After informing Mr. Yang that breakfast was ready, Matthew swept into the breakfast room and moved his plate into the older man's spot, arranging the cutlery as best and straight he could. "You guys start, I'm going to get started cleaning up, okay?" The children had no time to answer, as Matthew turned into the playroom and was gone. He hummed an incomprehensible tune if only to drown out his thoughts.
"Why's Matt so mad?" he heard Lilly ask.
He froze, jaw clenched.
"Eli? What?"
Matthew held his breath and moved a little faster into the kitchen.
"Is that spot for Daddy?" The sound of bouncing cushions filled the air, the rest of her comment drowned out by the kitchen sink dripping water.
Five minutes later, mouth stuffed with his breakfast, Elliot entered the kitchen and slid his plate onto the counter. "Thanks," he mumbled before turning, heading back to the dining room. He stopped, stomped back to Matthew, and hugged him, burying his face into Matthew's stomach.
"Eli, I have dishes," Matthew whispered, gently tugging on the boy's arms.
This only encouraged Elliot to hold him tighter.
"Eli," Matthew insisted, tugging a little more.
"Don't go." The so-broken voice called to him.
Matthew stopped, and kneeled in front of the boy.
Elliot's eyes were red, accentuated only by the intense frown stretching across his face. "Don't go," he whimpered, grabbing Matthew's shirt. "Y-you can't go. You just can't."
Something broke in him. Matthew hugged him tightly, hand rubbing up and down his back for a few seconds. Taking in a shaking breath, he asked, "Eli, if I get fired, I need you to do something for me, okay?"
He nodded into his shoulder.
"Curse whoever comes after me. Show them no mercy."
Despite the tears, Elliot snorted and hugged him tighter, wiping his face against his nanny's shoulder.
Wiping his face, Matthew gently tugged him away. "Go. I need to check on your cousin."
"Uncle Jun's there."
He nodded. "I figured." Wiping his eyes, he nodded to Elliot. "Go get dressed. We're going down to the creek again."
Elliot turned and ran across the dining room and towards the ramp upstairs.
Taking in a slow breath to collect himself, Matthew returned to the breakfast room.
Wiggling her feet under the table, Lilliana continued her one-sided conversation with her father. "...but the thing I like most about Nāga is that they're mostly, like..." She started wiggling in her seat. "...snakes." When she caught sight of Matthew, she grinned, wiggling in her seat. "Matt, look who came to breakfast!"
"...sir," he murmured.
"Good morning, Mr. Robinson," he replied, his tone professional and perfect. The smell of cigars lingered in the air, not as strong from the night before. "I'd like some coffee."
"Yes, sir." Matthew turned and left.
"Say 'please'," Lilly insisted. "That's what Matt says to me and Eli."
Mr. Yang's response was drowned out as Matthew turned a corner into the kitchen again. When he returned to the table, he had turned to his daughter, his eyes softer and appearing...uncertain.
Lilly's bright expression scrunched with confusion. "What does that mean? Matt says – "
"While it's wonderful that Mr. Robinson is teaching you to say 'please', he shouldn't expect it from me, Lilliana," he explained, turning back to his meal, his tone so firm you could smash glass on it. "I'm the one who employs him."
Matthew placed down his mug of coffee.
"I want sugar and cream."
"...yes, sir." He returned to the kitchen.
Lilly was gone when Matthew came back, her plate pushed back from the table's edge, her drink shifted against the plate's edge, its contents spilled slightly.
Mr. Yang placed in one spoonful of sugar and a splash of cream. "I'm not hungry. Call me when it's time for the children's lunch." The man departed across the way back towards his office, leaving his breakfast lukewarm and untouched.
Matthew screamed into his hands, but he cleared the breakfast table. Scraping it into the garbage, his empty stomach protesting, he nearly smashed the plate on the counter out of sheer frustration. Taking in a breath, he popped a piece of gum before dropping the dish into the sink to start cleaning.
YOU ARE READING
It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins
General Fiction[A Slice-Of-Life LGBTQ+ Story about Found Family] Matthew Robinson's career as a teacher seemed to have stalled, yet when the winds in the East suddenly lands him in the employ as a nanny, Matthew realizes he's probably signed up for more than he ba...
