The park was close to the house, so they walked even though an extra car was in the driveway. Dani wasn't sure if it was supposed to be for her or not or where the keys would be. Alyssa wasn't very prepared to leave for an extended period. The former Nanny must have just known how to handle all that. It seemed very strange to her, though.

Gavin raced over to the swings, and she joined him. He squealed, laughed, and begged her to go faster as she pushed him. His laughter was so contagious she felt so much lighter and younger herself. 

"Look, Gavi, a dog." Dani pointed to an older couple that was walking through the park.

"He's cool," Gavin whispered.

"I bet they'd let us pet him." Dani nudged him.

He just stared at it, his eyes wide. She picked him up off the swing and took his hand once she steadied him on the ground.

"Excuse me?" She walked over with Gavin in tow. "My nephew here loves animals; could he pet your dog?"

"Of course. She's a golden lab; her name's Shelby," the woman said.

She was a friendly-looking older woman with her gray hair cut short and dressed stylishly in a long sundress that flowed. Her husband was also older with gray hair but also very fit and dressed stylishly in brown shorts and a polo shirt. Dani once again felt self-conscious in the jeans and simple tee shirt she had chosen.

The couple smiled politely, enjoying watching Gavin stare carefully at the dog.

"Hi, Shelby." Dani knelt and pet her as her tail started wagging.

Gavin giggled. "She liked that."

"Go ahead, honey. She won't bite you or anything." The woman encouraged him.

"It's okay." Dani nodded to him.

"Okay." He began to pet her gingerly, and her tail wagged faster.

"She likes you Gavi!" Dani exclaimed.

He smiled wide again and nodded, petting her with more confidence. Shelby reached around to lick his arm; he squealed but didn't shy away.

"She was just giving you kisses," the man said. "She likes you, buddy."

"Hi, Shelby." Gavin leaned down and hugged her.

Dani couldn't resist pulling out her phone to take some photos. The older couple were incredibly gracious and let them hang out with them and their dog all afternoon. Gavin had a blast playing catch with her.

They were both pretty wiped out when they got back. She settled him on the couch and found an animal show on animal planet kids for him. She headed to the kitchen and rummaged through the freezer, looking for something to make for dinner. She could hear him making animal noises in the other room and laughing.

She poked her head in and looked around.

"I thought I heard a lion in here?"

"No, just me, Auntie Dani." Gavin said gleefully.

"You sure?" Was there a tiger?"

"No, just a Gavi."

"I thought for sure I heard a tiger!"

"It was me making manimal noises," Gavin admitted as he burst into giggles.

"Well, you sure are good. I thought it was real manimals." She winked at him and headed back to the kitchen.

She grimaced at all the boxed vegetarian meals in the freezer; yuck. Even as broke as she was, she could never bring herself to eat out of a box. Hopefully, Gavin could eat meat. Alyssa didn't say he couldn't, and she found some hamburgers and chicken underneath all the other stuff and decided to take it as a sign. She took out the hamburger and made up a hot dish for him. It was tomato sauce, hamburger, noodles, and some corn. It was one of her favorites as a kid, so she hoped he would like it.

She helped him into his booster seat and set the plate before him. He looked doubtfully at it.

She gulped nervously, kids were brutally honest, and she wasn't confident about her cooking; it had improved over the years, but she was no Martha Stewart.

"My daddy uses worm noodles."

"Ah Yes worm noodles. Those are perfect for spaghetti, but this is goulash; so I used swirly noodles." 

"Goulash?" He laughed at the funny word.

"Yup, and it's delis...ash too." She laughed and took a huge bite making nummy noises.

Finally, he took his fork and tried a bite. He chewed one noodle and then ate one more.

"You like it?"

"Yeah, it's good, Auntie Dani." He declared. He put down his fork and grabbed a handful, shoving it into his mouth. 

"Gavin. We aren't supposed to eat with our hands." She shook her head and laughed at the sight.

"Daddy lets me." He talked with his mouth full of food and got the pasta and sauce all over himself.

"He does?"

"Yeah, Italy food, you can be messy." Gavin nodded. His eyes were too wide and honest to be lying.

"Well, as long as I can give you a bath afterward, that's okay."

He smiled and continued eating his food with his hands. She wondered if she had just got played by a three-year-old or if his dad did let him eat with his hands. Pasta with his hands? She laughed a little; pick your battles, she guessed, that's what Kara always said.

Gavin was great in the bath, he seemed to enjoy playing with toys and didn't even mind when she washed his hair. Whenever she babysat Sophie, she screamed when you touched the shampoo bottle.

