A/N: As I mentioned earlier, that first chapter was really more of a flashback to start us off. Think of it as the first chapter in Harry Potter. Because now it's time for the second installment, which surges ahead six years into the future—which means this story takes place in the year 2000, and I have no idea why I planned it that way.
So anyway, six years later…
Los Angeles, California.
"Dear Diary,
Today is Wednesday, July 12, 2000. This means tomorrow is Thursday (July 13, 2000), which is the day mom promised to take me to the zoo. I'm so excited!! My birthday is only four months away! Mom says Aunt Terra and Uncle Nate are coming for my birthday. All the way from New York! It's gonna be so cool, 'cause Aunt Terra makes the best cakes in the WORLD!
I kind of wish mom was home more often, diary. I know she's at work, but why does she have to be there all the time? Last year, she was gone even on my birthday. But she did get a friend for me—a Doberman we named Trent. He's really cool.
Anyway, diary, I guess I'll stop for now. Katie's hand is probably getting tired. Love from, Megan.
Pause.
Megan Katryn Cleverly
"My, you certainly enjoy writing in your diary, don't you, my dear?" a middle-aged woman asked, putting the cap on a pink pen and shutting the diary. She shook her hand, hoping to get the cramp out of her wrist. Indeed it was the fourth diary Megan Katryn Cleverly had been through in three weeks.
"Yes, yes," young Megan said vaguely. She disliked dictating her diary entries to her nanny, Katie, as well—but it was one of the best ways she could think of to annoy the woman (also, it ensured that all the words were spelled correctly).
"So what would her majesty like to do now?" Katie grumbled.
"Let's go fly a kite!"
"Megan, for the last time, you don't own a kite!" Katie groaned.
"So we'll make one!" Megan said, smiling brightly. "Don't forget, we're not cave people, we have technology! This is the 14th century!"
"Why, Megan. WHY do you always say that?!" Katie cried, at the end of her rope. "How many times have I told you? This is not the 14th century, it is the 21st!"
Megan shrugged. "Whatever. Let's go swimming."
"You shall go swimming, little Miss Cleverly, whilst I sit by and watch."
The young girl shrugged again. "Whatever."
A few minutes later, as they were trooping outside, Megan asked, "Katie, what time is my mom coming home today?"
"Great balls of fire! How am I to know, child?! That mother of yours can be about as unpredictable as Roseanne Barr! Last night she didn't get back until two!"
"In the morning?"
"Of course in the morning," Katie sighed. "You'd have seen her if she'd come home at two in the afternoon!"
"Oh yeah…"
So then, just as Katie was settling into her pool chair with a large smoothie in hand, Megan cannon-balled into the pool. The small girl sent a curiously large tidal wave of chlorine water onto her nanny, who just happened to be wearing white and had recently finished straightening her hair.
"THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!!" she bellowed, soaking wet, and throwing her drink into the air.
"No, it isn't," Megan said, watching the smoothie go flying into their neighbor's yard. "We just bought those bendy straws yesterday, remember?"
Katie stared incredulously at her. Then, throwing her arms up in frustration she yelled, "KIDS!" And with that, she turned on her heel and marched straight back into the house, leaving a heavy trail of dripping water behind her.
Megan hastily climbed out of the pool and tied a blue towel around her waist. She quickly attempted to wring all the water out of her blonde-brown hair, and then followed Katie back into the house—er, mansion.
"I am leaving you and this place forever!" Katie announced, getting out an old suitcase from her closet.
"Oh, you're going?" Megan asked, trying hard not to smile.
"Exactly! I wouldn't stay here another minute if you paid me!" …And then Katie remembered: she was being paid, and extremely well. She slowly opened her suitcase, staring at the wall before her in thought. Perhaps…she should just try it out a small while longer…the cash really was excellent…
But then, in a splendid show of horrid timing, a frog leapt out of the luggage and onto Katie's chest.
"…AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!"
"Are you sure you want to leave, Nana?" Megan asked, as the woman ran in circles around the room, positively shrieking about the amphibian on her bosom.
