3.
Kevin was the most well-behaved youngster I had ever met. He was kind, courteous, and intelligent. If he were a handful I could have considered my salary to be hazard pay, but I felt a little guilty about making so much money for taking care of an angel.
“Lunchtime,” I said.
He lit up with excitement as we ran to the kitchen. The house chef had already prepared something for the two of us. As we ate, I struck up a conversation.
“I gotta know, Kevin: Why did you pick me?”
He chomped on his apple slices. Even though he made a little bit of a mess, he cleaned up after himself.
“You were nice,” he said finally.
“I was nice? Was there anything else?” I asked.
“Nope,” he said.
I could see he was hiding something, but I didn’t want to force it. He was too cute and a blast to spend time with. We played outside during the day. Then when the sun began to set we found a nice spot inside where we could read.
I let him try reading as much as he could. He liked trying his best, and I was glad when he did. For most of the day, William was in his office, working diligently on who knew what. I had hoped he might make an appearance and spend time with his son, but I supposed that was why he had hired a nanny in the first place.
As the day wound to an end, Kevin fell asleep in my arms, the book he’d been trying to read covering his face. I would have laughed, but I had a feeling it might wake him.
“He’s got school in the morning,” William said from the hallway.
“Ah, does he? I’ll put him to bed then,” I said.
“Oh, don’t trouble yourself. If I weren’t so busy, I would’ve spent more time with him.”
William came over and plucked him from my arms. The intimidating man I had met before had become a warm and caring parent in the blink of an eye.
I followed him down the hall and into Kevin’s bedroom. It was one of the largest rooms in the house, certainly larger than my own, and was covered in toys and games. I wanted to say he was spoiled, but I had no proof.
After laying his son in bed, William came out and we began to chat while walking toward the kitchen.
“I like to see him happy,” he said, “and I want him to have all the advantages I didn’t.”
“You didn’t have all this?” I asked.
“Not until about ten years ago,” he replied. “I was a small-time investor. I just happened across a solid investment and banked hard. That earned me my first capital. Once you start understanding business, it becomes second nature.”
I could understand what he meant to some degree. Janey used to be a carefree spirit, but after going off to college, she came back a much more grounded and obsessed person. She devoured the law, and I never saw the old Janey again.
“What happened to his mother?” I wondered.
William went silent. I had a feeling I had asked about a delicate subject far sooner than I should have. He slowed his walk and kept a thoughtful gaze forward.
“Perhaps another time,” he said.
The smell of dinner that had been prepared for us wafted through the house, and my mouth watered. It smelled like something my mother used to make for me all the time when I was sick.
I was surprised to find that it even looked exactly like that dish. I always searched local restaurants, but none could make it just the same.
“I had them make your favorite food,” he said.
I sat down and eagerly took a bite. It was delicious and so familiar. It tasted exactly like the food I’d had every time I was sick. I almost cried as I ate.
“I sort of cheated and called your mother for the recipe,” William said.
“That’s the most thoughtful thing anyone has done for me,” I said.
“I like making people feel comfortable when they come here. We’re all family. My chef is an old restauranteur from my favorite food spot a long time ago. He got tired of the day to day of his old restaurant, so I bought the place and hired him to work here. You met Bill, my old neighbor. He used to race cars twenty years ago, and I still like to fuel his habit, pardon the pun. My maid is a woman who lived with my family for years. She came from Eastern Europe without a cent to her name, and now she lives here.
“Everyone here is someone that matters to me. I want you to matter to me as well. I hope you’ll come to love it here as much as we do.”
I was impressed by his need to keep people around him that he knew. So many times I’d seen people move on and forget where they came from. It seemed he brought where he came from along with him.
“That’s an incredible gesture,” I said.
“I even bought this land incredibly cheap. It’s still a functioning wetland. A developer was going to pave over it and build some monstrosity, but I wanted to make sure the land stayed as it was. In the spring we allow bird watchers to come and enjoy the grounds,” he added.