“You build with Nanny,” Elsie-bug responded, wide-eyed with wonder.
“Not YOUR Nanny,” Charlie tried his best to explain. “Davie’s Nanny is different than your Nanny.”
“Why?”
“Because she just is.”
“But why?”
“Mum…”, Charlie sighed, looking for help.
“Well, love, your Nanny is Davie’s Mummy. Remember,” Ethel asked.
“I know that Mummy. I een yus, ‘member.”
Jack and Ethel laughed. “I thought you said you were Elsie-bug Baldwin,” Ethel questioned, mocking seriousness.
“I change me mind. Girls do that you know,” Elsie-bug responded.
“Don’t look at me,” Jack said, forcing back a smile.
“Well…” Ethel continued, “Davie’s Nanny is who he spends time with when his Mummy, your Nanny, is working.” An idea sprang to mind. “Like Mary Poppins!”
“Oh,” Elsie said, wheels beginning to turn. “Why’s I not got a Nanny that’s not my Nanny?”
Ethel shook her head. She had almost forgotten all the ‘whys’ of Charlie’s toddlerhood when little Elsie’s began.
“Is it fun to have a Nanny who’s not Nanny,” Elsie-bug asked Davie.
“No, Mummy is much more fun. Nanny doesn’t cuddle. But she’s very good with colors and with building. She says it’s ‘educational’. And when Mummy comes home and sees what we did she says I’m her clever lad.”
"Davie a een yus too!"
"Don't forget your big brother. He was a certified spy at the tender age of three," Jack said, giving Charlie a teasing noogie.
"The question is," Charlie whispered conspiratorially to the little ones, "do we use all this brainpower for good... or for eeeeevil?"