Then, in a display of praiseworthy nerve, Katie grabbed the frog and threw it out the window—much to Megan's astonishment. A loud splash told them it had landed in the swimming pool. Katie swiveled towards Megan, red and shaking. She pointed at her and said, "I will stay here until your mother returns, and then I shall be GONE! Forever! From both your lives! And may all the deities have mercy on your souls if I ever catch sight of you—either of you—EVER AGAIN!" So, wheezing like a wounded buffalo, Katie sat down by the window and promptly fell right asleep.
A few moments later, the telephone rang. Megan leapt out of her chair, flew down the stairs, and threw herself into the kitchen. Clumsily she picked up the phone and said, "Hello, this is Megan, who's this?"
"Hello dear, this is Impa, from next door!" said the voice into the phone. "Is your mother there?"
"No Mrs. Vaughn, she's at work," Megan sad. "Can I take mess-ige?"
"Sure," Impa laughed. "Just ask your mother to call me when she can, all right?"
"You got it dude."
Impa laughed again. "Good-bye, dear."
"Bye." Megan hung up the phone and slid off the counter stool. She grabbed a large sheet of paper and a blue marker and wrote "Misses Vawn" in large, bold letters. She stuck the note onto the refrigerator and ran to the 'music' room.
There was no way to annoy Katie if she was asleep, so Megan headed towards her xylophone. Grinning devilishly, she banged on the instrument as loudly as she could. "OH say can you seeee by the dawn's early liiiiiiiiight—"
"MEGAN! KATRYN! CLEVERLY!"
Katie had entered the room, once again shaking with rage. She seemed to have sprouted several gray hairs over the last few minutes. The look on the nanny's face would have scared a lesser child, but a daughter of Zelda Cleverly would fear no one (at least… they would not be scared right away).
"Yes, Katie?" she asked in her sweetest little girl voice.
"Don't you 'yes, Katie' me! Stop…that…racket!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"You don't fool me," Katie hissed, stepping closer. "Not for one second, missy! I can see exactly what you are—a stuck-up, spoilt brat! Why, if I was your mother, I wouldn't care about you either!"
This one struck a chord. "W-what do you mean?"
"Come off it, girl!" Katie scoffed with mirthless laughter. "You think your mother stays away because she has to? She just doesn't want to stay at home with you all day! Gott! If I was your mother, I'd…" She made a sickening violent motion with her hands, as if she couldn't find words harsh enough to verbalize her feelings.
Megan was trembling; she backed up fearfully as Katie advanced on her.
"Look at that!" the nanny said. "I've got a Cleverly scared! Can't think of nothing better than scaring a Cleverly!"
"How about when a Cleverly scares you?" came the very last voice Katie wanted to hear. She turned slowly on the spot and saw her formidable boss standing in the doorway. Zelda Cleverly walked briskly into the room, lips thin and eyes flashing dangerously. She dropped her bag with a loud crashing noise.
"Miss Lancaster," she said coldly. "I would kindly thank you to pack your things and leave my house—right now." Her voice was perilously quiet as she fixed her eyes, cold as two blocks of ice, on her (soon to be) ex-employee.
For once, Katie would've liked to retort smartly. She knew she was leaving anyway, but just once she wished she could give her boss a taste of her own medicine and snap back with something clever. Unfortunately for Katie, though, she was not the adjective Zelda's last name suggested, and howled this:
"Fine! Fine, then! I was leaving today anyhow, just ask that snotty little brat!"
Zelda turned slightly and Megan nodded. "Be that as it may, you've got no right to go about calling my daughter things like that."
"I've more a right than you do!" Katie dared screech. "Who's been the one staying with her at home for the past five months?! Who's she been dictating her diary to? Who's been taking her to school and bringing her home?? ME, that's who! Katie Elinor Lancaster! I know your daughter better than you do, Miss Cleverly!"
"How dare you insinuate something like that!" Zelda said through her teeth, clenching her fists because she had nothing else to do with her hands. She stalked towards Katie, heading her for the front door.
