Page 18 of Single Dad's Christmas Cookie

“Popcorn sounds like an excellent idea. Why don’t you show me how to make it?”

I knew how to make microwavable popcorn. Amelia was little and she loved showing off her skills, and I tried to be a supportive and encouraging father.

“What are you making?” I asked Nova. I was too far away to peer into the bowl in front of her.

“Oatmeal bars, something easy that you can have for either a breakfast or a snack.”

“What have you started for dinner?” I asked.

She pointed behind her to a pot on the stove. “Italian wedding soup. Don’t worry, it’ll be filling enough. It’s full of vegetables and sausage. This way, the soup cooks all day, and that gives me a chance to familiarize myself with everything in your kitchen and figure out what it is that I need to go to the grocery store for. Your cook has this place pretty well stocked.”

She looked good in the kitchen. I liked the thought of her cooking for me and taking care of me. It was a thought I could get lost in if I didn’t keep my head screwed on straight.

The microwave beeped, and Amelia pulled out a steaming bag of popcorn.

“We need a bowl,” Amelia announced.

“Bowls are in…” Nova paused as she ran a pointer finger through the air. She picked a cupboard and gestured at it. “That one.”

I stepped over and opened the cupboard door, and as if by magic, she was correct. There were several large bowls. I pulled one out, and Amelia poured the microwave popcorn from the paper bag into the bowl.

“Thank you, sweetie.” I took the bowl. “Would you go into the pantry and grab a sparkling water for me?”

She opened the pantry and disappeared into its depths.

“So, you have a kid,” Nova said.

“Sorry, I forgot to mention that.”

“She was a bit of a surprise this morning.”

“What time did she get here?”

“I honestly don’t know. I had been here for about an hour when she came into the kitchen and announced her presence.”

I let out a long breath. “I’ll have to speak to Mother about dropping Amelia off without letting anybody know that she’s done so. I should be able to get a nanny in the next day or two. The agency is usually very accommodating and able to get me somebody on short notice. I hope she wasn’t a problem.”

“She’s not a problem at all. She’s quite adorable. However, I was hired to be a cook, not a babysitter,” Nova reminded me.

“That is correct,” I confirmed.

“I thought you might have changed your mind after you learned that I was a first grade teacher.”

“To be honest, that hadn’t even occurred to me,” I said. I had learned long ago that I could easily hire nannies through the agency, but they didn’t cook. And I never expected Emma to watch Amelia for me. As far as I was concerned, cooks and nannies were completely separate people.

“If you don’t already have somebody lined up from the agency, I have a proposal,” Nova said.

Amelia emerged from the pantry holding a green glass bottle out to me.

“Thank you, sweetie,” I said as I took the bottle of San Pellegrino.

“You were saying?” I returned my attention to Nova.

“It will probably save you some money in the long run, but if you increase my agreed pay rate by fifty percent, I’ll watch Amelia for you too.”

“Does that mean Nova would be my babysitter?” Amelia asked. She clapped her hands and danced around the kitchen. “Please, Daddy, please. That would be so great. Please don’t get anybody from the icky agency.”

When Nova laughed at her antics instead of correcting her, I decided that her proposal was a very good idea.

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