Different Circles

“Yes,” Meghan said. “Yes, you are.”

“And ... uh ... you’re Meghan right?” Celia asked, though it was not really a question. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You have?” she asked. “What did you hear?”

“Uh ... just that you’re Jake and Laura’s nanny,” she said reassuringly. “And that you take very good care of little Caydee while they’re working.”

“Oh ... yeah ... yeah, I do do that,” she stammered.

“I met your sister,” Celia told her.

“You did?” Meghan asked. “When?”

“Uh ... when she was helping Laura deliver Caydee,” Celia said carefully. “I was there when she was born. That’s how Jake and Laura met you, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Meghan said. “Danielle told me that Laura was her patient and she helped deliver Caydee. She didn’t tell me that you were there though.”

“Interesting,” Celia said, impressed. Danielle had kept private information private, even from her own sister. Hopefully that discretion was a family trait. After all, she knew that young Meghan here had been made aware of what was going on between the Kingsleys and herself. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Meghan.”

“It is awesome to meet you,” Meghan said.

Celia then turned to Jake. “Hand over that chiquita,” she demanded. “I’ll hold her while you load the plane.”

Jake handed her over and Celia cuddled her against her body, calling her Chiquita, and exclaiming about how big she was getting. Caydee laughed and giggled and cooed and tried to grab Celia’s nose.

Jake and Laura and Meghan pulled all of Caydee’s baggage out of the Honda. She had more than her parents combined. She had a large diaper bag, the car seat, a suitcase full of clothes and toys, and another suitcase stuffed with extra diapers, extra wipes, bottles of frozen breast milk, jars of homemade baby food, cans of powdered formula, empty bottles, and a kit full of emergency supplies like Tylenol, teething gel, and diaper rash cream (Caydee was very fair skinned, like her mother, and prone to diaper rash). Jake loaded the suitcases into the cargo compartment in the nose. The car seat and the diaper bag were loaded into the main seating area and secured.

“All right,” Jake said once everything was loaded. “Looks like we’re ready to fly. Thanks for meeting us, Meghan.”

“No problem,” she said. “Glad to help, especially if I get to meet Celia Valdez.”

“Enjoy your weekend off,” Laura told her. “We’ll be back on Monday night.”

“I’ll see you then,” she said.

“Goodbye, Meghan,” Celia told her. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Thanks,” Meghan said shyly. “I just want you to know that I really enjoy your music.”

“Thank you,” Celia said. “Maybe when we get our act together a little more you can come out and watch one of the rehearsals and tell us what you think.”

“Really?” Meghan asked, her eyes wide.

“Really,” Celia said. “I’d love to hear a fan’s opinion of how we’re doing.”

“Anytime!” Meghan said enthusiastically.

“We’ll let you know when we’re ready for public consumption,” Celia promised. “You can bring your sister too if she’s not working.”

“That would be so cool!” she exclaimed.

Meghan said one more round of goodbyes and then climbed in her Honda and fired it up. She pulled out of the parking lot with a big smile on her face.

“She seems like a nice kid,” Celia said as she and Laura boarded the plane and Jake went into the office to file his flight plan.

“She’s a sweetheart,” Laura said, taking Caydee from Celia’s arms so she could strap her into the car seat. “A little young and naïve, maybe, but then so was I at that age.”

“Weren’t we all?” Celia said with a laugh. “Hopefully her lips are nice and tight.”

“Excuse me?” Laura said.

Celia looked at her and then laughed. “Not those lips,” she said. “Although they probably are. I was talking about the lips on her face, the ones she could spout unflattering information with.”

“Oh ... of course,” Laura said with a giggle. “So far, so good.”

“Your mind certainly went to the naughty place rather quickly,” Celia said slyly. “You got the hots for little Miss Meghan, Teach?”

“I do not have the hots for her,” Laura said firmly.

“Not even a little?” Celia chided.

“Well ... maybe a little,” Laura admitted. “She is really cute when she walks around in her long t-shirt with no bra on.”

“She does this a lot?” Celia asked, raising her eyebrows.

“No, not a lot. Just if she has to come out in the middle of the night for water or a snack or something. She doesn’t do it to be provocative. That’s what makes it cute.”

“Interesting,” Celia said. “She has nice legs?”

“Yeah,” Laura said dreamily. “She really does.”

“Hmmph,” Celia said. “Do I have myself a little competition to contend with here?”

“Not at all,” Laura said. “I would never do anything with Meghan even if she wanted to. She’s too young for my tastes and she is an employee. And she’s not into girls anyway. She’s just nice to look at when she’s walking around with her legs bare and her boobs bouncing around. That’s all.”

“Does Jake think so too?” Celia asked.