"I've just realized what your problem is," Katie said. "You are nothing but cold. There's not a single warm thing about you—how do you ever expect to find love?" She snorted a laugh. "No wonder that girl's father doesn't come around here—"
That's where she should've known to stop, but Katie didn't realize she'd gone too far until she felt Zelda slap her hard across the cheek.
"OUT!" Zelda shouted, thrusting the front door open. "GET OUT RIGHT THIS INSTANT! You'll be lucky if you ever get your luggage back, you ungrateful—"
"Ungrateful?! Where do you get off calling people un—"
"Don't you ever interrupt me, Katie Lancaster—I want you off this yard NOW!"
Looking daggers at the house, Katie turned and walked off down the pathway. The color drained from her face when she heard Zelda whistle shortly. The sound of four strong, padded feet was coming from Katie's right. Trent, the family Doberman, was no thundering towards her—teeth bared and looking about as safe as a charging rhino. Katie screamed and ran the rest of the way off the lawn, jumping the picket fence in front without much grace. Trent, who could have easily jumped the fence as well, stayed behind on Zelda's command.
"Yeah, you better run!" she yelled after Katie, over her dog's loud barks. "Good boy, Trent, c'mere…"
The Doberman happily trotted back towards Zelda and she scratched him adoringly behind the ears. It wasn't until he ducked under and went to cuddle Megan that Zelda remembered her daughter was there.
"Oh Megan," she sighed. "I wish you wouldn't do that."
"Do what?" the child asked, quickly lifting her hand off Trent's head.
"Terrorize all your nannies! Dear, I can't leave you alone all day and I have to be at work, I can't…can't…"
"Mom, why don't you love me?" Megan blurted out, her hazel eyes threatening to fill with tears.
"Oh no, Megan!" Zelda cried. She sank to her knees and hugged the girl very close to her. "I love you, of course I do! Whoever told you otherwise?"
"K-Katie did," Megan sobbed.
"Don't dwell on anything Katie ever said to you," Zelda whispered. "She's nothing but a b…" She caught herself just in time.
"A what?" Megan prompted her.
"A, um…" Zelda glanced at the dog. "Ask Trent."
Megan gave the Doberman a confused look, then followed her mother back into the house. "Why are you home so early, anyway?"
"You know the Topham case I was working on? Well, Mr. Topham decided to go and die unexpectedly in the night, so now we have to approach everything in an entirely different way." Zelda sighed loudly. "Dragmire was so mad; he just sent us all home early for today… sorry, it's difficult to explain. But I'll go back tomorrow."
"No, mommy, no," Megan begged. "Can't you stay home? Besides, Katie isn't here anymore to look after me!"
"Ah no, you're right…how'd you like to stay with the Vaughns until I can find a new nanny, huh?"
"Mom, they're old," Megan said, as if this was blatantly obvious.
"So? Impa's very nice."
"She called, by the way," Megan said, seeing the note she'd written earlier.
"Mmm, thanks," Zelda said, picking up the phone. "Man, can you believe I still don't have her number memorized?" Rifling through a lot of drawers, Zelda asked distractedly, "Any idea what Katie was going to make you for dinner tonight?"
"No."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to make something up, then."
"Mom," Megan said slowly, "you can't cook."
Zelda stopped searching to stare at her. "Excuse me, but what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Remember the time you burned water?"
"Megan, for the last time, it wasn't the water, it was that cheap, flimsy pan—oh, here it is." Zelda dialed Impa's number as Megan mouthed "water!" and raced out of the room, laughing.
"Hello?"
"Hi Impa, its Zelda. Megan said that you—"
"Oh Zelda, hello!" Impa cried ecstatically. "How ARE you?"
Groaning, Zelda sank into a kitchen chair. "Awful."
"Dear me, what's wrong?"
"I lost my temper and subsequently my nanny! And I have to be in the office tomorrow; but I can't leave Megan home alone!"
"You can leave her with me until you find a nanny," Impa said.
"Oh, you're so kind," Zelda sighed with relief. "Thanks a lot, I'll get a nanny as soon as I possibly can."
Suddenly, an idea entered Impa's mind. "Zelda, have you ever taken into consideration hiring a man?"
"A man?" Zelda repeated. "Are you kidding? You can't trust the male species any further than you can kick 'em."
