My luggage miraculously appeared around dinner time, not as "immediately" as Theodore had promised, but I was glad to finally have my own things back in my possession. A portly gentleman had brought it in, deposited it in the kitchen doorway and left without so much as a hello.

I rushed over and grabbed the carry-on bag. Fishing out the contract, I found the same wording that had been in the one Theodore showed me earlier. "What the hell?" I mumbled. I was really losing my mind. I must have been uber-stressed when I signed these papers. It was just before finals, after all, but I wasn't normally so careless. Even so, I couldn't complain about the money, that's for sure. I had a lot of student debt to pay down and with my living expenses completely covered, I could use almost all of my pay for the next to year for student debt and to put into savings for when I would begin working as a special education teacher, which would undoubtedly pay much less than this gig. It was a poor college student's (well graduate's) dream. 

In addition, working with Harry would still give me insight into raising a special needs child especially since it seemed like I was basically going to be a surrogate parent for the kid.

Before I started dinner, I called my parents. After the quick text message I'd sent in the morning, I was really eager to hear their voices.

"Hey mom," I sang cheerfully when she answered.

"Hi sweetie," she said and then called to my dad to get on the other line. They always insisted on talking to us like that, both of them on the line at the same time, even when Helena and I lived in an apartment just a few miles from home. They did the same with my older sister Katherina and her husband Charlie. I was sure they'd do the same for my brother Oliver when he moved out; he was going to be starting his senior year in high school this coming fall.

"How is it?" Dad asked when he picked up the other line.

"Umm, well it's strange, to be honest. I guess I goofed up a little." I felt so stupid for making such a big mistake.

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, apparently I misunderstood the contract. The boy is seventeen, not seven. He is intellectually disabled so he's mentally at the level of a seven-year-old."

"Oh dear, that makes a big difference, doesn't it?" Mom asked.

"It does and it doesn't, I guess. He's still a special needs kid so I'll use the same skills as I would for a younger person. I just know there will be differences, too."

"What's the family like?" Dad questioned.

I was feeling sheepish enough without going into Theodore's brusque personality and unwillingness to answer simple questions. Besides I didn't want my parents to worry about the things that didn't seem quite right. It was hard enough for them to let me move 2500 miles away from home. I simply answered, "Nice, I think I'll like it here."

"Good, sweetie, well it's getting late here so we'll let you go," Dad said and I remembered the time difference. It was almost bedtime there.

"Okay," I said. "Love you both. Say hi to everyone for me. Bye."

I put my phone on the charger and went to find Harry. "What do you usually do for dinner?" I asked him.

"Nanny cooks for me," he beamed.

"Okay, well what do you like?"

He shrugged, a contented little smile adorning his face. "I like everything."

Harry sat happily at the kitchen table while I looked through the fridge and freezer. "Ooh, frozen pizza," I said excitedly. "Does that sound good?"

He grinned and gave me a delighted nod. While the pizza was cooking, I asked a few questions about things that weren't clear to me yet. "Do you ever have dinner with your dad or anyone else?"

"Nope," he answered, seemingly happy about that fact. "I always eat right here." He pointed to the table.

"You have a lot of cool stuff here in your part of the house, but do you ever just go and hang out with your dad to watch movies? Does he read to you?"

"No," Harry answered strongly. "I'm never allowed to go to those parts of the house. This is my house," he said, spreading his arms wide.

"Well, this is your suite," I clarified. "But you can go to other parts of the house, can't you?"

"Nope," he said, shaking his head vehemently. "Theodore says I have everything I need right here."

Except a parent, I thought bitterly. What the hell was up with that? Harry wasn't allowed to go to the rest of the house? Or was this another exaggeration like when he told me that he would die if he didn't take his pills?

I was going to have to start a list of things to ask Theodore. Either I'd have to shoot him an occasional email or text with all my unanswered questions, or I'd venture to his office with a list in hand.

"Harry, can you tell me about your other nannies? How long was Nanny Kim here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Lots of days," he answered.

"Was she nice to you?" I asked.

"No," he said with a rueful chuckle and his neck twitch increased a little, I assumed because talking about her presented a certain amount of stress. "She was mean. She stayed in her room all the time. Even school time. I did...I did school all by myself."

"Was there someone else before her?" I asked.

He shrugged again, taking a giant bite of pizza, followed by a swig of milk. "Lots. Nanny Regina, Nanny Amy, Nanny Margaret, Nanny Barbara, Nanny Renee, Nanny Sarah."

"Were any of them nice to you?" I asked softly.

He shrugged. "Nanny Renee let me eat lots and lots of foods. And she...um...she gave me pills and stuff to make me happy."

"All your nannies gave you your medications, right?" I asked, wondering whether some were less careful about it than others.

"Nanny Renee gave me pills...pills...from her purse."

What the fuck? Another exaggeration, maybe? What I wouldn't do for a sit down with every single one of those nannies if he was telling me the truth!

