Page 14 of Hearing Little Hadley

“Miss Price!” Sadie whined. A sharp smack to her bottom got her moving quickly down the hall.

“I’m proud of you for doing so many new things, Hadley,” Finn said, ushering her down toward the Caterpillars Room.

She squeezed his hand and he tried to distract her by pointing out all the Christmas decorations in the hallways. It was filled with paper angels, elves, and letters to Santa.

Hadley froze when she reached the entryway to the nursery. Finn was worried she was going to ask to go back to their room. He didn’t mind, but he knew she would regret not trying.

A woman with a bun stood by the door to the room. She also wore a long black skirt and a crisp button-up shirt. Her hands were clasped in front of her. Finn thought she looked very professional, but he could feel Hadley tense beside him.

The woman smiled warmly at the pair. “Hello, aren’t you precious?” she said, as she bent down a bit to speak to Hadley.

When she noticed Hadley’s picture support cards in her hands, her smile grew. “You must be Hadley.”

Hadley nodded.

“Well, it is so nice to finally meet you. I’m Nanny J. Master Finn and I have had many conversations about you, sweetie. May I give you a hug?”

Yes.

The two embraced and Finn found himself having to swallow the lump in his throat.

Once she released Hadley, she shook Finn’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you both. We’re going to have so much fun today, little one. Come inside and let me show you both around,” she said, taking Hadley’s hand and guiding her inside.

Finn followed behind them and tried not to look imposing to the other Little ones inside.

“This is Miss Samantha and Miss Phoebe. They help us out during the week.”

Both women waved to Hadley and Finn.

“This is Nate,” she said pointing to a Little boy sitting at a kidney-shaped table coloring a picture of a reindeer.

“Hi,” he said, waving.

“And this Little one is Mindy,” Nanny J said.

“Hi,” she said, pulling her pacifier from her mouth and waving.

“And this is Lori,” she said, motioning to a Little girl sitting in a highchair, drinking a sippy cup of something.

Lori waved with the hand she wasn’t holding her cup with.

“Has she already had breakfast?” Nanny J asked Finn.

“Yes, and she has lunch packed in her backpack,” Finn said, reminding her.

Hadley’s food sensitivities had been another email conversation he’d had with the Preschool teacher. He may have gone a bit overboard with all the information he provided, he’d just wanted to make sure Hadley was taken care of if he wasn’t there.

“Alright. And we are in diapers?”

“Yes,” Finn answered. He chuckled as Hadley flushed bright red. There were a few areas of her Little life that she’d not allowed him in and her diapers were definitely one of those areas. “She has more in her bag. She usually changes herself, though. They’re the pull-up style, but she may be open to someone helping her.”

“Perfect.”

“We’re going to have the best day and you’re here on an extra special day. We have a special guest coming to read a book to us for Circle Time,” Miss Phoebe explained.

“Oh, a special guest, Peeps. That will be so fun,” he said as he waited for her to look at him. “I’m going to go now, okay? But I’ll be back to get you before naptime.”

Sleeping was hard for Hadley in new places and he was sure she would need a good nap after all the excitement from the day. He’d also thought introducing her slowly would be better than dropping her off for a full day of play.

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