Impa clicked her tongue. "Oh my dear, you can't go on judging them all like that. My son is absolutely wonderful, especially with kids!"
"Um, Impa…are you suggesting that I hire your son?"
"Zelda, he's young—"
"How young?"
"He's your age! He's looking for a job, and he'll be visiting tonight!"
"Really?"
"Yes; in fact, that's why I called you in the first place. Nick and I are throwing a little party, and I wanted to know if you could come!"
"A party?" Zelda asked blankly. "O-oh! It's your anniversary, isn't it?"
"Yep!"
"Oh, well happy anniversary, Impa!" Zelda said ruefully. "And you're having it tonight, you said?"
"Yes—and I want no gifts or anything like that. Seeing you and Megan will be quite enough." Impa chuckled. "I've been trying to reach you all week, but the line's always been busy."
"Er, right, sorry. So you'll introduce me to your son, then?"
"Yes, yes," Impa assured her. "I just know Megan will adore him, he's such a sweet-heart, really!"
"Um, all right, I guess I can give him a shot. So what time do you want to have us there by, Impa?"
"Oh, an hour in change."
"Whoa, okay. See you then, uh, then."
"Bye."
"Bye." Zelda hung up the phone, then walked towards the living room, where Megan was playing the national anthem on her xylophone again.
"—but the flag was still theeeeere!"
"Megan, I have a question," Zelda sighed sitting down in a Lay-Z-boy.
"What is it, mom?"
"How would you feel about having a guy for a nanny?"
Megan stared at her. "A guy? For a nanny?"
"You could call him a nanno if you thought it'd sound more masculine," Zelda told her, stifling a yawn. "He's Mrs. Vaughn's son, and she says that he loves kids."
"Katie said that, too," Megan reminded her mother.
"Look, we're going over to the Vaughns' tonight, and then you and I can both meet him, okay? We can decide there."
"Hmm…okay!" Megan agreed. "Mom, do you have time to read to me?"
"Sorry, no," Zelda replied, standing up quickly. "I want to take a bath and review some briefs before we go. Be ready in an hour."
"Oh…kay." And so, for the next sixty minutes, Megan banged on her xylophone and struggled to get past the first page of Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day.
So that night:
"Ah, Zelda my dear, so glad you could come!" Impa welcomed them. "Come in, please, come in!"
"Happy anniversary, Impa," Zelda said, guiding Megan over the threshold.
"Oh, thank you, dear," Impa said modestly. She bent down slightly and said, "Well, if it isn't Megan Cleverly—if you don't grow just prettier every time I see you! How are you, sweetheart?"
"Good," Megan said, shrugging. "Is Leo here?"
"My goodness honey, he isn't," Impa said sympathetically. "But there's a splendid young fellow your age in the backyard named Mido. Why don't you—"
Zoom. Megan had already made a beeline for the back door.
"She has eyes like her aunt's," Impa remarked to Zelda, straightening.
"Hm, you mean Vivien? Yes, I suppose she does," Zelda said. "Viv's used to be a lot greener, though—then they sort of got bluer, you know…?"
Meanwhile, outside:
"Dude, I still can't believe you live here."
"Why's it so hard to believe, Link?"
"I dunno…I guess I just always assumed that Mido Bowman was the type who'd end up living in Wisconsin or Maine, or something…not surf city."
"Wisconsin?" Mido repeated in shock as Link laughed. "Geez, you're weird—hey, kiddo, watch it!"
"Sorry dad," Mido (Jr.—I know, hokey) apologized, stepping hastily away from a large pool of mud.
"So anyway, what're you doing out here, Link?" Mido asked. "Last I heard, you were still living in New York."
"I was," Link said. "In the same complex as Raissa Betsky, actually." He paused. "Strangely enough, I think she followed me here, ha, ha."
"You mean that cute little Brazilian girl?"
"The very same."
Mido whistled. "I think she liked you." Pause. "I think a lot of girls liked you; you seeing anyone now?"
"If I was, it wouldn't be very tactful of me to move to the other freaking side of the country now, would it?" Link said dryly. "Anyhow, I'm out here looking for a job."
