Nina's Got a Secret by Brian W. Smith

because she started screaming uncontrollably.
    â€œThat’s it!” Jeremy shouted. “Mrs. Dennison, I don’t have time for this.”
    â€œWait, Jeremy; my friend is gonna take her outside.”
    â€œIt’s too late, honey! Next child, please!”
    Nina had mastered the wealthy, spoiled housewife routine. Although she’d only been married for a short time, she’d already grown accustomed to pouting and getting what she wanted. But she had no control of this situation. Jeremy had all of the control and to make matters worse, he was an even bigger diva than she was.
    As Nina, Val, and the kids left the audition, the protesting mother whom she skipped earlier walked past with a smirk.
    â€œMaybe next time,” the woman commented.
    Nina gave the woman the one-finger salute and exited the building. As she walked briskly to her car with Precious struggling to keep up, she thought to herself, This is the last time I let Chrissy ruin something for my baby.

CHAPTER THREE
    T he weather was starting to change quickly. The children were asleep in their seats, and Val was struggling to keep her eyes open. She allowed her head to rest against the window as she drifted in and out of sleep.
    The silence created a perfect environment for Nina’s anger to grow. She glanced back at Chrissy four times within the first hour of the drive. A part of her wanted to give the child a smack across the head. Val’s eyes opened long enough to notice her friend’s vicious glare.
    â€œNina, that’s a child. She can’t help her condition.”
    â€œVal, I don’t want to hear that shit!”
    â€œI don’t care what you feel like hearin’, you don’t need to take your frustration out on that child. We will be back at the house in a few minutes. I suggest you go inside and get a drink of wine to help calm your damn nerves.”
    â€œI don’t know if I can deal with this.”
    â€œYou have no choice but to deal with this; she comes as a part of a package deal. The last time I checked, if it wasn’t for her daddy, Precious wouldn’t be attending any auditions.”
    The rumbling of storm clouds interrupted their conversation. The dark, menacing clouds wasted no time dumping gallons of water onto the landscape. This torrential downpour made it difficult for Nina to see.
    As they blew through Pacific Grove and into the city of Monterey, Nina pondered her next move. She had to come up with something that would make her desire to get rid of Maria an easy sell to Larry.
    As she maneuvered her SUV along the winding road that led to their gated community, the lake that ran alongside the road looked like a black canvas. The two-lane road they traveled was smothered in the darkness brought on by the setting sun and dirty brown-colored rain clouds.
    â€œVal, I have some decisions to make.”
    â€œNina, stop being overly dramatic. There’ll be other auditions. I’ll stay at home and watch Chrissy the next time, and you can take Precious by yourself.”
    She turned and looked at Val, and then looked out the front windshield again. With her eyes squinted and a firm grip of the steering wheel, Nina attempted to brave the elements.
    A few landmarks alerted Nina that her home was less than five minutes away. As she struggled to see through the wall of rain outside of her window, Nina envisioned pouring a glass of wine, sinking into a nice hot bubble bath, and then retreating to her bedroom.
    Suddenly, her daydream was interrupted by a set of bright dots that appeared to be suspended in midair. The dangling dots appeared to get closer and closer; so close that Nina soon realized the dots were actually headlights that belonged to an oncoming SUV.
    Nina jerked the steering wheel to the right in a desperate attempt to avoid the vehicle. Unfortunately, the response of her high-priced vehicle was too good. The car maneuvered so well that her reflexes weren’t