Manny Needs a Nanny - 2. Just a Trial Period, or More?

Manny went into work a few minutes early that evening and quickly searched for Charles Browne, the owner of the bar and his boss.

"Hey Charles. Got a minute?"

Charles looked at his watch; it was extremely rare for Manny to arrive for work fifteen minutes early. Two minutes was closer to the norm.

"Sure, what's up, Manny?"

"If I had to take a week off, when would be the soonest, I could do that?"

"Any Tuesday through Thursday wouldn't be a problem. I don't think I can easily get someone to fill in for you this weekend, but I guess next week would be okay. What's up?"

"I inherited a kid from an old friend, and I need to take a week off to make sure, it will work."

"Somebody left you a goat?"

"Not that kind of kid; a kid, kid. A child."

"Somebody left you a child? A human child?"

Manny nodded, "Yup."

"The goat would have been safer. No offense, Manny, but what kind of idiot would leave a child in your care?"

"I couldn't believe it, either. But, an idiot that hasn't seen me since sixth grade."

It took Charles a full minute before he could get his laughter under control enough to continue. When he did, he saw that Manny was totally serious, and chuckled just a bit more.

"This ain't a joke?"

"No. The kid is in foster care now, and if I don't take him in, he'll stay there."

"How old is he?"

"The obit said thirteen, but he looks like he's nine or ten."

"Foster care, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I've never heard a good story come out of there. And you seriously want to do this?"

"Yeah."

"Why? What's in it for you?"

"Nothing."

Charles smirked, "No Sale. Try again."

"Okay, I guess, the kid's family was rich. I get enough to take care of him until he's eighteen, and if I adopt him, I get a chunk of the estate."

"Money-boy Manny. I could have guessed that even if I only had three brain cells remaining in my head. Would you like to start this vacation right away?"

"No, the lawyer said three days, so Friday would probably be the earliest I could take possession."

"Take possession? Christ, Manny, you sound like you're getting a fucking car."

"Okay, ‘bring him over’, ‘take him in’, whatever."

"I'll make it work, take off starting this Friday. Pick up the kid and I'll expect you back next Friday. I can't see a kid being in foster care any longer than he has to be."

"Really? Thanks, Charles, you're the best."

"Yeah. I wanna meet this kid; I need to know; this is all on the up-and-up. Don't bring him in but call me one day after he settles in and I'll meet you outside. Now get behind the bar and make me some money!"

Manny was so happy that night, he probably didn't make Charles much money. He poured the alcohol heavily. He wasn't sure, but he thought he may have been happier about taking care of the kid than the money, he'd get for it. Very un-Manny like.

Wednesday

Manny woke up early—for him anyway—and called Brewster James back at ten o'clock. Brewster was with a client, so Manny told the receptionist to pass the message on that he could take Rocky as soon as Friday. A little before noon, his phone rang, but it wasn't Brewster's number as he expected.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Truman Talbot?"

It was a woman, so he wasn't as snippy as he usually was to an unknown caller, "Yes, it is. Who's calling?"

"This is Gloria Callahan with Child Protective Services. I'm calling about your intent to obtain guardianship for a Rockland Boris Tanner."

"Yes, I spoke to Brewster James about it yesterday."

"Good. This is mostly just a formality because Rockland has no living relatives and his father's will dictated that you should take care of the child. But I need to visit you to ensure you have the physical means to provide for Rockland."

"That's fine. I have a three-bedroom house."

"Not physical in that way. Are you disabled in any way that would prevent you from caring for a thirteen-year-old child?"

Puzzled, Manny answered almost as a question, "No. No disabilities."

"Great, I'll see you in twenty minutes."

"Wait! Now? I'd have to straighten up first."

"Don't worry, Mr. Talbot, you won't need to straighten up. I have your address from Mr. James. I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Bye."

'I can't be disabled? That's it? What if I lived in a one-bedroom apartment? Oh well. I'll find out soon enough.'

Gloria arrived twenty minutes later, on the button. Manny had made a pot of coffee to make a good impression on the woman.

Manny opened the door, it was Gloria, as expected.

"Mr. Talbot?"

"Yes. Come in– Have a seat here in the living room. Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"That would be very nice. Black with two sugars, please?"

"Coming right up."

Manny brought the coffee, then sat down across from Gloria.

"This won't take long. We know the financial arrangements that have been made, and Rockland's living arrangements are obviously acceptable. I just need to spend some time with you. Without a criminal record, I don't see you being denied."

"Living arrangements? You know what I have here?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. You will be moving into Rockland's home, not the other way around. Mr. James didn't share that detail?"

"No. He didn't. Where is his home? I remember the obituary said Boris lived in Lula."

"That is correct. The Tanners lived in Lula and dictated that you would live there to care for Rockland, should they both die."

"I suppose, it won't make my commute unbearable."

"Good. And you are a bartender, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Due to the hours that you work, from five to closing if Mr. James was correct, you'll be utilizing the Tanner's current nanny to be there when you can't, I assume?"