"And Nanny Barbara liked to watch TV. All the time," he giggled. "Nanny Regina hit me," he said. I gasped in shock. He looked like he wanted to make me feel better. "She only hit me when I was really bad. Like when I...I...spilled her wine on her pretty dress. That was bad."

"No, Harry," I gushed with remorse. "That was not bad. It was an accident. Everybody has accidents." I thought for a minute. "It was an accident, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded solemnly. "It was. I bumped it. 'Cept sometimes after that I really wanted to do it again." A small mischievous smirk played at his lips. "That's bad, isn't it?"

I laughed at his admission and said, "A little bit, maybe but not too bad. And no one should ever hit you, for any reason."

Poor kid. It didn't seem like Theodore planned to spend a lot of time with him. And he'd had a string of nannies, many of whom basically ignored him. His mother was dead, although I didn't know how long ago she had died. He couldn't have possibly gotten the nurturing that a young boy needs, let alone the opportunity to form healthy attachments.

I decided to change the subject. "What's your favorite thing to learn about when you're doing school work?"

"Reading," he beamed.

"Super! What do you like to read?"

"Junie...Junie...Junie B. Jones is my favorite," He said proudly. Then he frowned and said, "But I've read all the books-" he spread his arms wide, exaggerating the word all  "-a hundred times."

"Do you know what?" I told him. "My brother Oliver calls me Julie B. Jones. Isn't that silly?"

"Because your name is kind of like Junie?"

"Yep, that's exactly why he calls me that."

"It would be fun to have a brother," he said wistfully. I didn't want to go down that road just now, so I steered the conversation back to his love of reading.

"Tell you what," I said. "After dinner, let's look at what books you have. If you want to try something different, maybe I can get you some new books. Okay?"

"Today?" He asked with a shrill excitement in his voice.

I giggled and said, "We can look at your books tonight. I might not be able to get some new ones right away, but I'll see what I can do."

"Good!" His smile gleamed.

After dinner, he showed me his learning room. It was the first time I'd set foot in it and I was absolutely shocked at the hundreds, maybe thousands of books lining the shelves. Every single book in any series you can imagine, including (of course) Junie B. Jones, The Magic Treehouse, Beverly Cleary, Magic School Bus, The Boxcar Children, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, Judy Moody, plus all the classics like Island of the Blue Dolphins, Black Beauty, and Treasure Island.

"Are there any of these books you haven't read?" I asked Harry.

"Read 'em all," he said proudly.

I pulled a Magic Treehouse book off the shelf. Before I even said anything, he said, "That one's about Mt. Ves...Ves...uvus, when it sploded all over Pompeii. Jack and Annie made it out just in time." I slid the book back into its spot and pulled out Charlotte's Web. "Charlotte dies at the end of that one and the pig takes care of her spider babies." I quickly chose The Trumpet of the Swan. "In that one, Louis the swan plays lots of music and escapes from a zoo."

Holy shit, this kid really had read every book in the library, and enough times to memorize the story lines. There was a set of shelves that bumped up to the ceiling, divided from the lower shelves by a row of small cabinets. I looked up higher on the shelves and found books and series for older kids and teens. "Have you read any of these?" I asked.

"Nanny Kim said no," he said wistfully.

If I ever met this Nanny Kim person, I was likely going to break her nose.

"Nonsense," I told Harry. "If you like to read, you should absolutely read these. I give you full permission. And remember what I told you? Nanny Kim isn't here anymore. I am. Go ahead."

"Yay!" He said jumping off the bean bag and reaching over my head for Matched, the first in a dystopian trilogy. "I wanna read this one. I like the green. It's pretty."

"Okay, go for it," I said, trying to remember if there was any sex in it. I didn't think so, from what I remembered, but I didn't want to have that conversation with Harry just yet. "It might be a little harder than you're used to because it has a lot more words than Junie B. Jones. And sometimes books can be scary or sad, so please tell me if you read something that upsets you, or if you need help sounding out any words, okay?"

"Yup," he grinned. "Can I read it in bed?"

"Of course," I answered. "Now how about we get your pills for the night and get ready for bed. I'm pretty tired. And tomorrow, I'd like to go outside and explore the woods and the swimming pool, and maybe your treehouse.

"Yes!" He gushed. "I love the woods. And swimming. Can we go swimming?"

"Sure," I answered, absolutely tickled that Harry seemed so happy.

* * * * *

Do you love Harry yet? :) It's honestly very difficult to write about him like this, but then I think of actors who willingly take on roles like this. I'm reminded of Radio and the splendid portrayal of a special needs person by Cuba Gooding Jr. I also think of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who studied psychology and animal science in addition to becoming an advocate for autistic communities. My daughter was in a play at MSU about Temple's life, and the lead character who played her did a marvelous job. So, if it helps, think of Harry like an actor in this situation (Lord knows he can act, if you've seen Dunkirk!)