"You moved to California to look for a job?" Mido asked, raising his eyebrows. "What do we have that New York doesn't, Disneyland?"
Looking slightly perturbed, Link glanced around to make sure nobody was listening in. "All right, I'll tell you the truth…my old man's getting sort of… difficult to be around, according to my mom. Dunno why it took her so long to figure out; I've thought so since I was two. Anyway, she hinted that she'd feel safer if I was around…"
"Well how nice of you," Mido said, rolling up his right sleeve. "But let's see if you've got the stuff to keep her safe. Go on, Vaughn, arm wrestle!"
"To challenge me is to admit defeat before you have begun," Link said, smirking. Indeed it seemed as though the moment their hands had made contact, Mido's had already hit the table.
He swore and rubbed his fingers. "Man, you still haven't lost that vise grip!"
"Nope!...say, who's that little blonde girl playing with your kid over there?" Link asked with interest.
Mido turned and squinted. "I think she's—"
"She's mine," a voice from behind Link answered. He turned around to find himself looking up at none other than…he had no idea who, but she was an incredibly beautiful person at that.
"Oh hi, Zelda," Mido said.
"Hello," Zelda said back, but was looking rather at Link (to his slight surprise) instead of Mido. "Are you Nick and Impa's son?"
"Yeah," he answered, still a little baffled that she was talking to him. He then got to his feet and offered his hand. "Link Vaughn."
Zelda shook his hand, gazing briefly at his attire: a faded leather jacket and faded jeans. "I hear you're looking for a job near your parents?"
"Oh yeah," Link said.
"Mido, would you mind giving us a few minutes?" Zelda asked.
"Sure," Mido obliged, getting quickly out of his chair. "I'll go keep an eye on the Rugrats, huh?"
Not cracking even the tiniest smile, the icy blonde took Mido's seat. "Zelda Cleverly, attorney at law."
"Um…" He wondered what on Earth a lawyer could want with him.
"That's my daughter over there," Zelda said, nodding towards Megan.
"You mean the one attacking Mido with a stick?" Link asked pointedly.
"Yes, that's the one," Zelda said, dismissing this act of light violence as if it was unimportant. "Anyway, I've got a problem and I was wondering if you could help me out." Zelda leaned forward in a very business-like manner and put her fingertips together. Link determinedly looked back at her face, not allowing his gaze to wander to her crossed legs, where a vast amount of skin was showing. "I work many hours of the day, and I usually leave a nanny home with my daughter. However, my last one has only just left us on account of, erm…family matters."
Realization seemed to dawn on Link's expression. "So…"
"Your mother tells me you're good with kids," Zelda continued. "And so I was wandering if you'd be interested in watching mine."
Link glanced back over at Megan. She was now laughing and playing leap frog with Mido's kid. Then he looked back at Zelda, who had been gazing intently at him.
"Say I take the job," Link said. "What would be the conditions?"
Zelda seemed to relax a little. "Well, you'd be living in my house, which is the one just over there." She turned and pointed to the mini-mansion behind them. "So you'd be very close to your parents. When Megan starts school in September, I'd need you to drop her off and pick her up…but seeing as how it's summer currently, Megan usually likes to go places such as the zoo, park, museums, and things like that. And you'd probably have to be the one to take her there. Can you cook?"
"Well, I'm no Emeril, but I guess yeah, I could cook."
"Great. I have a cleaning maid come in every Wednesday to, well, clean, and she used to have to leave meals for each week, because my last nanny couldn't cook." Zelda cleared her throat. "Megan—that's my daughter—requires a firm hand, to be honest. Don't take her too lightly. But she can also be positively sweet if you handle her in the correct fashion."
"Mom, mom, lookit this!" Megan cried from the opposite side of the yard. She got a running start, and then cart wheeled right into Mido. Link burst out laughing.
"Very good, Megan," Zelda called to her (still not smiling, Link noticed). "Just be sure to stop when he's still breathing." She turned back to Link. "Also, if I ever have a free night, I usually—er—leave Megan with your mother and take my… sitters out to dinner. Catch up on how things are going."
