Chapter 9 : Can’t keep up

Elena pushed the cart slowly, keeping a watchful eye on Nathaniel as he walked a few steps ahead his posture straight, expression serious. He wasn’t touching anything playfully. Instead, he was carefully inspecting items way beyond his age range: a sleek watch display, leather-bound notebooks, even a miniature globe with a compass.

Elena cleared her throat gently and approached with a smile.

“Hey... how about we head to the toy section?” she offered with a light voice. “There’s a really cool dinosaur set I think you’d.. ”

Nathaniel slowly turned to face her. “Toys?” he repeated, as if she had suggested finger painting with ketchup.

He glanced down at her, then at the cart.

“Do I look like someone who plays with rubber swords and plastic dragons?” he said flatly.

Elena blinked. “Well... I mean”

“You think just because I’m a kid, I’m stupid?” he added sharply.

She froze. “No! That’s not what I meant at all”

“Because it sounds a lot like you’re projecting your emotional immaturity onto me.” He turned back to the shelf and picked up a journal with a gold-trimmed cover.

Elena opened her mouth, then shut it again. There was nothing to say.

She stood silently beside him while he added the journal to the cart... along with a fountain pen  and moved on like he owned the place.

“Right,” she muttered under her breath. “Toys are for peasants.”

.........

After they came back from the shopping

Elena placed a perfectly plated meal in front of him with a warm smile. “Grilled salmon with buttered veggies. Your dad mentioned you liked it.”

Nathaniel stared at the plate.

“Elena,” he said slowly, “do I look like someone who eats salmon before 3:00 PM?”

Her smile froze. “Uh… It’s 2:57.”

“Then we have a three-minute problem.”

She inhaled sharply. “Okay… do you want me to reheat it at 3:01 or?”

“I’d rather not risk nutrient degradation.”

He calmly pushed the plate away and pulled out a banana from the table and stood up.....

..................

Turbulence rocks the cabin slightly. A younger flight attendant with too much lip gloss and nerves too loud for the quiet moment, leaned in to whisper.

“She’s always doing the most, I swear, does she think she’s in a movie?’’

From down the aisle, Sienna’s voice cut through loud, calm and clear.

“Sweetheart, if I were in a movie, you'd still be an extra.’’

The two attendants snap their heads around.

Sienna adjusted her blazer and walked past them with the grace of someone who knows she runs the show; her lipstick was perfect, heels confident, and coffee in hand.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Canada…”

As passengers began to gather their belongings, Sienna moved through the aisle, assisting passengers, charming an elderly couple, helping a fussy mom with her bags, and flashing a smile that said, " I’ve done this a thousand times, but I still care.

She stops when a suited business bro stands, ignoring instructions.

‘‘Sir, the seat belt sign is still on. Unless you're flying this plane too, I suggest you sit that ambition down.’’

He chuckles awkwardly and sits.

Sienna steps down the stairs from the plane. The wind catches her curls. She slides on her sunglasses like she’s walking a runway...Her curls lifted gently in the wind, and for a second, she looked more like the star of a perfume ad than a woman who had just completed a ten-hour flight.

As she entered the terminal, she caught sight of the same flight attendants from earlier, standing off to the side, fake-laughing through some forced small talk.

Sienna slowed, then paused just beside them.

“By the way,” she said, not even looking their way, “if you’re going to talk behind someone’s back, be sure you’re walking fast enough to keep up, she said then glanced their way for a while eye on them.. "and you know what this means" she added as the looked trembled by her warn....

“Yyyess they uttered and she walked off without looking back..…’’

.........

Elena was already wiped. Keeping up with a bossy child was one thing, and keeping up with Nathaniel was an Olympic sport. The kid was an old man trap in a kid's body,  his demands were in the tone of a CEO and the precision of a military general.

She shuffled across the living room, adjusting the curtains in his room the exact way he preferred, while also trying to reorganize the bookshelf he'd “accidentally” rearranged into chaos. Again.

Nathaniel, seated cross-legged on the couch with a book in hand, didn’t even glance up. “That’s still crooked,” he said flatly.

Elena froze, turned to stare at him, hair frizzed, apron lopsided, and face barely masking her exhaustion.

“At this point,” she muttered under her breath but loud enough, “I think you’d be better off nannying me.”

Nathaniel finally looked up one brow raised like a tiny villain in a three-piece suit.

She sighed, flopping onto the nearby chair. “Because I swear, I can’t keep up with you.”