A Christmas to Remember(6)

The little girl walked over to Carrie, grabbed her hands and smiled, revealing a row of white, perfectly shaped teeth. Then, as quickly as she’d come over, she went back to the tower. Her hair was slightly lighter than her brother’s, the golden strands bringing out the blue of her eyes. She had a heart-shaped face and a little pout that twitched as she balanced her block. When Natalie had positioned another block and moved her fingers, the children clapped politely. When the blocks were all placed on their tower, the little girl turned to Carrie. “Hello,” she said in a high-pitched voice, as she played with the hem of her dress, showing her tights underneath. “I’m Olivia.”

“Hi,” Carrie said to her, unable to control her smile. Olivia’s hair had been pulled into a ponytail, tufts of curls escaping it, sending little flyaways toward her face. She pushed them out of her eyes with the palms of her hands, her little nails painted a sparkly pink. Olivia’s dress was navy blue with an embroidery pattern at the top like the one in the picture downstairs, but this pattern was the same light blue as her tights. Her navy shoes had petite silver buckles that shined as her feet pattered along the rug.

The woman next to the children looked up too and smiled. “Hello,” she said. “You must be Carrie.” She stood to greet her.

“I’ll leave you now,” Adam said, stepping back through the doorway. “Natalie, if you don’t mind, just lead Carrie to my office when you’re done showing her around the playroom.” As he walked out, Carrie wished he would stay. It was such a surprising feeling to have, but even though he made her incredibly nervous, there was something about him that was intriguing. She liked him. He had a quality about him that made her want to know more. With his quiet nature, he came off a little mysterious.

The children were now silently watching, clearly wondering what was going on. Just before Adam left, Carrie saw him smile at his children, but they didn’t run to him. They hadn’t lit up when they’d seen him, and there was something distant about their encounter. In fact, they stood quietly, their faces still and calm, their hands unmoving, their tiny feet planted in that spot. It rattled her. She’d never seen that behavior before in any of her other clients’ homes. She’d never witnessed children who were so reserved, so careful about how they interacted with their own parent. While he was direct and no-nonsense, Adam didn’t seem scary or worrying at all, so it was strange to her that the children would act that way toward him.

He shut the door, and the children continued to watch her, as Carrie sat down cross-legged on the giant burgundy and spruce-colored rug. “What are you playing?” she asked the kids. The children looked at Natalie, so Carrie, too, looked her way and asked, “What were you all playing?”

“Blocks,” Natalie smiled.

“What’s the game?”

“Oh, there wasn’t a game. We were just building.”

Carrie looked at the lone towers of single blocks in the center of the rug, all the other toys tucked away in their places. It was clear that Natalie’s style of childrearing was different than hers. Natalie had a quieter way about her, a rigidity that was clear just by watching the way she interacted with the children. She seemed pleasant and caring, but by the look of the tower and the toys surrounding them, she wasn’t the type to get down on her hands and knees and ride them around on her back or toss them into the air just to make them laugh. It worried Carrie. She wondered if her style of childcare would fit in this house. Natalie’s approach wasn’t bad, just different. Not wanting to compete or show any disagreement with the way Natalie dealt with the kids, Carrie noticed there were more blocks in the bucket, so she reached in and pulled one out.

“Where should I put it?” she asked the little boy, David. What she wanted to do was pull out the bin of cars, build a parking garage, perhaps make a drive-in theater, and act out a story. Or she could see if the kids could build towers as tall as themselves and then pretend to be monsters and knock them down. She had all kinds of ideas, but she had to tread lightly. This wasn’t her job yet. She turned to David, who was clearly shy in her presence, and handed him the block. “Why don’t you do it for me? Do you think you can balance it?”

He seemed unsure. Olivia leaned over to him, still pushing hair off her forehead, her fingernails glittering in the lamplight, and whispered, “Put it there, David,” pointing to an open spot next to the tallest tower. He took a quick look in Carrie’s direction and then placed the block where his sister had said to put it.