Leaning back in his chair, Link pondered this. The kid was probably nothing he couldn't handle, and was cute to boot. He had been very bored lately, sitting around at home doing nothing all day. The best job offer he'd gotten so far was working at a butterfly pavilion, which he wasn't all that interested in. Being paid to take some kid to the zoo really didn't seem all that bad. Also, he thought, he wouldn't really mind going to dinner with Zelda now and then and have people get the wrong idea bout them…
"Okay," he finally said. "I already know the hours, what's the—"
"2600 a week," Zelda answered breathlessly. "And there's also a very nice Christmas bonus, should you decide to stay during the time."
Wow. "So what does Megan's father do?" Link asked conversationally.
"We've been divorced for five and a half years," Zelda said. "I haven't seen him for at least two or three. I don't know what he's up to."
"Oh…sorry."
"Don't be."
Awkward…
"Are you interested in the job? I can give you a trial, if you want."
"You know what, I think I will take it," Link said. "I've been getting incredibly sucky job offers around here like you wouldn't believe. When do I start?"
"Is tomorrow too soon?"
He masked his surprise and said, "Oh, no, that's fine. No problem."
And for the first time that night, Zelda broke into a smile—a dazzling, beautiful, captivating smile that went splendidly with the sigh she issued. But then it was gone, almost as quickly as it had come. "That's excellent," she said. "Really, really just great." Slowly Zelda got to her feet and Link instinctively followed suit. "Shall I introduce her to you, then?"
"Probably a good idea," Link said with a nod.
Zelda strode down the backyard towards where her daughter was waving a worm at Midos Sr. and Jr.
"Megan," Zelda sighed. "Drop the worm and come over here. There's someone I'd like you to meet."
Megan obediently put down the writhing insect and skipped over to her mother. She was wearing a pair of sand-colored corduroys and a green T-shirt that brought out the color of her eyes. She looked up at Link, as if waiting for him to say something.
"This is Link Vaughn," Zelda said. "Nick and Impa's son. He's going to be your new, er… guardian."
"What's your middle name?" Megan asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
Zelda sighed with exasperation and gave Link a somewhat apologetic look. "She never trusts anyone without knowing their middle name first. Don't ask me why!"
"Oh. Um…" Link looked a little embarrassed. "My middle name is Wingfield."
"Wingfield?" Megan repeated.
"Yeah."
"That's an interesting middle name," Zelda commented. "Slightly familiar, too."
"I know what you're thinking," Link said, putting his hands in his pockets. "It came from The Glass Menagerie, yeah. My mom played Amanda in it in her senior year and was rather…attached to it."
"Huh," was all Zelda had to say.
There was a moment of silence, and then Link said, "So Megan, do you want some help tackling Mido the older over there?"
Megan's face broke into a big smile. "Sure!"
Zelda watched as this man took off with her daughter, appearing to be headed towards Mido. Sighing, the young lawyer walked back into the Vaughn house.
"So did you find Link, my dear?" Impa asked excitedly.
"Oh yes, I did," Zelda said, nodding. "I've actually started him already."
"Why, that's wonderful!" Impa cried, clasping her hands together. "Thank you so much, Zelda, it's so kind of you to do this for him!"
Somebody snorted behind them before she could reply. It was Nick. "My son's a bum," he said frankly. "He'll be back at our door mid-afternoon tomorrow, 'cause you'll already have fired him!"
"Nick!" Impa said, looking mortified.
Zelda eyed the drink in Nick's hand and one whiff of his breath was enough explanation as to why he was talking in this manner.
"It's true!" Nick insisted in his slightly drunken state. "Just ask Rice-a—she'll tell you, all right!"
"What's Raissa told you?" Impa queried, folding her arms and frowning.
"She told me nothin' yet, but they went to school together, didn't they? I bet she's got loads of dirt on him! And just look—she's a 'cleaning lady' and's already higher up on the social ladder than our son!"
"Nick, I want you to go upstairs," Impa said in a dangerous whisper. "You're being simply disgraceful."
Zelda had heard this conversation before, somewhere else…she knew what Nick was going to say next.
