The Nanny is a copyright of Sony Pictures, High School Sweethearts, Sternin & Fraser's Ink, Inc.
No infringement on the rights of anyone involved in its production is intended.
These characters don't belong to me. I just borrowed them for a while.
Something special in the attic
Dec 1-7 2007
Authors notes: All things italicized are of a past time. Regular type is right then and there and bold is for things that are written down.
"Niles we're going to get into trouble, come on down." B yelled form the hall.
"I haven't found what I am looking for yet." Niles shouted back.
"But what if dad comes home. You know he doesn't allow any one up there."
"It's our… my stuff up here too." Niles went farther back into the attic.
B hears someone coming down the hall. "Niles…" he calls. No answer. Oh, well, "Niles you're on your own."
"What?" Niles called, not really paying attention for he was looking at an old rocker. One that, he sniffed one that Sarah used when the kids were babies. "Max put that up here when…" He rubbed his face "after she died." Niles went and sat down in it. Niles' mind: what could hurt just one rock. "I remember…"
"Val look out." Fran shouted.
"Whoa, that was close." Called her friend catching her balance.
"I'll say." Fran picked up the end of the ladder. "I guess one of the kids left it opened." She folded the ladder the rest of the way up and closed the door. "There out of the way. No one will trip." Niles heard the bang.
"Oh, no. That wasn't what I think it was." He walked over to the door. "Oh, no it was."
He banged on it. "Open the door, open the door." but there was no answer back. "Why would B do that? Is this a joke?" Niles sat back down in the rocker. "I have to find away out of here." He sighed. "I don't know if there is another way out of here. If there is I haven't found it. There's still so much to this house I don't know." He swallowed. "I guess someone will come looking for me. Wait," he snaps his fingers. "B knows I'm here. He will come looking." He shook his head. "I might as well continue with what I was doing." Something caught his eye. "Is that a…. that's it, that's the old trunk."
He blew the dust of the top of it. A dust cloud lingers in the air. "Wow. Has it been here that long? I just hope what I'm looking for is in there." He unlocked the latches on the front and slowly lifted the heavy lid. The hinges creaked. "I hope there' not a body in here that Max's hiding." He shook his head. He reached in the trunk and shuffled some papers around. "Nope, no body in here. But I see something interesting. A …photo book." He picks it up. "I haven't seen this since…" he sniffed "her death. Which we… I still haven't got over it. I don't guess that is something you ever do?" He blinked tears threaten his eyes again. Niles blew more dust off the leather book. "It has just as much dust is…" he sneezed. Ah…ah…ahchoo…
"Great just what I need now." He looked down at the brown covered photo book. "Wow, this is a surprise this is not the one I was expecting. I wonder why this ones up here. Is Max hiding it? Is he a shamed of Sarah?"
He turns to the first page. A photo of Sarah in her wedding grown looks up at him. "Hey Sarah," Niles said out loud. "I miss you so much." He sniffs. "Life has not been the same without you." he sighs. Just looking at the picture makes him want to cry. "Max was a lucky man, I don't have to tell you that though. How was it that he was so blessed? I was born in the same year, seven months earlier in the same household, yet on the other side of the tracks, the poor tracks, that is. I was born into a curse; a curse that still haunts me today." He sniffs, "Sarah why can't I find my soul mate like…like you did. Even if it was for a short time…" he closed his eyes. "I wish…I wish…. Don't get me wrong life's been good to me, you were good to me.
I just think there's more out there for me." He let out a slow breath. "I wish I knew what to look for. I wonder if there's a wedding in my future." He looked at Max dressed as a groom. "I can only wish…I see it now, Mr. and Mrs. Niles…oh how that would feel." Niles slowly turned the page. He read the title that was in Sarah's handwriting. The storm on the century. "That it was."
The dark clouds rolled in late in the afternoon and loomed till nighttime. The Sheffield's were going out to a dinner party that night. Rain pelted the windows of the mansion.
"We're stuck inside again," whined Nigel. "I want to go out to the party."
Max slapped his hands over his brother's mouth. "They don't know we have been going."
"Oh," he smiled. Max let go and let his hand drop by his side. "Get together after dinner." He whispered to his brother.
"Soon enough my dear, maybe next year you can go." The nanny said as she pointed to the stairs. "Now run off and play." She told the boys. "I'll have the butler bring you some dinner later on." Max and his brother, Nigel went up stairs. The two boys enter his room to find his sister and the butler's son playing video games.
"How boring?" Max complained. "They don't know how to have real fun. No adventure."
"It beats your stupid plays." Jocelyn called as she left the room. Nigel sat down.
"Put one on, put one on!" Niles shouted and clapped his hands, "Haven't seen one in a long time." Max liked when someone wanted him to put one of his plays on. Max placed a book standing up in front of him. He lay on the floor with only his one hand showing over the top. He had a king puppet on. "Oh where oh where is my dear?" he made the king go back and forth the length of the open book. "Oh what a glorious to day to be hiding from me." His hand moves the edge, to look down at his other hand that had the queen puppet on it. "Here I'm, down in the grass. I went to see the sun." he said in his female voice. "Come see me up here." called his other hand.
"I'm on my way up." The bride climbs the side of the book. Niles started laughing at that.
"Like that would ever happen." Nigel commented. "You have a queen come up to you."
"Is she in love with him?" Niles hugged a pillow. "Oh, let them be."
"Who's putting on the play here?" Max shouted at the two of them. his puppets were now both on the top of the book. "Yes, they're in love." lighting crashed made all three jump. "Ah…" They all grabbed pillows. Then the lights went out.
"Look," Niles shouted. "Max's puppets glow in the dark." Max as scared as he was took the opportunity to continue his play. "Ladies and gentleman of the theater." He called.
"What?" Nigel asked.
"Just watch my show. The lights will come back on in a minute." Max responded.
"Sure, like they always do."
"Continue, continue. Are they…married?" Niles asked.
"Not yet…"
"I love happy endings. I hope I have one in real life." Niles hugged his pillow.
"You're dreaming again Niles." Nigel patted him on the back. "You will be here with us forever, just like your father is."
"Niles, don't listen to him. You will be happy." Max shouted back. "All of us will." Max continued on with his play. "Come closer to me dear." The bride puppet walked closer to the king. Max smashed them together and made them kiss. He smacked his lips together. Another bolt of lighting lit up the sky and everyone screamed.
"To all of us who will find our love some day." Max made his puppets nod. "To all." Niles responded. The lights came back on and standing in the doorway Jocelyn watched the boys play. Niles and Nigel clapped as Max finished the play up. Jocelyn whistled from the doorway. "Hooray." All three boys looked over at her. "Dinner is ready." She smiled. "Good play I might add." She turned on her heel was gone.
"He had away with puppets. That was his first performance for all of us. Even though short one, good for a six year old." Niles smiled. "I'd never thought that would turn into a profession. His love for the theater never died. Like mine did…on stage that was. I got the play part right I just forgot the words… I ran off stage. And never went back on." He sighed. "That was not a good day for me. See that's where the curse started." He sighed again. "Just once…What if I had stuck with it?" Niles stood up and took a bow. He imagined a crowd cheering. "What a rush…that would have been." He shook his head sat back down and turned to the next page.