Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: The Anniversary Waltz
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Previously: Jed and Abbey shared a heart-to-heart about her role as a doctor when dealing with life and death issues; Jed told Elizabeth she could sit in on the nanny interviews
Summary: It's time to meet the nanny candidates!
- - -
Round One
Abbey sprinted from room to room in a last-ditch effort to ensure the house looked perfect. Of course she knew they were the ones conducting the interviews, but making a good impression was always a priority, regardless of circumstance.
Jed and Liz sat comfortably on the sofa, their eyes following her scurried form in every direction.
"Honey, anytime you want to take a break and join us..."
"We're hiring a nanny when what we need is a housekeeper."
"That's next on our list," Jed returned sarcastically.
Abbey shot him a glare as she rushed to open the door and greet the first candidate. Liz and Jed anxiously leaned forward then jumped to their feet to see the woman's face with her first step inside.
Amanda Presley.
The twenty-something woman was quite well-dressed in a peach colored St. John knit suit under her beige wool coat. Her shiny blonde hair fell just past her shoulders in bouncy curls. Taken by her professional, sleek appearance, Abbey immediately offered her a seat and a cup of tea as Jed began flipping through her paper resume, noting her extensive background in music.
"I'm sorry." Unable to hide his enthusiasm, he interrupted the chatter between the two women. "You're a classical musician?"
"Yes, I am," Amanda replied. "I've already been accepted to Julliard. I just have to scrape together the cash."
"What instrument do you play?"
"Well, I dabble with the violin, but my instrument of choice is the piano."
His right brow rose slightly with interest. "What's your favorite piece?"
"Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata."
Jed's brows creased as he squinted his eyes in response. "Hmm, interesting, interesting. Myself, I've always been partial to the Appassionata. The Pathetique was written too early in Beethoven's career. You might as well be playing Mozart. The Appassionata, now there's a piece of music that's truly inspirational."
"You consider Beethoven the first Romantic composer, do you?"
"No. Unlike many music historians, I consider him to have bridged Romantic and Classical and ushered in Romanticism."
Amanda's nose wrinkled with a smile. "Do you play?"
"Me? No, not really. When it comes to the piano, I'm the master of Chopsticks and that's about it. But I sure do love to listen."
"I can see why. It's so relaxing. Cleansing. Good for the soul. For children too. Does she listen?" Amanda asked, looking at Elizabeth, but not addressing her.
"No." Lizzie gave a solid answer.
"Well, we'll be listening to plenty of music around here." She turned her attention back to Jed. "And none of it will contemporary, I assure you. Classical music will help open up her mind. It's never more important than when she's at this age."
"I agree with that," Abbey added in an effort to push her way into the exclusive conversation. "But listening to music won't be the only thing you'll be doing."
"Of course not. It's really important for children to be as well-rounded as possible."
Sounded promising.
"So we can play games?" Lizzie shared a smile with her mother as Jed sat silently, listening.
"Games?" Amanda looked a bit confused about the meaning of the word. "Well, sure. We can make a game out of anything. We'll spend some evenings learning about Greek mythology. We can do trivia on that. We'll talk about religious teachings, all the good stuff."
"Greek mythology?" Lizzie wasn't even sure she knew what it was and she had very little desire to learn.
"Of course! We'll have lots of fun comparing Greek and Roman mythology. I can recite Roman myths in Latin, you know."
"Really?" Jed was positively beaming.
"Oh, absolutely."
He tossed her resume onto the coffee table and stood up with purpose. "Well, Amanda, I don't think there's any use in continuing this..."
"That's right," Abbey interjected, realizing her husband was about to make a job offer she didn't want made. "We have many candidates to speak to today. We'd like to thank you for coming by. We'll get back to you."
Abbey helped her up and led her to the door.
Jed watched in confusion as his wife ushered her out. When the door closed, he declared, "She's perfect!"
"DADDY!" Lizzie complained.
"What?"
"She is NOT perfect!" Abbey informed him. "She doesn't know the first thing about a little girl's likes and dislikes. Lizzie needs someone who can talk to her at her level."
"What's wrong with broadening her horizons?"
"Nothing, as long as there's a fair balance."
"There is."
"Not with her, there isn't. I'm not comfortable with her."
"You're being unreasonable."
"No, I'm not. This is the most important decision we have to make at this point in our lives. I'm not going to leave my children with a woman who doesn't inspire one-hundred percent confidence."
"We'll re-interview her. I'm sure once we get to know her..."
"I don't think that's necessary. She just isn't right for the job."
"Abbey."
