Mr. Nick
Mr. Nick makes Remy’s head hurt.
He doesn’t get it. One minute Mr. Nick is good, and then he’s not. He plays trains and makes funny voices for them, and that’s good. But then there’s a big crash, and it hurts, and that’s bad. And then there’s no donut, and Remy is mad because donuts make mornings better. Then Daddy’s busy and says Mr. Nick is nice, but Remy doesn’t think so.
Not when Daddy didn’t come to pick him up.
Daddy always picks him up. Always.
When Daddy didn’t come, Remy got so scared. What if Daddy forgot him? What if Daddy doesn’t want him anymore? It made his tummy hurt, and he cried because Daddy never forgets. But then Mr. Nick said it’s okay and gave him a blanket and buckled him in the cool car. It has buttons and music, and even though Remy didn’t want to like it, he did. Mr. Nick played Disney songs, and Remy cuddled the blanket even though he was mad.
Then Daddy was on the phone, and Remy felt better because Daddy’s voice makes everything better.
But it’s still weird because Mr. Nick drove him to Daddy. And if Mr. Nick is bad, why would he take him to Daddy? Bad guys don’t do good things.
Remy doesn’t get it. His head feels all twisty. Mr. Nick was bad, but now he’s not? Or maybe he was never bad? It’s too much.
So, he just holds onto Daddy when they get home because Daddy is always safe, even when everything else is confusing.
Remy doesn’t know much about bad men, but he knows they’re bad.
They yell, and they make loud noises, and they make you bleed, and none of that is funny. Bad men make your skin sting and your heart hurt, and bad men are the ones Daddy talks about sometimes.
Daddy says bad men don’t like Remy, but they want him anyway. He's heard him say that to that old guy, like Santa. And Tors.
That’s not nice.
That’s scary.
So bad men do bad things. They make crashes. They make you cry. They make you bleed.
And when the bookshelf fell, and there was a big crash, and Remy got hurt, Mr. Nick was there.
Mr. Nick didn’t stop it.
Mr. Nick didn’t keep the crash from happening. And Remy was bleeding, so Mr. Nick has to be bad, right?
But bad men also try to take him away from Daddy. And Mr. Nick didn’t take him away from Daddy. Mr. Nick drove him to Daddy. And in the car, Mr. Nick gave him a blanket. And Mr. Nick played the “Let It Go” song, even though Remy knows Mr. Nick probably doesn’t like it.
That’s not something a bad man would do, right?
Remy’s head feels all twisty and confused.
Mr. Nick is supposed to be bad because he was there when the crash happened. But Mr. Nick doesn’t yell or make loud noises, and Mr. Nick took him took him to Daddy instead of away.
So… is Mr. Nick bad?
Mr. Nick lets him call him Nicky.
Bad men don’t have nicknames, do they?
Mmmhmm, no.
Bad men also don’t like hugs. But Remy hugs Nicky.
And bad men don’t make people smile. Mr. Nick makes Daddy smile. All the time. It’s stupid. Daddy looks stupid with that smile. Not bad-stupid, but weird-stupid, because smiles mean no bad men. And no bad men means Mr. Nick isn’t bad.
That’s… weird. And confusing. And his head hurts trying to think about it. He wants a nap. And a cookie. And to hug Daddy a little tighter. So he does. He squeezes Daddy tight, tucks his face into Daddy’s chest, and hears Daddy ask, “You okay, bud? I’m so sorry. I didn't forget you, okay baby. I promise. I just.... It was a busy day, and I’m so, so sorry.”
Remy just sighs and hugs him tighter, mumbling, “Okay, Daddy. M’kay. Can I sleep?”
Daddy strokes his hair and says, “Of course, sweetheart. Want me to tuck you in?”
Remy looks up at Daddy, then turns his head toward Mr. Nick. Mr. Nick still looks weird and red in the face, and he’s got a bandage on his face from the boo-boo the bookshelf gave him. He’s standing there all awkward, like he doesn’t know what to do, and it makes Remy’s tummy feel weird.
Remy sighs and says, “You and Mr. Nick?”
Daddy tilts his head, confused. “Hmm? What do you mean, bud?”
Remy sighs again, like he has to explain something very, very hard, and he rubs his sleepy eyes. “Nicky and Daddy tuck me in. ‘M tired.”
And without waiting for a reply, Remy grabs Daddy’s hand and holds it out toward Mr. Nick, expecting him to take it. Because if Nicky isn’t bad, then maybe he can help with tucking in too.