I'm the slowest writer in the world. But at least it did not take me several years to post a new chapter this time around. That's process xD
The fact that the girls were not supposed to leave the house was already proving difficult on day one of Andy's tenure as a caretaker. Caroline informed her about every five minutes that she wanted to get kiwi ice cream from the new, over-priced ice cream parlor in Brooklyn while Cassidy found her brand new inline skates (which Andrea already got her months ago) and had her mind set on trying them out this very second. Andy was able to distract them with a movie and popcorn but once the film concluded the girls kept voicing their wish to leave the house.
The crowd of paparazzi occupying the area in front of the townhouse had minimized significantly ever since Miranda left for Paris. They had followed her to the airport, shot a few pictures and probably moved on to their next victim. With Miranda in Europe, she was out of their jurisdiction. It was now their French colleagues' job to invade the editor's privacy. But despite the improvement over the paparazzi situation at the townhouse it was still risky to step foot in public spheres with the girls. Miranda despised seeing photos of her daughters in gossip magazines. Usually, this lead to some rather angry phone calls which got several people fired and the responsible paparazzo was hit with a giant lawsuit. Her lawyers always came up with something to nail the photographer. Miranda knows no mercy when the wellbeing of her girls was at stake. None whatsoever.
"Tomorrow," Andy said, making sure it does not in any way sound like a promise. "We'll look at the paparazzi situation tomorrow and then we'll decide." She did not see how tomorrow would be any different but at least she had a few more hours to come up with ways inside the house to entertain the two girls.
The kids agreed after she promised she would play Mario Kart with them after dinner. Andy lost every single round and Caroline and Cassidy were roaring with laughter.
After the Priestly girls went to bed, Andy jumped into the giant shower of her impressive en- suite. The bliss did not last very long, though, as her phone started ringing about two minutes in. She was certain it was Miranda, no one else had reason to call her at this time of night. Andy almost slipped as she snatched a towel and hurried to answer her cell. She was a few seconds too late, the call went to voicemail. She cursed. There is nothing Miranda despised more than being sent to voicemail. Before she could return her boss's call her phone started ringing once more. This time she picked up immediately.
"Hello Miranda."
"I am sure you are aware of the fact that I do not enjoy being sent to voice mail."
"I am."
"And yet you did not answer your phone the first time I called."
"I apologize. I was in the shower."
There was a short pause and Andy realized that the information she had just provided was not only completely redundant but probably also rather inappropriate for a professional conversation.
"Well… How are the girls? I trust they are in bed already?" Miranda chose to ignore that Andrea had put her foot in it yet again.
"They are both sound asleep. We had a blast! They made me play video games. I lost every single time." Andy laughed
"I'm not surprised. They have been playing with this dreadful little device almost every day for months now."
"At least it keeps them distracted for a while. They both asked several times today if we could leave the house."
She could hear Miranda sigh. Andy knew it was not easy for her to be this far away from her girls when their lives had just been uprooted, when paparazzi could be following every single step they made.
"The group of paparazzi is getting smaller by the hour. "Andrea reassures. "I'm considering taking the girls for a car ride across town tomorrow. Just so they can get out of the house for an hour... of course only with your permission."
"If you deem it safe... I'm not there, Andrea. You have to evaluate the situation and make a responsible decision."
"I will." She said as she flopped down on the insanely comfortable king-sized bad. "I just want to keep you in the know."
"As you should." Miranda agreed.
"How is Paris?" Andrea asked before she could remind herself how much Miranda did not care for small talk.
To the young woman's surprise, Miranda did not simply hang up on her. Instead, she provided an answer: "Dreadful. Uninspired. Two shows and not a single acceptable piece of clothing. And Emily is so ridiculously exhilarated about being in Paris she failed to remember to order me dinner. The amount of incompetence I have to tolerate is staggering."
Andy couldn't help but laugh. Something that seems to happen a lot recently when she was talking to Miranda. "I guess ordering dinner is an easy task to forget for someone who doesn't eat... like ever."
"I don't know where she got this ridiculous notion from that starving is the only way to maintain a slender physique. You eat incessantly yet you have a marvelous figure. You should provide Emily with some advice as to how you manage to keep fit."
Andrea froze. Had she just been complimented? Had Miranda Priestly, the woman who had called her "the smart, fat girl" only a few months ago, admitted she thought she looked good?
Miranda kept talking like what she had just said was nothing out of the ordinary. Instead, she complained about someone named Noemi who Andy had never heard of nor cared about.
"Andrea, are you even listening to a word I'm saying? Do my remarks bore you so much you fell asleep right in the middle of our conversation?" Miranda of course immediately had noticed Andrea's focus was elsewhere.
"No! Not at all. Sorry. I was just surprised... about your compliment."
"What in god's name are you talking about?"
"I have a marvelous figure," Andrea repeated to trigger the other woman's memory. Not that Miranda had actually forgotten. Miranda doesn't forget anything. Not ever.
"Don't let it get to your head. I simply pointed out a fact anyone with functioning eyes can recognize." She informed Andrea.
"Of course." The smirk on Andy's face was clearly audible in her voice.