Liz ran to her mother's side. "Two against one."
Abbey chuckled. "Sorry, Jed. You're overruled."
"You little traitor." He spoke to his daughter with a teasing voice. "It's because of me you even get a vote in this."
Lizzie giggled as Abbey brushed by him on her way to rinse out the cup of tea in the kitchen.
"Jed, she isn't qualified to be a nanny. She is, however, qualified to be your little friend. If you like, I can call and ask if she wants to come over to play with you next weekend."
If there was one thing Jed hated more than anything else in the world, it was being mocked.
"Not funny, Abigail. I'm an adult, you know. I don't need your permission. I can hire her myself," he replied defiantly, following her to the sink.
"Yes you can. But won't you look a little silly taking your nanny with you to the State House?"
He pushed her out of the way and ran his fingers under the water, flicking them at her. The drops hit her right in the face as she laughed and squirmed from his hold.
- - -
Round Two
Jed opened the door to the raven-haired woman outside. She smiled delightfully as she walked inside, passing by him with an unmistakable air of confidence. She wasn't an ordinary nanny. At first glance, this woman was extremely capable. She was older. She looked wiser.
Perhaps it was the dark hair pulled back into a bun, or her long statuesque frame that held her black wool coat. He wasn't sure. But if she had been carrying a black umbrella, he would swear she was a modern-day Mary Poppins.
Margaret Wolfe took her place in the hotseat, her legs crossed at the ankles and her hands folded properly in her lap.
"I think I should go through a list of my own expectations before we continue." A blunt introduction indeed, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Please, feel free," Abbey replied.
"I expect the children to be on their best behavior at all times. Children Elizabeth's age should learn proper etiquette for every situation. This includes dining, meeting with friends, or just watching television. If I see that she's fallen off the fray just a tad, I believe it is my job and my responsibility to rein her back in."
Jed watched Elizabeth scrunch her nose at the sound of that. It occurred to him that Mary Poppins wasn't the ideal nanny either. After all, the last thing he wanted to see was his two daughters dancing on the roof.
"By 'rein her back in' you mean?" he asked.
"I mean guide her, show her the proper way for a young lady to behave."
That's reasonable, Abbey thought. "So you consider yourself a teacher?"
"Of course. What nanny isn't?"
"And a playmate as well? Lizzie loves board games and Ellie, she really enjoys puzzles."
"I can be a playmate, as long as the children adhere to the rules."
Jed was a bit more apprehensive. "What kind of rules?"
"One hour of activity every night. The rest of the time should be spent doing homework or reading a book."
"That's not a bad rule," Abbey nodded. "Perhaps a bit rigid..."
"It has to be rigid. Children should know what's expected of them. There shouldn't be any doubt. An undisciplined child is an unruly child and unruly children are to be dealt with. Once that happens, everyone's unhappy."
"I'm sorry. Dealt with?" Jed and Abbey both sat on the edge of their seats eagerly awaiting the answer to this one.
"Yes. Spare the rod, spoil the child."
And that was that.
- - -
Round Three
"You don't seem to have any experience as a nanny," Jed commented as he looked over the resume of Electra Cummings.
She sat on the sofa, quite comfortable in her black stretch pants and oversized T-shirt. She eyed him, curiously, her stringy bangs bouncing slightly every time she blinked.
"Oh, not in this life. But in my previous life, I was a Presidential nanny."
Overlooking the reference to reincarnation, something else caught his attention. "A presidential nanny?"
"Yes, Sir. At the White House."
Abbey went back to the reincarnation. "Your previous life?"
"Yes."
"Okay. So, what do you do in this life?"
"Oh you mean aside from concocting potions?" Her smile faded as she stared into the serious expressions staring back at her. "I'm kidding. Seriously, I do whatever I can to get by wherever I am."
"Wherever you are? Are you going to tell me you're a gypsy?" Abbey asked jokingly.
"Oh no, Ma'am. I'm not a gypsy. Born and raised in New Hampshire. I like it here."
"Good."
"No, I'm not a gypsy," she repeated as she fingered the multicolored beads that lined her neck. "I am a witch though."
"A witch?" Abbey wasn't one to give in to stereotypes. She kept an open mind, not allowing her opinions to be manipulated. But when she saw Jed's unamused expression, she attempted to lighten his mood. "So you're religious then?"
"No, not at all. I don't believe in organized religion of any kind. But I respect those who do." Electra knew the right thing to say. It was little comfort, though, considering what was coming next. "But I do have supernatural powers. I love magic."
