A Misunderstanding

Sun Mei found a bench and sat down. She was alone in a strange place for the second time in less than a day. This had to be a world record, or at least some kind of national record.

What if Mr. Wu didn't come back?

His daughter clearly didn't like her so maybe he would change his mind about hiring her now.

Sun Mei felt defeated. Even though she had hated working at Mrs. Lin's house, her sons were two angels who had clearly adored her. She had never met a child who had hated her, yet Lily's reaction suddenly made her doubt her own ability to do her job.

Was she a bad nanny? Was she scary or ugly?

She had always considered herself to be an average-looking girl. Not too pretty, not too unpleasant to look at. She rather liked her straight black hair and tiny freckles, but she supposed she could do with a better nose.

Sun Mei didn't realize how much time passed while she was lost in thought. Before she knew it, Mr. Wu's car pulled over next to her.

She stood up slowly and got inside.

Mr. Wu looked completely drained. "I'm so sorry you had to see this," he told her. "None of this was your fault. I will explain everything soon. Let's go get a cup of coffee or something."

Sun Mei nodded. "Okay."

They drove in silence for a few minutes before Sun Mei decided to break it. "Where is Lily now?" she asked.

"Vivian is watching her for a bit. I needed some time to talk to you and buy you some clothes. Don't worry, she is getting paid overtime," he added with a faint smile.

Sun Mei smiled back. "That's good to know."

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting outside a cozy little cafe that also served brunch and lunch. Mr. Wu looked at the menu and almost slapped his own forehead.

"I never even asked you if you ate anything!" he exclaimed. "I'm so inconsiderate."

"In your defense, you were preoccupied," said Sun Mei with a smile.

"True," said Mr. Wu before proceeding to order enough food to feed all the guests at Mrs. Lin's dinner party. He ordered french toast, croissants, bacon, blueberry pancakes and a bunch of pastries that Sun Mei could not even name. Surprisingly, they managed to eat almost everything.

"I'm full," Sun Mei announced an hour later before looking at Mr. Wu solemnly. "Sir, what happened earlier?"

Mr. Wu let out a long sigh. "It was my mistake. I had told Lily that someone special would be coming with me to pick her up from school and she assumed that… I mean, I didn't expect that she… I believe she was expecting to see her mother," he said after several tries.

"Oh…" Sun Mei was stunned for a moment. She immediately felt better. It made sense that the girl would be disappointed to see her if she had been expecting to see her own mother.

Sun Mei hesitated a little before she eventually asked, "Sir, when was the last time Lily saw her mother?"