It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins

The Benefits Dinner (3)

The nanny toppled.

Mr. Yang regarded him for a moment before asking, "Do you also need to go to Lilliian's yoga classes?"

"You canceled that for more school," Lilly snapped, never taking her eyes off the paper.

He sighed. "Lilliana, please – "

Matthew scrambled back into his dramatic pose, his eyes moving back to his employer.

Mr. Yang stared, his eyes glossy from his daughter's words; he blinked them away. "Huh," was all he said. An elongated, thoughtful sound that seemed to prove something to him. Distract him, even. Taking in a breath, he stood. "I'm off. Don't wait up for me." With that, he retreated back to the living room and, with the sound of the front door slamming, left.

Swallowing, Matthew broke from his pose, his limbs hanging heavy against his sides.

One of the children said something.

'Oh, God,' he thought, covering his mouth. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck – '

"Matt." His arm shook.

He turned back to the children, both staring at him.

Eli was the one holding his hand.

"Why don't you want Daddy going to the dinner?" asked Lilly. She still painted, her eyes never leaving the page.

Matthew blinked. "What?"

"You don't want Uncle Jun going to the dinner thing, do you?" Eli asked.

He shook his head. "Wha...what're you talking about?"

Eli frowned and swung the bread knife in Matthew's face. "I will hex you."

Lilly swung around, throwing her pallet and brush on the floor. "Matt, you looked like Eli when it's time to go to the dentist."

Matthew cleared his throat, finagling the boy's hand off the long knife. "It's..." 'Complicated,' he wanted to say. Shaking his head, he sat down on the floor and took in a breath. "It's adult stuff, guys." He looked at them both before shaking his head. "This is different from the other times I've been honest with you. This is a lot different."

"Why?" Lilly asked. Her brown eyes stayed fixed on him, stare saturated with concern. "You told us last time."

"It's different."

"Why?" asked Eli.

Matthew didn't answer. He couldn't. He didn't know how.

"Ugh, fine," the boy huffed, gathering his box of things and retreating from the playroom. "I'm gonna go do it in my room."

Lilliana turned back to the easel, a frown on her face. She shook her head, sighing. "You can go, Matt." Licking her lips, she dipped the brush into her colors and continued painting. "Thank you for posing for me." She never once looked at him.

Matthew frowned and stood up. "Lilly, I'm sorry."

She said nothing. Lilly swiped her paintbrush across the page, a frustrated look crossing her face.

Deflating, Matthew flopped his arms at his sides. "...I'll be...in the kitchen if you need me, okay?"

"Mm."

He left.