"You think I give a hang about what you want?" he asked, looking baffled. "Hey, someone's at the door; I'll go attend to them—you stay here with this piece of jail bait."
Impa's mouth dropped open in horror as Nick shuffled off. "Zelda, I am so sorry about that—"
She held up a hand to stop the old woman. "It's okay, Mrs. Vaughn, really it is. I understand. I do."
The awkwardness was broken when Mido approached them, breathing loudly.
"My Heavens!" Impa gasped. "What on Earth happened to you, my dear boy?!"
"Your son," Mido chuckled. "Zelda, could I have a word?"
"Oh sure…see you 'round, Impa."
Mido led Zelda over to a bay window. "You hired him on the spot?" he asked, wasting no time in getting to the point.
Zelda sighed. "I'm just… I just need to see how he is with my daughter," she said. "And I really need a sitter for tomorrow, anyway. It's kind of a favor for Impa, as well."
"You could just leave Melanie with me, you know."
"Yes, well, I hate to be frank, Mido, but…Megan doesn't seem to like you very much. Besides, she has a tendency to pick on her nannies and I think that Lyle might be able to soften her up a little bit—I mean, she just might be a little more respectful of a guy like him."
"What makes you say Link is more intimidating than me?" Mido asked. Zelda's reply was a very cynical expression. "Okay, okay, don't answer that…but did you even ask for a résumé?"
"No, I don't have the time!" Zelda said, almost laughing in disbelief. "Look, Mido, it's just twenty-four hour baby-sitting. He doesn't have to be a rocket scientist or a neurosurgeon! He just has to be good with kids."
Mido knew he couldn't argue with that. "Okay…but we went to high school together, you know, and Link…"
He went on to talk about who Link hung out with, the clothes he wore, his womanizing ways, his attitudes towards teachers…but Zelda wasn't listening. She was watching Link run around the backyard with Megan on his back; she was laughing like she'd never laughed before.
"…and then this one time, I heard he spat in the principal's f—"
"Mido," Zelda eventually interrupted, sounding weary. "It's very nice of you to be telling me all this, but uh…what's your point?"
"My point," he said, clearing his throat, "is that I don't think he can be trusted in a house as nice as yours and you don't even know his name."
"It's Link, okay?! I remember now. Don't be a hypocrite—you're the one who wants me to leave my daughter with you, and you don't recall HER name!"
"I do too! It's…Molly!"
"No."
"Deb?"
"That's my sister."
"Terra."
"Another sister. You were closer the first time."
He thought back to what his first guess had been. "Dolly? Margot? Mellie? Millie? Manny? Mary? Montesquie?"
Rolling her eyes, Zelda started to walk away, Mido still yelling random names after her: "Marina! Meryl! Becky! Darlene! Rumpelstiltskin!"
"Try Malon," said a voice near Zelda.
The blonde turned and gasped in surprise. "Malon!"
"That's what the call me," the red-head laughed, giving her friend a hug. "Hey, girl! Long time, no see."
"True, true. What brings you here?"
Malon shrugged. "I decided I needed a break. A vacation, sort of."
"So how long have you been here?"
"Oh, about a week or two," Malon replied.
"And you haven't come to see me 'til now?" Zelda asked, sounding incredulous but not angry. "Why, where are you staying?"
"With my grandparents, until I can secure a job," Malon sighed. "I'm thinking of doing something part-time while I'm here; might as well try to scrape some extra cash before heading home. Goddesses, you've never been stuck with such boring people!—but then, if it wasn't for my grandmother's knitting club, I wouldn't have met Impa, and then I wouldn't be here. Oh man, you wouldn't believe what Impa and my grandma made me do last night."
"What?"
"Watch Driving Miss Daisy with them. Four. Times."
"In a row?"
"In a row. It's actually not that bad a movie, but four freakin' times! Four times!"
"I'm sorry, Malon."
"Just wait 'til you hear about tomorrow. A marathon of 'The Waltons.'"
"Oh, Din!" Zelda cried, almost laughing. She snapped her fingers. "I've got an idea! You can stay with me! I've got plenty of room in my house!"
