Take Jolene, for example. Right now, she remembered borrowing his camera while claiming it was for Ben—when really it was for her own custody case. She’d used him, saved up some money, and now she was leaving without looking back.
“Actually, I have a friend from the support group—her name is Norma. Her ex-husband was abusive, so she started drinking and lost custody. But she’s been completely sober for the past few weeks, and she’s working hard to get her daughter back. She used to be a stay-at-home mom and has experience with kids. Maybe you’d be willing to give her a chance?”
Raymond nodded. “I went to the rehab center specifically to hire people who are trying to turn their lives around. Of course she can come in for an interview.”
“Don’t worry—we meet every week at the support group. She’s been sober for a long time now, and she recently got a cleaning job to get back on her feet.” Jolene smiled.
With the good news, she immediately called Norma to tell her to come for an interview tomorrow.
“Really? That’s amazing! Thank you, Jolene. Oh my God, I don’t even know what to say…” Norma was practically speechless on the phone.
“I got your thanks. When you come tomorrow, I’ll share some tips with you. Just do your best and fight to get your daughter back.” Jolene laughed.
She’d always empathized with Norma—they’d both had it rough. The original owner had been in a similar situation. Helping Norma felt like helping the person the original owner used to be.
The next day, Norma showed up way early, wearing new clothes.
When Jolene went out to drop the kids off, she spotted Norma already standing by the roadside.
“You’re here so early?” Jolene laughed.
Norma looked embarrassed. “I’m nervous. I’m afraid I won’t do well.”
“Since you’re here, come walk the kids to school with me. It’ll help you get familiar with the route,” Jolene said.
So in the morning, they took the kids to school together. On the way back, Jolene showed Norma the swim school, the piano school, and the neighborhood park—all the places the kids frequented.
When they got home, Mr. Raymond was already there, waiting.
“This is Mr. Raymond,” Jolene said with a smile, then turned to Raymond. “And this is my friend Norma.”
“Nice to meet you.”
They exchanged greetings.
Norma had already relaxed a bit after walking around with Jolene. Though she’d never been a live-in nanny before, she’d raised her own kids.
“May I walk Norma through my usual routine?” Jolene tilted her head toward Mr. Raymond.
The man nodded. “Go ahead.”
It was clear Raymond trusted Jolene’s recommendation. Barring any major issues, Norma would likely get the job.
Jolene knew Raymond worked at a nonprofit—a charitable organization—so it made sense he’d give opportunities to people who’d voluntarily sought help and wanted to change. And with Jolene’s strong recommendation, the job was probably Norma’s.
Worried Norma might forget things, Jolene grabbed a piece of paper and wrote as she spoke. “Ben is very smart. He can wash up, dress himself, and feed himself in the morning—he’s very independent. He picks his own clothes from the closet every day…”
Raymond, who hadn’t left yet, raised an eyebrow and smiled. He hadn’t realized his brother looked so good in Jolene’s description.
He remembered one nanny who’d quit on him, saying Ben was impossible to communicate with and had a bad temper—she couldn’t work for such an unreasonable child. Most nannies had actually been driven away by Ben, who’d used hunger strikes to force him to fire them.
So Raymond sat on a stool by the kitchen island, watching Jolene carefully hand over the responsibilities.
“After breakfast, you take him to school. Then the rest of the morning is free. You’ll have lunch with Giovanni. At 2:40, pick him up at the school gate. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, take him to swim class; Wednesdays and Fridays, piano. Since school gets out early, you can take him to the park in between—practice jump rope to help with growth, or whatever he wants to do. One thing: Ben runs his own little business. He spotted the opportunity himself. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, he comes home to make lemonade and takes it back to swim class to sell to the other kids. You might need to hold onto his earnings—here’s a ledger where I track how much he makes. Also, after coming home in the afternoon, he does homework first after dinner. Then he might want to read or do picture books—you can work that out with him. Every nanny has a different style—my way might not work for you. The main thing is to respect Ben. He’s a boy with a lot of ideas.”
