Mary Poppins looked down from the cloud she had been using to travel to her next destination and at the sight of countless chimneys and rooftops a rare smile lightened up her face- she was finally home again.
"Seems to be your lucky day, doesn´t it" the parrot at the end of her umbrella crooked but for once Mary didn´t care about the impertinent bird, she was too distracted by the intense feeling of happiness.
"It seems so- I have been told I will be given the address tomorrow, so for now I will go to my uncle´s house."
"Certainly not that laughing freak again?
The parrot exclaimed but fell silent instantly when Mary turned to him, outraged.
"I beg your pardon?"
She asked in a deadly calm voice but the bird´s eyes had already snapped shut and Mary smiled.
"Now that is better- I hope you don´t mind staying that way for some time."
She reached for her bag, made sure everything about her appearance was neat and proper and then spread the umbrella to descend from her cloud.
She enjoyed the short walk through the park, the weather was sunny and warm and everything smelled of summer and it was home- as much as Mary Poppins liked to give the impression that she was absolutely independent she missed London when she was away.
She rang her uncle´s doorbell ten minutes later and when he opened she was pleased how happy he seemed to see her.
"Mary, my Dear, I have been waiting see you- now do come in, I have just made tea."
"Hello, Uncle Albert- I am glad to be back."
She followed him inside the house and over into the kitchen where the tea table was set, breathing in the familiar scents of freshly brewed Earl Grey, of pipe smoke and freshly baked scones.
"The maid has just left, she made the scones and I have strawberry jam, all you have to do is get us some clotted cream."
Her uncle said conversationally, magic wasn´t anything unheard of in her family though her uncle hadn´t exactly been blessed with a generous amount of it.
Mary looked sharply at the table where the clotted cream instantly appeared, served in a bowl matching the china.
"Excellent, my Dear- let me take your coat."
While her uncle bustled out of the room to hang up her coat Mary busied herself with pouring tea, then she looked up when someone knocked at the back door.
She opened it and found herself face to face with a man she had never seen before, he was tall and handsome, and wearing a rather shabby brown suit.
"Good afternoon, Miss" he greeted her, "my name is Bert and I´m looking for Albert."
"My uncle will be back at any moment- I´m Mary Poppins- just Bert?"
"I prefer it that way if you don´t mind, Miss Poppins."
"Call me Mary" she said, at the same time wondering what she was doing, she was never so quick with offering anyone to call her by her first name- it must have to do something with his intense blue eyes or that bright warm smile...
"Please do come in" she hastily said, stepping aside, "we are about to drink tea, will you join us?"
"Thank you, Miss- Mary- I would be delighted."
She could feel his eyes on her while she was taking an additional cup and plate from the cupboard, what was happening to her, practically perfect people weren´t supposed to act so silly!
"So what do you do?"
She asked him when she came back to the table.
"Oh, this and that, right now I´m here to repair your uncle´s grandfather clock."
"The one in the hallway?"
"Yes- I often repair things or I work as a sweep or as a pavement artist- I like to take life one day at a time."
"That isn´t a very reliable way of living though, don´t you have a family?"
He laughed, shaking his head.
"I don´t- but don´t worry, I´ve inherited a nice sum of money from my parents, I´m just too bored with sitting around in my house and staring at the paintings, I rather do something interesting with my time, meet new people- like today I have met this amazingly beautiful woman."
He winked at her and Mary felt herself blushing- blushing, she never blushed, it was a silly thing to do and she never acted silly- yet she felt her cheeks burn and her heart pound and it all started to fit together to an image she didn´t enjoy very much.
"She has the bluest eyes I have ever seen- the prettiest face, also- tell me about you, what are you doing in town?"
"I have grown up here but I often- work- somewhere else- I´m a nanny."
"Really? That´s a very responsible thing to do- so you are here for a new position?"
"Yes, I will be informed where I will be going next tomorrow, so I decided to come and see Uncle Albert first."
Mary´s uncle choose the precise moment to return to the kitchen and at the sight of Bert he smiled brightly.
"Bert my boy, good to see you- I see you´ve already met my little jewel."
He smiled fondly at Mary who shook her head.
"Uncle Albert, I´m not a little girl anymore."
"To me you will always be that little girl, Mary- now do sit down, will you? As soon as you get here you seem to think that you have to do anything, I can do a bit by myself."
Mary sat down at the table next to Bert who was still gazing at her dreamily, Mary was used to men finding her pretty of course but usually they met her while she was with her charges and then found her cold and strict, this man though had caught her off guard, in familiar surroundings were she would be herself.
What was she thinking, she loved her job, didn´t she- she loved children and had chosen to use her special gift of magic to help those who weren´t loved and cherished the way they ought to be, she didn´t have time for someone to look at her like this.