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        ❝𝐈 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒. 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄.❞ Nicky pleaded to his father, who was looking down his nose sternly. "Rori still ain't talkin' to me, and I gotta find a nanny who isn't some goddamn prude." Michael Bilotti seemed swayed a bit, his expression softening at the mention of his granddaughter.

        "She's still not talkin' huh?" he asked, a concerned frown on his face at the idea of that little granddaughter of his being unhappy in any way.

        "Not one bit. She just hugs that stuffed lamb and lays on Vittoria's side of the bed. I don't know what to fuckin' do. I'm no good with this shit. I don't want to have to send my goddamn four-year-old to a shrink!" Nicky's face felt tight, and he shook his head, trying to fight the mist. "I can't even hardly get her to eat, nothin'. Can't even get her up to watch Captain Kangaroo. It's fuckin' ridiculous."

        "All right. You really know how to pull my fuckin' heartstrings. Why don't you send her over to your mother and I's for a couple 'a days? Give you some time to find a nanny and get your shit figured out. How's that sound?" Mike needed to see for himself just what the girl's behavior was like.

        "Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll do that, that's good." Nicky nodded and swallowed hard. "Some people have already answered to the ad I put out. One fuckin' lady was gonna spend three hours a day doin' arithmetic. I say I'm payin' for a nanny, not a goddamn school teacher! I want someone to play dolls with her or somethin', damn." Mike laughed and Nicky felt as if he had won and some way.

        "I just want it to be right, y'know? That's my daughter and I'm just leavin' her for some stranger I barely know. It's gotta be right."

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        Kennedy chewed on the back of her pencil, scanning the classifieds for any job that just might possibly even consider hiring a woman. She circled one listed as a nanny job. Having little siblings growing up, this seemed right up her alley. Not to mention, the pay was great. It was worth the quarter it would take to make the call. She made her way out of her dingy apartment building and to the pay phone.

        After telling the nice operator lady the number, her bottom lip became a victim of her ongoing toothed assault as she listened to it ring. It wasn't very long before she heard the sound of the phone being picked up, and anxiety reared its ugly head deep in the pits of her stomach.

        "Hey, it's Nicky Ricci here." he answered. His voice was unmistakably from one of those Brooklyn Italian families.

        "Hi, I'm Kennedy Harlow. I'm calling about maybe getting an interview for that nanny job?" she was smiling, almost as if maybe if she embodied the way she wanted to make him feel on the outside, maybe it would come across as such over the phone.

        "Kennedy Harlow, right." the sound of a pen scratching on paper emitted softly from the speaker. "When are you free this week?"

        Kennedy smiled softly, a glimmer of hope warming her from inside out. "Any day is fine. Whatever is easiest for you." she wasn't going to lie. He sounded pretty.

        "Right. Tuesday, at three. I'll be looking forward to seein' ya." the click of the phone hitting the receiver on the other end rang in Kennedy's ear like a bell. She couldn't contain her grin any longer. After such a terrible couple of weeks, she finally felt like she was on the rise, that maybe her life wasn't meant to be one of those overgrown dead-end roads after all.

        "That was someone right there." Nicky sat the pencil down and turned toward Mike again. "God I hope I find someone. Me being home so much is a good way to get us both whacked."

        "I know." Michael said with a frown. "I'm keepin' Tommy and Frances on their toes though. Don't mind that turquoise caddy I got parked outside of your house. For now you can just keep helpin' out with the books, like I said, until you get your shit figured out."

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