"Well, yes, I suppose. I wasn't aware there was one, but that's one less thing, I'll need to worry about."

"Nearly everything has been taken care of for you, Mr. Talbot. You'll just need to bring along clothing and whatever personal possessions you'd like."

"Wow. Okay. What do I do with my house?"

"That's completely up to you. If the arrangement works out well, you won't need it anymore, I would suspect, and you'd sell or rent it."

"Wow. This is all so unexpected."

"Yes. It does have to move fast. All I need from you now is for you to review these two documents, and sign where it indicates."

"What are they?"

"One is to confirm that you do not have a criminal record. Our background check has determined that; we simply need your statement. The second is a promise to CPS that you will care for the child as if he were your own, will not abuse or harm him in any way, and protect him from any external harm to the best of your abilities."

"Okay. Is it alright if I read them first?"

"Of course. I would expect nothing less."

Manny read through the documents. They seemed in order, so he signed.

"Mr. James will be in contact to arrange for you to commence the trial period on Friday. Do you have any questions?"

"I will probably have a thousand, but nothing comes immediately to mind."

"Wonderful. I'll bring him home on Friday, and I will see you again a week from Friday to check on your progress. I truly hope this will work out. It is usually quite hard to place a teen boy in a potentially permanent home. His situation makes that task even more complex than it normally would. Thank you for the coffee, and I'll see you on Friday."

After she was gone, Manny noticed she had barely touched the coffee. 'The grounds were probably stale. Oh well. Wait! His situation?’ Manny began to understand why his guardianship was practically rubber-stamped, a foregone conclusion. It wouldn't take long before that understanding was cemented solidly in place.

His phone rang at one o'clock.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Talbot, Brewster James."

"Hello Mr. James."

"I'm very happy to hear, you'll be taking care of Rocky, at least for the next week. There are quite a few details that we need to discuss before Friday. Would you be able to see me in my office again tomorrow, say at one PM?"

"Yes. I can do that."

"Great. Bring your banking information, so I can transfer the necessary funds directly to you from the estate accounts. There are guardianship papers to file, and a small mountain of other things. But those are the two most important things at this point."

"What if the trial period doesn't work out?"

"Then nothing gets filed formally. Everything will be dated August second, so if the trial doesn't work out—which I sincerely hope is not the case—it will be as if the next week-plus never happened. Technically, CPS will be his legal guardians until then. If things don't work out, he will remain under their care."

"Okay, then. I'll see you at one tomorrow."

"Very good."

Thursday

Manny met with Mr. James again, signed everything that needed to be signed, and received a set of keys for the Tanner residence and vehicles. The keys included two keycards, marked 'Gate' and 'Pool', respectively. In addition, Manny was given a bank card that would have access to the funds he could use for anything Rocky needed. Or, as it turned out, wanted. Brewster told him that Rocky would be brought home around noon the next day, so Manny should probably plan to begin staying in Lula tonight.

Manny packed a bag with a couple changes of clothes, toiletries, and other necessities, thinking he'd be able to come back for the rest as he discovers the need. The Lula house was less than an hour away, according to his GPS app. Most importantly, he was instructed to call the nanny to inform her that he'd be arriving very late that night. Manny made that call as soon as he finished packing.

"Hello?" A man's voice.

"Um, hi. I was looking for the Tanner's nanny?"

"This is him, but I prefer the term ‘manny’. Who is this?"

"That could get confusing, I'm Manny. Manny Talbot. Rocky's new guardian."

The manny chuckled, "Ah, hello Manny. I'm glad I finally got to talk to you. It's been so crazy around here for the past two weeks, sometimes I don't know which way is up. You can call me Bass."

"Okay. Thanks, Bass. May I ask why Bass?"

"My full name is Sebastian Blank. Sebastian is too much of a mouthful most of the time."

"I get it. I'm actually a Truman, but I prefer Manny."

"That's fine. So, I was told, you work late."

"That's correct. I usually get out around two-fifteen AM after cleaning up and what-not. I probably won't get there until about two-forty-five tonight."

"Okay. I'll wait up and turn the alarm off when you get to the door. Mr. James gave you a keycard for the gate, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll give you the tour of the premises tomorrow morning. Show you the alarm panels, provide the codes, etc."

"That will be awesome. I'm glad, you'll be there to make my transition easier."

"I'll do what I can. And to be honest, I'm hoping you're a lot less stuffy than the Tanners were. Nice people—I won't disparage the recently deceased—but there were times, they were tough to get along with. That's probably one reason, they were killed."

"I don't think I'm stuffy. Pretty free-wheeling, I think. You said ‘killed’, like it wasn't an accident."

"I don't believe it was, but we can talk more about all that tomorrow. Anything else you need to know before you get here?"

"Um, do I just wave the keycard, or is there a slot to put it in?"

"Just pop it on the dash as you approach the gate. I'll set you up with a windshield mount tomorrow."

"Alright then, Bass. See you tonight."

"Later. Drive safe."

Next up - "Moving Day, and Multiple Surprises"