Page 53 of The Desired Nanny
The deafening snap of my clutch punctuated the end of my sentence. I left the bathroom and wasn’t surprised when I noticed Grant leaning against the wall. Without a word, I veered to the left towards the exit with him hot on my heels.
Chapter Sixteen
Jonathan
“Come on, Anthony. Puff, puff, pass—you know the deal,” I said lazily as we huddled around a joint. He coughed and cleared his throat.
“How the hell are you gonna tell me how to get high off my own supply?” he replied. His voice had dropped a few octaves with a slight raspiness from the smoke.
“Usually, I wouldn’t, but this is supposed to be my pick-me-up after finding out I have to put my father on hospice.”
“I’m sorry, Jon. You’re right,” he said, passing me the joint.
“Thank you,” I whispered, trying to hide the emotion in my voice. Earlier, I’d gone for my bi-weekly visit to find my mother by my father’s side, chatting away. He was utterly unresponsive, and according to the social worker, he was barely eating. It’d be a matter of time before I’d have to lay my father to rest. It was a mental blow to see such a strong, capable man, whom, at specific points in my life, I feared but respected, be reduced to adult diapers and baby food. “He held on long enough to see Turk, so I’m grateful for that,” I said before taking a drag.
Anthony chuckled and leaned against the brick wall. “His mean ass was always fond of Kiyah. Sorry to tell you, but she was his favorite grandchild.”
“Hm,” I hummed in acknowledgment while I smoked my share. I inhaled sharply and held the smoke as long as my lungs could before exhaling slowly. “He once claimed she didn’t waste his rounds like the others. It’s a shame they never went on that African safari,” I said with a dejected sigh.
“I’m not much of a hunter, but that would’ve been a badass graduation present.”
I shook my head. “Sometimes, I wonder where I went wrong with them. Do you think I was too involved?”
“Slow down. I need a moment to catch up.”
I rolled my eyes.
“All right. Now that my brain has finally made its arrival, what was that shit you were saying?”
I passed the joint back to him. “Was I too involved as a parent? On paper, my children, God, they’re amazing, but I realize that maybe my father was onto something.”
“That gentle parenting bullshit did not work. Mine turned out marginally better than yours, but only because Simone was locked and loaded with the slipper.”
“Never mind, I’m fucked up.”
“You’re not fucked up. Your father is actively dying, and now you’re reflecting on your life, wondering if you made the right calls and if the family and legacy that you created will hold up after you’re gone.”
I smirked. “Sounds like you’ve been thinking about it.”
Anthony shrugged. “We’re approaching sixty—our days are numbered. I’d be a fool not to think about it.”
“We have a good—”
“I don’t want to hear that ‘we have a good twenty years left in us’ bullshit.”
“I’ll shut up then.”
“The kids are fine-ish.” I raised a brow, or at least I think I did. I couldn’t feel my face, and for all I knew, it could still beresting at ease. “I raised a successful finance bro.” I doubled over and laughed with my hands on my knees until I could barely breathe. “This is why I don’t like smoking with you—you turn into the giggle factory. Get yourself together and act like you have some decorum, Warner.”
“Okay, Felicity,” I replied, straightening myself up.
“I did sound like her, didn’t I?”
“You did. But please continue.”
“As I said, I raised Nori to be a successful finance gentlewoman who is killing it in the investment game, and she’s getting married in two days, as long as Daisy acts right and there are no additional hiccups. The other….”
He trailed off.
