Page 7 of The Wedding Planner's Manny
Thank you. I can't say how sad I am to see you go.”
“I'm sad to be leaving too,” she said, and left it at that. It was how I knew there was nothing I could do to make her change her mind. Suppressing a sigh, I changed the topic. “Where do I find my miscreant of a son?”
“He's up in his room, probably playing with thatpetof his.” She shook a little with disgust as she said this. I never understood what her problem with Nathan's salamander was, really. I thought it was cute. But this wasn't the time to argue about that. Nathan knew what he was doing when he set it on her cutting board. My kid was a troublemaker, but he wasn't stupid.
Dread settling deep in my chest, I made my way up the stairs.
“Nathan?” I called, knocking on his door before entering. Hot and humid air clung to my skin the moment I set foot into his room. My son had two terrariums on a shelf next to his desk, and the atmosphere in here was always just short of tropical. I had no idea how he could stand it, but he didn't seem bothered. “Crack open a window,” I instructed before I said anything else.
Sitting at his desk, Nathan turned to look at me. His blond bangs had grown so long that they fell into his eyes, but they didn't manage to obscure the scowl on his face. Nevertheless, he got up and opened the window without arguing the way he usually did. He knew he was in trouble.
How many times had we done this dance now? Too many. I got the feeling we were both getting tired of it. I wasn't sure why Nathan kept behaving this way, but I knew that I had to put a stop to it, once and for all.
Once Nathan had opened the window and turned back to me, I started. “You know, I'm beginning to think you're not responsible enough to keep pets.”
My son's eyes widened. Whatever he'd been expecting, this wasn't it. I took no pleasure in threatening to take his pets from him. Sometimes I got the feeling he loved his salamander and his newt more than any other member of this family, really, but I was at the end of my rope with him. I'd tried grounding him, I'd confiscated his phone, I'd made him do all the household chores for weeks... nothing seemed to get through to him. This was the only card left in my hand.
“I'm super responsible!” Nathan claimed, once he got over the initial shock. “I'm so responsible we don't even need a stupid nanny. I can watch over Caleb!”
I only looked at him. “Do you really think the way you've been acting makes me think you're even the least bit responsible? I used to think you cared about your brother, but do you think this is good for him? Going through five nannies in a year?” The boy had enough on his plate without having to get used to a new stranger every few months. Initially, I’d tried to enroll him in day care, but he’d just scream his lungs out whenever I left him there.
Nathan's scowl deepened, and I wondered if I'd hit a nerve. He used to adore his little brother, back before our lives had been turned on their heads. “Caleb would be better off without the nannies,” he said eventually. “They're all stupid and they can't replace mom.”
I sighed, because this was not the first time I'd heard those words. “No one's trying to replace your mom.” It was not the first time I'd given that response either, but he never seemed tohearit.
Nathan only glared at me. “Then why are they all expecting me to follow these stupid rules?”
“What stupid rules?”
“She threatened to take my phone from me if I didn’t turn it off during dinner.”
I cringed. His mother used to be big on enforcing that, but I let it slide when she was gone. Honestly, I had too much else to worry about. But still, that didn't justify my son's behavior. “She makes you turn off your phone and you think it's okay to ruin her bag and set off her asthma?” I demanded.
“I didn't know that would happen.”
“But it did! Do you have any idea how dangerous some of your pranks are? And it's not okay to use your pets to scare people either! It's stuff like that that makes me think you're not mature enough to keep them.”
“I'm totally mature!” Nathan insisted with the least mature scowl ever. “I know what I'm doing!”
“That's the problem!” I'd tried to keep my voice level but now it rose anyway. I couldn't help it. The frustration was getting to me. “You know exactly what you're doing and you're doing it anyway! With no regard for the consequences!”
“Fuck the consequences!”
“Language!” Now we were both shouting. I tried to force myself to calm down. I didn't like shouting at my children or anyone else. Hell, I didn't even like to be in the vicinity of people who were having a shouting match. Dragging the heel of my hand down my face, I took a deep breath. “You're grounded until further notice and you'll be watching your brother until I can find a new nanny.”
“We don't need another—”
“I'm not done talking! You will watch your brother until we get the new nanny and you will be on your best behavior. I swear to you, if you make another nanny quit, I'm taking your salamander and your newt back to the pet store.”
Nathan stared at me with his mouth open. “You wouldn't.”
“You don't want to try me.” With that, I turned and left the room.
Would I really give his pets away? Hell, I probably couldn't if I wanted to, but he didn't have to know that.
Parenting worked best as long as your kids believed you had more power than you did.
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