Jolene painstakingly wrote down every detail on paper, afraid she might miss something. After reviewing it carefully, she handed the sheet to Norma and said earnestly, “Ben really has a mind of his own, so sometimes he might not listen to others. When that happens, just let him make his own decisions. That’s not a bad thing—kids like that grow up to be remarkable people. So try to be patient, okay? Well, I wish you both a great time together!”
Norma listened intently and saw how Jolene had recorded every detail. She was deeply moved. She stepped forward and gave Jolene a hug, patting her shoulder. “Thank you, Jolene. Meeting you has been the luckiest thing.”
“We both have daughters, we’re both single moms—no need for thanks. Remember Maria? Remember what you said? Become a better mom, because you still have to get back at your ex-husband.” Jolene crossed her arms and winked at Norma.
“Haha… yes! Maria is my idol. She saved me!” Norma laughed, her sadness momentarily lifted.
With everything handed over and her salary settled, the hardest part remained—saying goodbye to her little employer, Ben.
To be honest, Jolene was nervous. She was afraid Ben would get angry and throw a tantrum.
It was a tough spot—she did feel a little guilty. She hadn’t handled it perfectly, and she felt she’d let the kid down.
That evening, she and Norma picked up the kids, took Ben to piano, and then brought them home.
Ben was quieter than usual today. With a new stranger around, of course he’d be curious.
At bedtime, while reading picture books, Jolene finally spoke up. “Ben, I’m leaving tomorrow. Aunt Norma will be your new live-in nanny.”
Ben pouted and wouldn’t look at her. “I saw her today. I already knew.”
“Emma and I have been wanting to go to New York for a long time. We didn’t have the money before, but now we’ve saved enough for travel, so we have to go.” Jolene felt a pang of sadness. “If you ever want to come play with Emma, maybe you can visit us in New York. We’ll take you all around the city.”
Ben turned his head sharply, his lips pressed together, little dimples forming as he blinked. “So… it’s not that you don’t like me. You just have to go to New York?”
Hearing that, Jolene pulled him into a hug and ruffled his short hair. “Of course not. Ben has always had his own ideas, and that’s a good thing. How could I not like you? You and Emma are both wonderful kids. I’m sure you’ll get along great with Aunt Norma. She has a daughter too, and right now she’s working really hard to get custody of her back. So can we all help her together?”
“Okay. Then Ben will keep making money, and when I’ve saved enough, I’ll come to New York to visit you,” Ben said, his voice muffled as he leaned against Jolene.
“Deal. Pinky swear.” Ben held out his little hand and pinky-swore with both Jolene and Emma.
Jolene booked plane tickets in advance. Raymond said she could leave early to find a place in New York.
He drove her to the airport. The mother-daughter pair had very little luggage—just some clothes in one suitcase. Jolene also carried a backpack with snacks and important items.
Originally, she’d wanted to take the train, but when she checked the price—$200 per person—and realized the trip would take over 80 hours with a transfer in Chicago…
Jolene broke out in a cold sweat. Even the old green trains in China weren’t that slow.
As a single mom traveling with a five-year-old girl, Jolene would rather pay extra to fly. The flight from San Francisco to New York took about five hours and cost $420—Emma’s child ticket was half price.
“Safe travels!” Raymond waved goodbye from the airport entrance.
“Thank you! Goodbye!” Jolene waved back with a smile.
Raymond suddenly laughed, his eyes dropping as if something had occurred to him. He raised his hand to his ear, mimicking a phone call. “When you’re not too busy, maybe you can call home—I mean, call Ben. Once you get a phone, let him know the number.”
Jolene laughed and held up her hand with thumb and pinky extended, mimicking a phone too. “Of course. I’ll definitely call Ben.”
After clearing security and checking their luggage, mother and daughter headed to the departure hall.
When they arrived in New York, Jolene checked into a hotel that same day. She planned to find a rental agent first thing in the morning.
She had just over $20,000 saved. She needed to budget carefully—preferably looking in affordable areas like Brooklyn, Queens, or Washington Heights.
If it were just her, she could rough it temporarily. But Emma needed to go to school, so Jolene wanted a safe neighborhood with a good school district.
Though her budget was limited, Jolene wanted to find a place she could settle into long-term—no more moving or transferring schools for Emma.
Leave a Reply