Reunion Beach by Elin Hilderbrand (english novels for students .TXT) 📕

the secret of that gorgeous tan.” Her gaze falls on Adeline and she gushes in delight. “My adorable little Adeline!” But when Michael takes the baby to hand over to his mother, Adeline puckers up, lets out a wail, and buries her face in her father’s shirt.

“Adeline!” Missy gasps in dismay, but Michael laughs it off. “It’s the hat, Mom,” he says. “I’d forgotten that they scare her.”

Or maybe it’s dragon ladies that scare her, I think with unseemly glee, but Michael proves to be right. Jocasta removes the hat and her dark-blond hair tumbles over her shoulders. When she pushes the sunglasses on her head and reaches for Adeline, she relents and goes to her. Jocasta kisses her cheeks, and Adeline gives her a dimpled smile. “And aren’t you a lucky little girl to have dimples exactly like your precious mommy’s,” Jocasta says with a glance at Missy, who beams in pleasure.

With a pretty tilt of her head, Jocasta beckons to the young woman who’s been standing meekly aside. “Everyone, this is Nanny. She comes highly recommended by all of my friends.” She runs through our names so quickly that the poor girl couldn’t possibly remember them. Although Nanny nods shyly at each of us, she’s dignified and poised for someone who appears so young. What looked from a distance like a white uniform is more subtle, designed to mimic a tennis outfit with its smart little skirt and crisp cotton shirt. Nanny’s well-trained, I note; when she takes the baby from Jocasta, Adeline regards her curiously rather than wailing again. “Shall I feed her?” she asks Missy, with a musical lilt to her voice that suggests the Caribbean islands, and Missy eagerly agrees.

Finally we settle down on the blankets to enjoy the picnic, plates in our laps. I notice that after getting her plate, Jocasta manages to seat herself next to Bram. Nellie Bee relinquishes her spot by the baby to the nanny and seats herself by me, her plate piled high. A chicken leg in hand, she turns to the nanny and asks in a voice so loud that it’s obvious she intends everyone to hear: “A nanny named Nanny? That’s rather a coincidence, isn’t it?”

Before the girl can respond, Jocasta answers for her, cloyingly sweet. “Monique prefers to be called Nanny when at work. Don’t you, dear?”

“It’s fine,” Monique says obediently, without raising her eyes from the task of spooning baby food into Adeline’s eager little mouth. There’s no mistaking the gotcha! look Jocasta gives Nellie Bee, and I fear my sister-in-law has erred by poking a stick in the dragon’s lair. My intention is to stay out of her way as much as possible.

As if to lighten the tension, Michael says to Bram, “It’s like the folks you employ referring to you as Chef. Right, Dad?”

His point’s well-taken, but Nellie Bee can’t let it go. Turning her head to me, she says sarcastically, “And like your clients calling you Psychologist, Chris. Charlie always refers to himself as Lawyer. Why, most of them don’t even know his real name.”

She’s gone too far, and Bram gives her a warning look. We’re saved from having it go further when Adeline begins to cry. Holding up the empty bowl, Nanny turns to Missy and says, “Where is her food, please?”

“She’s had plenty,” Missy snaps. I dare to meet Bram’s eyes, which flash with anger.

“Surely it wouldn’t hurt for her to have a little more,” Michael suggests to his wife, who gives him a dirty look.

“You know that specialist I consulted laid out exactly how much she could consume without putting on extra weight,” she tells him haughtily, over the piteous wails of her daughter.

“And I agree with him,” Jocasta says with a smile of approval for her daughter-in-law. “Adeline’s too petite to overfeed. Remember that obesity starts in childhood.”

“There’s not a chance in hell that child will ever be obese,” Bram says curtly as he wads up his napkin and throws it into the basket.

“Amen to that,” Nellie Bee whispers to me. “Poor little thing’s destined to be skinny as a rail and obsessed with her weight, just like her mama and grandmother.”

Despite all Nanny does to distract her, Adeline keeps fretting. Finally Bram gives Missy his laser-sharp glare that I’ve seen frighten grown men into submission. “Either you feed that child or I will,” he says between clenched teeth.

Her face flushed, Missy sighs mightily and motions Nanny toward the diaper bag. “There’s a banana in there. You may give her some of it. But mash it up and don’t give her but a little bit!”

During the awkward silence that follows, I glance down at my plate and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “Bram? Didn’t you tell me that you added something new in the deviled eggs? I’m thinking tarragon. Right?”

He grins and stuffs one in his mouth, chewing happily. “You got it, sweetheart.” Looking around, he asks the others, “What’d you think? Is it a keeper?”

I realize too late that my attempt to change the subject should’ve been about anything but food. While Michael, Nellie Bee, and I piled our plates high, Jocasta and Missy took only a few marinated veggies—very few. Michael helps out by gobbling down a couple of deviled eggs and giving his dad a thumbs-up. Nellie Bee agrees, and we finish eating in silence. I glance over to see how the baby’s doing, then hide a smile to see the whole banana gone. Nanny meets my eye and gives me a wink.

After the fruit tarts have disappeared—thanks to me, Michael, and Nellie Bee—we put away the picnic stuff with sighs of contentment. Even better, Nanny’s taken Adeline into her arms and rocked her until she dozed off. Adeline smiles in her sleep, dreaming of banana.

I suggest that Bram give us a run-through of what to expect when the production crew arrives. With a nod, he begins to walk us through the procedure. Fortunately the others quickly become engrossed in the