—Eres aburrida —se quejó David—. Las otras gritaban.
Naomi sonrió apenas. —Porque querían ganarte. Yo no vengo a ganar. Vengo a amarlos.
Aquellas palabras los dejaron en silencio un momento. Nadie les había hablado así.
Ethan también notó el cambio. Una tarde regresó temprano y encontró a los trillizos sentados en el suelo, dibujando en silencio mientras Naomi tarareaba un viejo canto de iglesia. Por primera vez en años, la casa no sonaba a caos.
Esa noche, Ethan acorraló a Naomi en el pasillo. —¿Cómo lo haces? Han espantado a todas.
Naomi looked down. “Children test the world because they’re looking for security. If you don’t break, they stop pushing. They just want someone who will stay.”
Ethan studied her, amazed by her wisdom. She had conquered oil fields and boardrooms, but here was a woman who had achieved what her money couldn’t: peace in her own home.
But the triplets hadn’t finished testing her. The real storm was yet to come.
It happened on a rainy Thursday. They had grown accustomed to Naomi, even though they tested her daily. That afternoon, as thunder thundered outside, Daniel and David got into an argument over a toy car. Diana yelled at them to stop. In the commotion, a glass vase tipped over and shattered. Splinters flew across the floor.
“Stop!” Naomi’s voice, calm but firm, cut through the thunder. She ran over and picked Diana up just before she stepped on a piece of glass. Daniel froze. David’s lip trembled. They’d never seen a nanny take such a risk. Naomi’s hand was bleeding from a cut, but she smiled. “No one was hurt. That’s what matters.”
For the first time, the triplets didn’t know what to do. They weren’t dealing with an employee who was afraid of them, but with someone who loved them enough to bleed for them.
That night, Ethan returned to find his children unusually quiet. Diana was snuggled up to Naomi, clinging to her arm. Daniel whispered, “Are you okay?” David, normally defiant, slipped a Band-Aid onto Naomi’s hand.
Ethan’s chest tightened at the sight. His children, who had scared off all the caregivers, now clung to this woman like an anchor.
Later, after the children were asleep, Ethan found Naomi in the kitchen, rinsing the wound with cool water. “You should have called the nurse,” she said.
Naomi shook her head. “I’ve been through worse. A cut heals.”
