Heather has three kids.
Maddie is five. Ben just turned three. Owen is eighteen months.
I adore them. I really do.
I’ve taken them to the park. I’ve made pancakes with them on Saturday mornings. I’ve babysat on weekends when Heather needed help.
Last Christmas, Maddie drew me a picture of giant purple flowers with my name written across the top in wobbly letters. It’s still hanging on my refrigerator.
But babysitting once in a while is nothing like being somebody’s full-time daycare.
“What about her job?” Heather asked.
“She’s leaving the dental office.”
I squeezed my dress so hard my knuckles hurt.
“She told you that?”
“We’ve talked about it.”
We had not.
Seth and I had talked about buying a house. About having kids someday, without rushing. About vacations. About saving for retirement. About finally replacing his old truck.
Not once had we talked about me quitting my job to raise his sister’s children.
Heather sighed.
“I just don’t want Natalie to feel like I’m taking advantage of her.”
“She won’t.”
“I know how much she likes her job.”
Seth’s voice got irritated.
“Heather, we’ve been over this. She’s going to be my wife. We’re going to make decisions based on what’s best for the family.”
A pause.
“And she’ll start Monday morning?”
“Seven-thirty. Like we said.”
Monday morning.
My staff meeting was at eight. Dr. Bennett was introducing our new billing software. And then she and I were supposed to sit down and talk about my promotion.
Seth knew about both of those things. I’d told him over dinner the Wednesday before.
He’d said, “Sounds exciting, babe.”
And now he’d given my Monday away to somebody else.
My heart was pounding in my throat.
I almost turned around. I almost went to find Paige and pull myself together before I said anything.
Then Heather said one more thing.
“I hope this works out. Because I already canceled their daycare two weeks ago.”
Seth didn’t sound surprised at all.
“I know.”
“Their last day was yesterday. The director said all three spots have already been filled.”
“Then it’s a good thing we have Natalie,” Seth said.
I stared at that doorway.
This wasn’t some little misunderstanding about helping out for a few days.
Three children’s daycare had been canceled. Because of a promise I never made.
And the man who made it was about to become my husband.
I pushed open the door.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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