She found some  sponge bob pajamas for him, and he even let her help him brush his teeth. She walked with him into the bedroom and started for his bed, figuring she'd read him a story, and hopefully, he'd go to sleep.

"No bed!" Gavin stopped and refused to walk any further. "I don't want to go to bed!"

"How about we read a story first?"

"No. I want to go down and play." He sat down roughly on the ground, his lips trembling.

"Okay, tell you what. We'll go downstairs, and I'll tell a story; when you get sleepy, I'll bring you up for bed."

"I don't want to hear a story. I want my daddy." He burst into tears and threw himself on the ground crying and kicking his legs. Here was the tantrum Alyssa warned her about. She'd seen Sophie do it several times when she didn't get her way, but Dani knew Gavin was stressed out and felt terrible for him. His nanny left, then his dad, and now his mom. She realized maybe bedtime without any normalcy was just too hard for him.

"Hey, it's okay, Gavi don't cry," Dani said softly. "You don't have to go to bed. I have a better idea anyway."

He looked up at her, still sobbing silently. She stood, went to his bed, and removed his sheets and blankets.

"Do you know where your mommy has more sheets?"

He nodded and stood up, he looked confused, but his tears had stopped. He led her to the hallway, and she found a linen closet; she grabbed another armful of sheets and headed downstairs with Gavin close behind.

"Have you ever made a fort Gavin?"

"No. What is it?" He looked at her with wide eyes.

"It's a like a tent but inside." She went to the kitchen and brought all four chairs out.

"When I was a kid, we camped sometimes in the summer," she said as she started working. "We told stories, slept in tents, made smores, and fished."

He was now quietly listening to her, his eyes growing curious.

"In the winter, we missed it, so we built forts like this inside." She continued. She grabbed the biggest sheet and tucked it into the couch, then went and grabbed the kitchen chairs and lined them up so she could drape the sheet just so. She smiled, enjoying this. It had been years since she had built a fort. Gavin watched her the whole time, his tears long gone.

"That is so cool, Auntie Dani," he breathed out.

"Here" She handed him the next sheet.

"You stand here and hold that, okay?" He nodded, and his face became serious as he focused on his task.

Once she secured her side, she brought the chair over to where Gavin was standing and took that piece back from him, securing it. She draped it over the opposite of the first sheet, making it look like a teepee. The pieces fell together in front of her original tent-like curtains.

"I still got it." She smiled proudly at herself.

"Awesome, Auntie Dani!" Gavin exclaimed and crawled inside instantly.

"It's dark." His excited little voice called.

"Come on out; we'll find some flashlights." She opened the little curtain for him.

"I know where!" He raced into the kitchen, and she laughed, following behind him. All this running would be great for her! She tended to carry a few extra around her hips.

Once they had a flashlight inside, she ran downstairs to grab her blankets and pillow, and Gavin followed her.

"Whose this guy?" Gavin asked as he picked up her stuffed Koala bear.

"That's Kiki, the Koala bear. He's a good sleeping buddy. You can borrow him whenever you want."

"Okay." Gavin hugged it to him and carried it up the stairs with him.

She swallowed back the emotion at giving that to anyone else. It was something her aunt had given to her when she was younger, it always made her feel safe, and she felt like it would do that for Gavin too.

She entered the fort and turned on the light; she put down a few pillows and a bunch of blankets to lay on or curl up under. She knew he'd eventually fall asleep on his own. It had been a huge day, and he was exhausted.

"Is it Sunday tomorrow, Auntie Dani?" Gavin asked in a sleepy voice as his head started to droop. She noticed he was hugging her stuffed bear and smiled.

"No, but it's fun day."

"What's  fun day?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." She patted his head, then laid down, hoping he would mimic her. He did, and she smiled in victory again when he quickly fell fast asleep.

She crawled out of the tent, grabbed her phone, and headed to the kitchen to call Kara to fill her in on everything. She desperately needed an adult to talk to. 

"Dani ?" Kara whispered. "One sec."

Dani grabbed herself a bottle of mineral water from the fridge and sat at the table, she really missed surgery soda. 

"Okay. I'm here," she said after a few seconds.

"Did I wake you?" Dani asked. 

"No, I was up, but Sophie was in our bed. Nightmare." Kara explained.

"Gotcha." Dani smiled. "I miss her. Give her my love."

"I will. How is it so far?"

"Not bad, actually. This house is amazing, and Gavin is such a sweet little boy."

"So, your sister is not as big of a bitch as she was back then?"

"Oh, she's still a bitch, but she left for New York as soon as I got here." Dani rolled her eyes.

"Seriously?" Kara asked. "What about her hot husband? How's he?"