Lizzie leapt to her feet, energized by this bit of information. "NEAT! Can you cast spells and everything?"
"Why yes, I can. I can wiggle my nose too." She leaned over to look the eight-year-old in the eye as she put on a demonstration. "See?"
"Just like Samantha!"
Jed jumped in front of an excited Liz. "Lizzie."
"Well, yes, just like Samantha. Aren't you a little young to have seen that show?"
"Uh uh. It comes on every morning on Channel Seven."
Abbey wrapped her arms around Liz from behind, resting her chin on top of her daughter's head. "Reruns."
Electra nodded as she approached the young girl. "I'll tell you a secret, Lizzie. I'm looking into having my name legally changed to Samantha and my boyfriend's to Darren."
"Mommy, I LIKE her!"
Liz's smile expanded with delight, provoking Jed's interference before Electra could begin referring to her as Tabitha. "Well, we will definitely get back to you, Electra."
"Okay." As Jed led her to the door, she stopped suddenly and turned sharply to face him. "Something's wrong. I feel enormous tension in this room. It's not good."
"Tension?" Well, at least she got that right. Maybe there was something to be said for magical powers.
"Yes," she replied seriously. "I can quickly get rid of it, if you'll allow me."
"To do what?"
She balled up her hand, allowing all her fingertips to touch, then opened it swiftly as she aimed towards Jed's face with a violent jerk of her arm. Initially shocked by the move, his eyes sprung open to twice their normal size. She crunched her hand again and Jed ducked just as she repeated the move before leaving.
Abbey shut the door behind her with a deep sigh. "Ooookkkkaaaayyyy."
"Mommy, I really like her. She can play with the Ouija board with me!"
"You know you can't use that unless your dad or I help you."
"It's not going to be me," Jed declared. "I'm still captured in her spell or whatever the hell that was."
"I'm sure it was nothing." Abbey laughed.
"I swear I'm going to have nightmares tonight. What hell was it anyway? A curse of some sort?" He turned his hand towards himself and scrunched it, trying to imitate her gesture.
He was unsuccessful.
- - -
Round Four
It had been an exhausting day. Even Lizzie, originally intrigued by the idea of sitting in on the interviews, was starting to tire of the entire process. Eight women had waltzed in the house and been escorted out for a variety of reasons.
But things were about to change.
This one was different. She sat back against the cushion in a comfortable, relaxing position. The twitching of her hands revealed the nerves she tried desperately to hide as she counted the seconds that passed while Jed and Abbey reviewed her credentials.
"Well," Abbey began.
"Well," Jed repeated. "First of all, do you know anything about reversing a curse?"
She smiled initially, but he wasn't kidding. "Excuse me?"
"Nothing...just...nothing."
Abbey slapped his hand then cleared her throat to draw attention away from her husband. "Paige, is it?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Tell me about yourself. You're a college graduate?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I'm hoping to start graduate school at Dartmouth next spring."
Cynical about her qualifications, Jed searched for the skeleton he believed she was hiding. "Why in the spring?"
"I was accepted for the fall, but I had to defer because money is kind of tight."
Good reason. "What will you be studying?"
"I'd like to get my MBA...maybe someday, open my own business."
"That's great. I love ambition," Jed admitted with a nod. "Do you have experience with small children?"
"Yes, Sir. I have two brothers and a sister that I practically raised myself. I come from sort of a nontraditional family. My parents weren't always around."
Time for the litmus test. Abbey asked, "What are your thoughts on corporal punishment?"
"Well that's entirely up to the parents. The nanny's job, at least in the capacity for which you're hiring, is to simply resolve immediate problems and leave the actual discipline up to the parents, especially when we're talking about physical discipline."
She passed.
She was nice, respectful, intelligent, articulate, and, most importantly, competent. The perfect choice, as far as Abbey was concerned.
But Jed wasn't completely sold just yet. "As you know, my wife's a physician and she's on-call a lot. I might have to spend the night in Concord at times, so you may be required to sleep over now and then. Would that be a problem?"
"Not at all!" Paige answered without hesitation. Her eyes fell to Liz who was captivated by her energy. "Us girls will have a big slumber party." Looking for another reason to interact with the little girl, she turned slightly and noticed the chess board. "Do you play chess, Lizzie?"
"Daddy's teaching me how."
"I taught my little brothers. It's a pretty fun game. Do you like to play games?"
"Yeah!"
"So do I."
Liz tugged on her father's arms, a clear sign that she was giving her approval. Jed exchanged a glance with Abbey and they both settled back against the sofa, comfortable with the decision.
Paige it was.
TBC