"I will be calling again tomorrow." Miranda suddenly had the urge to end their conversation as quickly as possible. "Make sure to pick up the phone on the second ring at the latest. "
"Yes, Miranda," Andrea promised. "Have a good evening."
As per usual, the older woman did not reply.
The next day Andy was able to sneak the girls out of the townhouse and into the town car without a single paparazzo noticing. With Miranda gone the vultures had stopped camping outside the Priestly residence but Andy feared that one of them might still be hiding somewhere waiting for their chance to take a photo of the "poor, suffering children of the devil in Prada". Cautious as she was, Andy therefore made sure the girls did not leave the car at any time. She probably was paranoid but she really did not want to explain to Miranda why photos of her precious little angles are features on Page Six. The girls' pouts over not being able to exit the car were replaced by big smiles when Andy told Roy to stop by McDonald's. The drive-through was a nightmare but the girls were so excited neither Roy nor Andy minded the 40-minute wait. It was not like the girls never got junk food. Contrary to popular belief Miranda did not exclusively feed her children brussel sprouts and broccoli. They regularly had pizza night as well as burger night. However, they always ordered from award-winning establishments rather than from some dodgy fast-food chain. For the girls, it was an adventure to eat a burger out of a cardboard box on the backseat of their car.
When they talked to their mom that night, Miranda pretended to be outraged over their consumption of processed food when really, she was simply thankful they were having a good time. They are kids, they are supposed to be carefree and happy. Both of which they had not been recently. Stephen was gone barely a few days and they were already so much happier. She felt guilty for having brought this man into their lives, for believing he could be the father figure the girls needed.
She called Andrea hours later after the girls were already in bed. The young woman picked up after the very first ring as if she had been waiting for the call with the phone in her hand (which totally was NOT the case).
Miranda greeted her with: "McDonald's Andrea, really? Couldn't you find any food of lesser quality to feed my children?"
"They had the time of their lives." Andrea was aware that Miranda didn't actually disapprove. Under different circumstances, Miranda would certainly want to set every single McDonald restaurant on fire but today she was just thankful processed meat and sugary drinks could improve her daughters' day.
"I can imagine. I usually don't even let them look at McDonald's when we pass by it in the town car."
"It took quite some convincing to get Roy to actually stop there."
"He might be my favorite employee."
"I thought Nigel was your favorite."
"He lost that honor the moment he stopped being afraid of me."
"So I guess that's why I'm out of the equation too."
"Appears like it." The older woman admitted.
Miranda's reply surprised them both, threw them off guard a little. This conversation was supposed to be a professional one yet it felt like an exchange between friends, between confidants.
Silence.
Andrea suppressed the impulse to clear her throat, instead, she swallowed and steered the conversation in a different and much safer direction: "Saw an acceptable piece of clothing yet?"
Usually, Miranda would scold her for not speaking in full sentences but she found that she actually did not mind Andrea's tendency to speak with the vocabulary of an A1 English language student when she was nervous. In fact, sometimes it even was sort of endearing if she was being honest.
"Channel has two pieces that have cuts which are not entirely dreadful."
"Not entirely dreadful," Andrea repeated with a smile. "That's high praise coming from you. You must really like them."
"I would if they were not in mustard-yellow. What an appalling color for an evening gown. An insult to my eyeballs."
"Worse than the grey-ish color Tom Ford used for his suits in the 2015 summer collection?"
"Equally gruesome."
Their back and forth felt comfortable. Too comfortable for Miranda's taste. She is not supposed to like having casual conversations, especially not with her assistant. She is not supposed to think about the young woman even when she was not around. None of this was how it was supposed to be.
"Miranda, are you ok?" Andy asked after Miranda had stayed quiet for an unusual long period of time. It was not like her to zone out of a conversation. But then again, this conversation was anything but important. At least Andy very much doubted it had any particular meaning to her boss. Maybe her mind was already elsewhere, there was certainly enough going on in Paris.
Andrea decided to give Miranda an easy out. "Do you need to leave? I know the Givency luncheon starts soon."
"I had Emily cancel my appearance."
"Oh." That Andy had not expected. Miranda does not cancel events in Paris. If she does not wish to attend a soiree she shows up only to leave again 15 minutes later. However, she always showed, may it be for 10 minutes or two hours. "Did anything happen?"
"Yes. I happened to not be in the mood." Exhaustion was audible in her voice. "It is not a function of particular importance. Nigel went in my stead."
"You sound tired," Andy said in a concerned tone. It slipped out really. Who in their right mind would ever say that to Miranda Priestly!?
"I am." Again, she surprised them both with her honesty. "Coping with jet lag does not get easier with age.
"It always throws you off track, no matter the age. My family and I went to Europe for a week. I have almost zero recollection of that trip. I did not properly wake up until two weeks after we got back home."
"Europe is wonderful. You must visit again." Miranda said. "And I would suggest taking some medication that aides you adjust to the time difference better."
When Andy slipped into bed later that night she thought about Europe. About walking the streets of Paris and London and visiting museums in Vienna. And she thought of Miranda who, in this fantasy, was right by her side.
Thanks for reading! :D