"In Italy, I guess," Dani said, sipping her soda.

"What? She's in New York, and he's in Italy?"

"She's going to fashion week, and he had to jet off at a moment's notice," Dani said with a dramatic flair to her voice. 

"It's like the real lives of the rich and pretty."

"Totally," Dani agreed with a chuckle.

"What's weird is that I got here, and Alyssa left five minutes later. I mean, I just met him; the first time I watched Sophie, you didn't leave for two hours, and I only had her for an hour."

"She just left that fast. What?" Kara gasped. "Did she leave you a list or anything?"

"No," Dani exclaimed in frustration. "I don't know if he has allergies or who to call. I found some numbers in an address book in a drawer, thank god."

"That's nuts!"

"The poor kid seemed so quiet and sad when I got here. His nanny just left, and then his dad and she snuck out while I distracted him."

"That's a good trick," Kara admitted. "Matt and I have to do that now when he goes to work."

"But she was leaving for a week," Dani pointed out.

"Yeah, that's a little much. Was he upset when he realized she was gone?"

"No, actually. He warmed up to me quickly, and we had a fun day at the park. It truly is beautiful here. The views are amazing, and it's so warm." 

"I hear the zoo is there great."

"I heard that too, I think I'm going to take him there tomorrow. He had a rough night when I tried to put him to bed; he had a short tantrum."

"What do you mean a short tantrum?" Kara laughed. "There are no short tantrums."

"It was, though; he got really sad he didn't want to go to bed if his dad, mom, or someone familiar couldn't tuck him in. I told him he didn't have to go to bed, and he stopped crying."

"I guess giving in would work, but not the answer, sweetie."

"He wasn't testing me, Kara. He feels abandoned and scared. He doesn't know me; it's not time for me to start inserting my authority. I just need him to trust me."

"Okay, but you can't just let him stay up all night," Kara said softly.

"I didn't. I built a fort in the living room for us. He had fun with it and was so worn out once he got comfy inside that he fell right asleep." Dani said with a proud little grin.

"Nice work. I wouldn't have thought of that. You got this, girl."

"Thanks, it's actually going really well. I'm glad I took the job. Gavin is a great kid and is like a breath of fresh air getting to know him."

"And getting away from here is good for you," Kara agreed. "I may not like your sister much, but this is best for you, Dani. Maybe you'll meet someone finally..."

"Stop, Kara," Dani laughed. "Right now, I'm focusing on my job not dating; besides, who am I going to find to date in Sun City?"

"Well, you're going to find a few thousand more options there than you ever would have here."

"Good night, Kara."

"Good night, call me again soon."

"I will, I promise," Dani said before clicking her phone off.

She wandered back into the living room and crawled into the makeshift tent to join Gavin. Luckily, the floor was soft. She was glad she thought of this. She didn't like the idea of Gavin sleeping on the third floor while she was in the basement anyway.

Dani woke up to a child whimpering, and it took her a second to realize where she was. When she snapped open her eyes, Gavin wasn't in the tent with her. She hurried into the living room and found him crawling up the steps sniffling and crying.

"Gavin?" she said in a soft voice.

She walked up and noticed the back of his pants was wet.

"Did you get your pants wet, sweetie?"

"No." He cried, holding his hand over his butt.

"It's okay if you did. Accidents happen."

He turned and looked at her, eyes wet, and his cheeks streaked with tears.

"I'm not mad. I just want to help you get cleaned up, is all." She took his hand and helped him up to the bathroom. She filled the tub while he stood silently watching her.

He was quiet and sullen but had stopped crying. She bathed him and dressed him in fresh clothes fairly quickly.

"I'm sorry," he said in a tiny voice.

"It's okay Gavi." She knelt and peered at him, ruffling his damp brown hair.

"Am I a bad boy Auntie Dani?" he asked, his little lips trembling again.

"No!" she exclaimed, her eyes burning with tears as her heart wrenched for him.

"No, no Gavi." She said in a quieter voice, speaking as softly as she could. "You are not a bad boy. You are a wonderful boy."

"I am?"

"Yes you were. You are such sweet and wonderful boy. Getting your pants wet was  just an accident, you didn't mean to."

He whimpered as he nodded and she knelt down so she was at his level.

"It takes time to learn new things. I'll never get mad, Gavi so you can always come get me and I will help you get cleaned up. I have had accidents, too, you know."

"You have?" he asked, a tear trailing down his face.

"Of course! Everyone has, Buddy That's how we learn," she assured him. "You are not a bad boy, okay?"

"Okay." He wrapped his little arms around her neck, and she hugged him tight.