Smorgasbord Short Stories – Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries – #Connections – The Nanny by Sally Cronin

As is my custom, I am serialising one of my past books here on the blog, and over the next few weeks, stories from my 2020 collection, Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries, Sometimes Bitter, Sometimes Sweet. I hope you will enjoy.

Connections – Some are too strong to be broken. Over the years and across dimensions souls reach out to share our lives.

The Nanny

Exhausted, Jane and Andy lay back down in bed and hoped for at least an hour’s respite before their son James began crying again. He was five months old and had begun teething in the last week and the poor little guy was suffering. They had bought him two teething rings and chilled them in rotation which seemed to help during the day. To help ease the pain at night they had bought some recommended gel from the pharmacy to rub on his sore gums.

Andy had to be up for work in a few hours and needed some sleep. Jane was seriously considering moving a camp bed into her son’s nursery; at least she could be on hand to comfort him, without disturbing her husband so frequently, when he woke. James had recently started going through the night from midnight to six in the morning for his next feed, and she knew it was the pain waking him as the soothing gel wore off.

An hour later the baby monitor erupted with the sound of their son screaming and Jane placed her hand on Andy’s shoulder.

‘Don’t worry love, you get some more sleep and I’ll go and keep him company. I can grab some naps during the day.’ Andy kissed his wife’s lips as she prepared to slip out of bed.
Suddenly the monitor went quiet and they looked at each other in hopes James had dropped off to sleep again. Then they heard a noise and they looked at each other in surprise. The baby was giggling and gurgling.

His parents lay back and waited with bated breath as they listened to the joyful noises coming from their son’s nursery. Then it went quiet, and within minutes they were fast asleep and were only woken by the alarm clock two hours later.

This went on for several nights, and although the teething rings seem to be helping during the day, the nights continued to be interrupted once or twice by James as he began to whimper in pain. But within minutes he would be laughing and chortling, which began to intrigue his parents.

When the weekend came around they sat down at the kitchen table with James in his high chair, sucking on one of his favourite rusks. With a few more hours of sleep a night, both his parents were feeling almost human again and the conversation got around to when would be the right time to introduce another dog into the family. Their collie Charlie had been Jane’s dog and already ten years old when they married. Sadly, they had lost him at twelve, but not before he had glued himself to Jane’s side during the first seven months of her pregnancy.

He seemed to know almost as soon as she did that she was having a baby, and insisted on lying on the sofa with his head on her growing bump, whining slightly when she moved to get up. He followed her everywhere, which was not unusual, and he became extra protective when other people were around. They had been devastated when the vet had identified the reason he was not eating was a very large tumour in his stomach. Their last act of love for their beloved dog was to be with him as he was gently put to sleep.

Jane had been brought up around dogs from the moment she was born, and she wanted their son to experience the wonderful companionship this offered, and to develop the love and connection with animals she had. Andy was a little more reticent as he worried if having a dog might be dangerous for the baby, but the discussion took place on a regular basis about when it would be time to bring a puppy into their family.

‘To be honest Andy, I’m not sure I could cope with a puppy whilst James is teething. He has been improving at night but I am still very tired and so are you.’ She smiled lovingly at her husband as he relaxed in the spring sunshine coming through the kitchen windows.

‘I think you’re right love, let’s give it a few months and see how things are when he starts to be more mobile, I know a puppy is unlikely to be a danger to him, but I am still concerned about when the dog becomes more boisterous.’

The following week they were amazed when James began sleeping through the night again, except for a brief few minutes around three in the morning when he could be heard gurgling and laughing. Whilst grateful for the almost uninterrupted nights, Jane and Andy also were fascinated to find out what was causing this reaction in their son.

Andy arrived home on the Friday having stopped off at the local electronics store with a baby cam which could send images to both their phones. He spent some time after supper setting it up and then testing the images to make sure the crib and the surrounding area was covered.

They went to bed as usual, placing their phones on the bedside tables in anticipation of the nightly interruption.

At three o’clock, as expected, they woke to hear their son in the nursery chatting away to himself with the occasional giggle. They put their bedside lights on and grabbed their phones. They could see James had managed to roll himself onto his side, something he had become quite expert at in the last three weeks. He was waving his arms around in the direction of the door and then they noticed movement a few inches away from the cot.

Horrified they leapt to their feet and rushed to the nursery, only to find James dropping back to sleep contentedly and the room empty. Having checked he was breathing normally and was unharmed, they searched the room top to bottom but could find no sign of the intruder.

Andy switched his laptop on and opened the app for the video he had installed there too.

With the larger screen and by enhancing the image, the movement they had detected became clearer.

They both sat frozen on their chairs and grabbed each other’s hands tightly.

Faint, but recognisable, was the outline of a shaggy dog with his nose pushed through the bars of the cot and with a wagging tail at the other end.

‘Oh my god, is it Charlie?’ Jane turned to her husband who was staring at the screen in disbelief.

Andy put his arms around his wife as she sat bewildered and shivering.

‘Well, I don’t think we need to get him a puppy for a while.’

©Sally Cronin 2020

My Books

One of the recent reviews for Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries

Patricia Furstenberg October 2021 Bookbub

There are writers who can keep you on your toes, and writers who can entertain. And there are writers who can compose soulful stories that speak to your heart. Sally Cronin is one such writer, and ‘Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries: Sometimes Bitter, Sometimes Sweet’ is a collection that will pull at your heartstrings. Even those you’ve forgotten about. 🙂

I was pressed for time when this book came out, and I could only pick it up now and then, taking in one chapter at a time. It only made the enjoyment of its reading last longer.

Cronin’s stories shine a spotlight on life’s simple humanity and on the humanity that rolls back into life. They are a reminder that life IS filled with hope. A read for all.

A perfect book during such trying times.

Amazon: Amazon US – Amazon UK: Amazon UK – More reviews : Goodreads

My latest book is a collection of poetry and was published on July 2021

 

Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you have enjoyed the story.. I always love your feedback. Sally.