The Doctor's Fake Nanny(6)

       
           



       



When she was all cried out she turned her face up to look at me. It was  such a sweet face, so ready for consolation, and I kissed her on the  forehead again so that she would know that I loved her. I very much  hoped that she would believe me, that she would be able to see through  my earnest eyes and know that it was true. I wanted to tell her that  what she had said wasn't right, that of course her dad wanted her, but I  couldn't. I didn't want to lie to her and I wasn't sure that I wouldn't  be. I would have to be enough, at least for now.



"We're a team, right?"



I said the words softly, watching her face intently as I spoke. It lit  up immediately and she let out another little crow of success. That was  all it took for her, one person telling her that she wanted her as a  teammate.



"Right!"



"Good, I need a teammate. Now, I have a very, very important question for you."



"What is it?" Eyes wide, mouth in a perfect little "o," her body practically vibrating with anticipation."



"Want to play a game?"



She collapsed into a fit of giggles on the floor and nodded her  beautiful blonde head. Good. Who cared if her father acted like a  complete jackass? We had each other for the day and I was going to make  damned sure that it was enough.



***



"So how was the day? Did everything go alright for you two? Are you getting along?"



"Oh sure, sure we are. She really such a fun little girl. I think we're getting along really well."



"That's good. I was hoping you would."



"I did have one question for you though."



He looked up quickly with one eyebrow raised and a somber look on his  face. That was one intimidating look and I had to take a deep breath to  steady myself and calm my nerves. I was going to ask him this, whether  he liked it or not.



"Sure. Ask me anything. What seems to be the problem?"



That was an interesting question, and one I wasn't sure how to answer. I  wasn't exactly sure what the problem was, that was part of the issue.  It was true, Sophie and I had managed to have a good day with each  other, but it hadn't been easy and it had shown me some things about her  that had me concerned. To begin with, she was wild. Every child her age  is wild at least part of the time, but she was wild on an elevated  level. She had an energy I couldn't hope to match and I spent a good  part of my day just trying to keep up with her.



She had been so amped up by my suggestion of playing a game, and to my  delight that excitement did not seem to diminish when I told her that  the game I wanted to play was school. Children Sophie's age were good  that way. They could enjoy almost anything, as long as you packaged it  the right way. She was completely up for the challenge and I was excited  to see what she knew. Once a teacher always a teacher, I suppose.



The problem was, excitement was pretty much all she had. She seemed to  be missing almost all of the essential skills a child her age should  possess. When I tried to go over her colors with her she could not  remember the names. When we read together she was more than happy to  look at the pictures but she could not identify or write any of her  letters. She could not read one single word. It was like she had been  raised with wolves or something. It was like nobody had ever attempted  to teach her a single solitary thing in her whole entire life.



I didn't understand it, not even a little bit. How did that happen with  the child of a doctor? The school I had so recently taken a leave of  absence from had not been in a nice area. The children I taught faced  the very real possibility that they would not receive a proper dinner at  night, that they would not be fed on the weekends at all. They were  lucky if their parents took an interest in them, let alone if they were  able to help them to learn. But that wasn't the case here. David was a  well-respected doctor. He had everything to give Sophie and yet she knew  less than the children in my class. What was the point of all of that  advantage if he chose to use it only for himself? Thinking about it now,  I had to be careful not to let myself get too worked up. I needed to  talk to David about it and flying off the handle and screaming at him  probably wouldn't promote a productive conversation.



"It's about Sophie."



"I assumed it was. What about her?"



"Well, you know I was a kindergarten teacher. I mentioned it in the interview, right?"



"You did. It was one of the reasons I hired you on the spot, as a matter of fact."



"The thing is, after you left today, Sophie was upset so I suggested  that we play a game. I suggested that we play school. I like to try and  get them to play things that will be beneficial for them and at this age  they haven't decided that school can't be fun yet."                       
       
           



       



"I like that. It sounds like an ingenious strategy."



"Well, thank you. The problem is that when we tried to play, she was  behind. She's very behind, Dr. Wyatt. She doesn't have the knowledge  that a little girl her age should have and I'm concerned for her. These  things don't just get better on their own. The longer you let it go the  more behind she will get until she feels like it is impossible to catch  up. Once she gets to that point, where she knows she is behind and it  feels insurmountable, it will be so much harder to help her to reach her  potential."



It all came out in a rush of words and as I finished I half expected him  to chastise me for my insubordination, but he didn't. His reaction  surprised me, actually, and in a good way. This whole thing was rapidly  becoming so much more complicated than I had anticipated. Every time I  thought I had it figured out, the situation would change. Dr. Wyatt  would change.



"First thing's first, Kayla. Call me David. Please. I get so tired of  being called Dr. Wyatt. I don't think I can bear to hear it in my own  home."



"Alright, I can do that."



"Thank you. Now, Kayla, tell me. Was there anything else you noticed about Sophie today?"



"What do you mean?"



"Did you notice how energetic she was? How wild, how difficult it was for her to sit still?"



"Yes, of course I did. It would be sort of difficult not to."



"And what usually happens to children like that once they are in school?  The children with the ADHD so obvious the teacher points it out before  they even walk through the front door?"



I was silent. I wasn't sure where he was going with this and so I had no  idea what I was supposed to say. David sighed and ran his hand through  his hair, a distracted and slightly pained look on his face.



"Kayla, I know she doesn't know the things a child her age should.  Believe me, I know. I haven't had the time I need to teach her those  things and it makes it harder that she has the attention difficulties."



"So if you don't have time, why don't you send her to school? There are  tons of preschools you could send her to, especially when money isn't a  problem."



Oh god, that was so rude. You weren't supposed to bring up things like  money, especially with a man you hardly knew. But I had to know. I had  to understand why he wouldn't go the extra mile to help his little girl.



"Because. Because she is so wild. I know what it's like for children  like that. The money has nothing to do with it. If I thought money would  buy her a school that wouldn't break her spirit I would send her there  in a heartbeat. But a fancy school doesn't mean that they will treat her  kindly.



She can hardly sit still for more than a minute. They'll punish her,  Kayla. They'll punish her just for being who she is. Then they'll start  talking about the medications that will keep her still enough to teach. I  can't have that. That's why it was so wonderful that you're a teacher,  and of children close to her age. I could tell right away that you  didn't mind her wild side. I thought it would help to have someone like  you teaching her."



Shit. I could not have misread the situation more completely if I had  set out to do so. He wasn't neglecting her. He was trying to protect her  from being reprimanded every day for something she couldn't help. It  had never even occurred to me that he might be looking out for her and I  felt terrible now.



I could see that it was genuine. He did care about her. Regardless of  what I had seen earlier that morning, he seemed to care about her very  much. He looked at me now with tired, sad eyes. It was hard not to feel  bad for him when he looked at me like that and I didn't know what to  make of my own sympathy.



"I was so much like her when I was small. I was wildly imaginative and  couldn't sit still no matter how hard I tried. I grew up in this  neighborhood, only a few blocks away from here. Both of my parents were  doctors. I guess that's why I went to medical school. It was just what I  was supposed to do.