed herself and sighed. “Just forget it, alright?”

I had to try. My mind hadn’t stopped thinking about the possibilities and the danger Karla could’ve been involved with. Each day I wondered where she had gone. Each day I wondered about the battles she faced with herself.

She turned to walk away, and I called after her.

“Yeah?” she huffed.

“I think you’re right—I think Eleanor is good for our family. So, I’m going to keep her on as the nanny.”

A weight lifted from her shoulders as she released a sigh. “Oh, okay, cool. Because like I said, she’s okay.” Karla shrugged. “You know, for a Hufflepuff.”

I made my nightly stops to the girls’ rooms, and when I passed Karla’s, her bedroom light was still on, but she was in bed, reading a Harry Potter book. I couldn’t think of the last time I’d seen her read. She used to do it all the time. It had been almost impossible to find her without a book in her hands, but after her mother passed away, Karla had kind of tossed aside all the things she loved.

That was when I knew it was happening. Eleanor was doing that thing she was so good at doing, slowly sliding into a life and making it better without the person even knowing it was happening.

43

Eleanor

Greyson did his best trying to show up for his daughters. For the most part, it was easy with Lorelai. She welcomed him back with arms wide open. He stopped working as late each night, and made time to attend her karate practices every now and again. I swore every time he walked into the class, Lorelai’s eyes lit up as if her biggest dream had come true. She’d perform better, too, and always looked back toward Greyson to make sure he was watching.

Then when dinner came around, he’d sit down with us and talk. Lorelai, of course, led most of the conversations, but Greyson was there. He was engaging. He was becoming a part of his family again.

Karla wasn’t having it at all, though. Whenever I invited her to dinner, she didn’t even reply anymore. She simply walked off and never looked back. There came a point when it was too much for me, and I finally followed her into her bedroom one evening. She was sitting on her bed, eating her dinner with her headphones on.

“You have to stop doing this, Karla,” I told her.

“Doing what?”

“This. Shutting everyone out. Your father is trying.”

“I don’t care that he’s trying. He had a million days to try. I waited so long for him to try, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I just don’t care.”

I walked over to her and inhaled deeply. “Come to dinner tonight, Karla.”

“Are you deaf? I said no already. I’m pretty sure I made that really clear every single night for the past four months.”

“Yes, I know, but I’m asking you right now to change your mind.”

“I’m not changing my mind for him,” she scolded, rolling her eyes.

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