Bartholomew swung through the door of
the coffee shop and saw The Nanny waving at him. She was beautiful.
Her blonde hair was up in a bun exposing her long porcelain neck and
strong jaw line. She wore a buttoned blue blouse, a pair of tight
jeans and cowboy boots. Her eyes were a bright fiery blue – as if
they held the light of heaven. The only remnant of her previous Goth
attire was the over-large cross necklace of which Bartholomew could
see the top before it disappeared into her blouse.
At the sight of Bartholomew, a smile
spread across The Nanny’s face. She stood up and welcomed
Bartholomew with a hug – a BIG, looong hug. He barely noticed the
cross imbedding into his chest.
“I am so happy you could make it,”
said The Nanny as she sat back down.
Bartholomew sat down across the small
round table from her. “Yeah, happy to be here. I'm glad you could
finally fit me into your schedule.”
“I'm so sorry about that,” she
said with a sympathetic look in her eyes. “Things have been much
busier than I could handle.”
“Dog-sitting?” asked Bartholomew
with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.
“Yes! Oh it has been amazingly more
work than I ever imagined,” said The Nanny with such enthusiasm in
her voice and eyes that Bartholomew's sarcasm faded. “But I think
I have finally figured it out. I know what should happen now.”
Bartholomew didn't understand what she
meant but moved on to the subject he wanted to discuss with her.
“What happened to Geraldine? Why didn't you tell me she was
missing?”
“Yes, she is missing. Oh… does
that bother you?”
“Does it bother me? Does it bother
me?! Yes, it bothers me! Geraldine was a nice girl. All right, she
was crazy, sex-starved and would take advantage of every situation,
but there was a nice side to her, too.”
The Nanny smiled-- seemed pleased
about something.
“Geraldine is missing! Why are you
so happy?!” Bartholomew almost yelled.
The Nanny said nothing but stared at
Bartholomew with such sparkling eyes and such beautiful skin and such
full-bodied hair and such positive energy and... Her presence was
disarming, as if her whole soul was there to do nothing but love and
support someone. Bartholomew couldn't help but think how different
she was when he had met her at Gerald's house. Her black Goth
clothes and dark eyeliner were gone. More importantly, he sensed
that her attitude was completely different. Before she seemed to be
waiting. The Nanny previously was disciplining and corralling
Gerald's sons and daughter, as if keeping them in line until
something else happens. But now, The Nanny was purposeful. She
seemed focused, honed-in and ready to do whatever it was she was
meant to do after a long delay. This made her very happy, full of
life and much larger than Bartholomew's anger or cynicism.
“Bartholomew, would you be relieved
if Geraldine walked through that door right now?”
“Well, wha... of course. I don't
want anything bad to happen to her.”
“Bartholomew, would you feel
something in your heart, something beyond politeness and kindness, if
Geraldine were to walk in that door and sit right down at our table?”
asked The Nanny staring unflinchingly into Bartholomew's eyes.
Bartholomew did not answer. What was
The Nanny getting at, he wondered. Wanting an answer, The Nanny
reached across the table and put her hand on Bartholomew's. There it
was again, the feeling Bartholomew had when he first met her, when
she had first put her hand on his arm – he wanted to share
everything with her.
“Yes, yes, I would feel something
in my heart,” said Bartholomew. “Geraldine is too crazy for me,
but there is still something nice about her… underneath. I liked it
when she would say nice things about me and how she liked to be with
me. And...,” Bartholomew hesitated, “when I broke up with her,
when we were on a picnic, she was really hurt. It was then I
realized how much she really liked me and that there was a
part of her that was..., was... truly good.”
The Nanny moved closer to Bartholomew.
“You are amazing, Bartholomew. There is so much I want to share
with you. Your kindness and your heart are in tune with something
inside me. It makes me want to give something back to you –
something special, something deep and personal.”
Bartholomew's eyes grew big. What did
she mean? This casual date was going better than he imagined, maybe
a little better than he was ready for. Bartholomew moved closer to
The Nanny. “What would that be?”
“I can't share it with you right
now,” said The Nanny. “It's not time yet. Maybe a few more
dates, a little more history, a few more interactions and then it
will be time. I can't wait. I’m very excited!”
Bartholomew couldn't believe what he
was hearing. He felt he must say something instead of sitting there
like a dolt with his mouth open. “Uh...I'm...you...yeah. Yeah,
that would be great. I'm very excited, too.”
A yelp was heard from outside the
coffee shop. “I have to go,” said The Nanny. “I'm sorry to
cut this date short. Can we get together next week? I'll call you.”
“Yeah, next week would be fine,”
said Bartholomew. “We'll talk.”
The Nanny walked to the door.
Bartholomew stared at her beautiful jean-wrapped ass as it moved
across the room. She turned as she opened the door. “Bartholomew,
if this works out right, you're gonna get yourself a girl who is
everything you could want.” She smiled and walked out of the door
as another yelp was heard from outside.
After The Nanny disappeared from view,
Bartholomew almost fell out of his chair with pent up energy. He sat
up straight and, not knowing what to do, stayed in the coffee shop
for another half hour thinking of all the ways he wanted to get to
know The Nanny better. Not all of them would be considered polite,
by some people, but they were all certainly filled with kindness.
__________________________________________
Written by Mark Granlund
Illustrated by Mary Sandberg
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