"You…you do?" Malon asked.
"Yeah! Only…only I'm not really home all that much…work, y'know, but you'd still be SO welcome there!"
"Wow, Zelda, that's so nice!" Malon gushed. "Gosh, how can I thank you?!"
"Really, Mal, it's no big deal."
"I'll be gone as soon as I get a job, I swear!" Malon assured her. "Do you know anywhere looking to hire?"
Zelda's face lit up briefly, then she suddenly looked very sad. "I had a position open but it got filled like, less than five minutes ago!"
"You're joking!" Malon gasped, clutching her head in shock.
"Oh Mal, I'm so sorry!" Zelda whimpered. "Had I known you were here…"
"What was the job, anyway?" Malon asked, hoping she wouldn't be too sorry.
"Sitting my daughter," Zelda responded. "It requires that you be at my house 24/7, and many, you'd have been perfect!"
"No, it's okay, actually," Malon said thoughtfully. "I mean, I'm not even going to be here all that long, and besides that I'm awful with kids by myself. I feel weird around them, really. I don't think I'd have been very good."
"Yes, Megan can be…a bit rowdy," Zelda said. She nodded at the window. "She's the blonde one with the green shirt."
"Oh, she's adorable!" Malon squeaked. "I mean, any kid of yours and… of yours would have to be, right?"
Zelda snorted. "You flatter me."
"No, seriously!" Malon insisted. "Remember when you were a freshman, five guys asked you to the Senior prom??"
"One for every last name I ever had," Zelda muttered.
Malon went on, apparently not having heard the comment. "Your sister Vivien won the tri-county beauty contest four years in a row, and the only time she ever lost was the one year Terra did it!"
A faint, sad, smile found its way onto Zelda's lips. She remembered all the bouquets Vivien had ever won for being so beautiful. All the money, the ribbons, and the gorgeous flowers. Every time she won, people had told Vivien she should be a model or an actress. But Viv held firmly to her beliefs (her number one being that she said she'd probably never even make the cut for a soap opera). Vivien's goal was to become a doctor, and she went through medical school and was now the loveliest, top pediatrician in the state of Arkansas. ….
"You should enter, Zelda," Vivien advised, putting her newly won roses in a black vase. "I'm sure you could beat me!"
"No, I don't think so," Zelda, a shy fourteen, replied. "I'm not pretty."
"Not pretty?" Vivien repeated, looking scandalized. "Honey, of course you are! Just yesterday, I heard Aaron say that Sara Hamilton's sister Emily heard that boy—that boy you like—liiiikes yooouu!"
"Marth Mulloy?" Zelda asked, turning pink with excitement and biting her lip. "Really? H-he said that?"
Zelda touched her head and came back to the present. For a moment she couldn't even think of what they'd been talking about, but then Malon said, "Seriously, Zel, she's really cute." The expression on her face changed. "Ooh…but not quite as cute as the guy carrying her around. Who IS that?"
"That's my new nanny," Zelda answered stoically, not looking.
Malon laughed. Really loud. "You must be kidding me."
"I jest you not," Zelda said, holding up her hands resignedly. "He's Impa's son and I've only just hired him."
"What a catch!" Malon breathed. "He's gorgeous!"
"C'mon, Malon," Zelda snorted.
"You should've hired a male nanny a long time ago," Malon informed her. "Level with me. Did you hire him in hopes of hooking up with him later on?"
"What—no!" Zelda said honestly. "I told you, it's because he's Impa's son and he seems like a nice guy. There, look how good he is with Megan."
Malon gave her friend a sideways glance. "Do you ever…"
"No," Zelda whispered. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm not interested in finding a man right now. I haven't the time. Besides, who'd want someone like me?"
"Don't talk about yourself that way," Malon said. "You just leave the guy to me, okay? What's his name, anyhow?"
Zelda smirked. "Link Wingfield Vaughn."
A/N: Wow, that was…not very good. Ha, ha, I love how emo this story is. Thanks for reading! (and oh…yeah, I know Link's parents have real names but I decided to just use Impa for my story's sake. (oh, and Darkide, gotta love Cary Grant…)