Live In Position

by Sadie Grubor

  Reaching the top of the steps I looked down and saw the mass of people. I caught a glimpse of Miranda half way down the staircase and smiled widely. When I stepped off the bottom step I could feel eyes on me and reflexively looked in the direction. Dr. Bishop was standing in the room across from the stairs with his brother. Both of them with a drink in their hand, but there was another man with blond hair as well. I turned from Dr. Bishop's gaze and headed toward the crowd in the foyer.

  "Rand!" I hugged her. "You look so freaking cute." Miranda was standing in a Jasmine costume, her mid-drift exposed and a long black wig on her head with the gold band.

  "And you...wow...Sophia you look amazing." She motioned for me to turn around.

  "I'll say." I turned and saw Lucas who was standing next to Benji. Benji was dressed to match Miranda, of course, in an Aladdin costume. Lucas was dressed as one of the Disney princes, but I couldn't tell you which one. I smiled.

  "Thanks." He walked forward and took my glove covered hand, kissing my knuckles. I heard a familiar giggle and turned around to see Victoria watching the exchange with a large smile.

  "Are you spying on me?" I poked her ribs with my pointer finger. She shook her head laughing.

  "Sophia," I looked up and saw Ella. Then I took in her, Albert, and Rachel's costumes.

  "You've got your own tribe huh?" I laughed and she nodded. Then the three of them broke into that Native American Indian call you hear on old westerns. I laughed harder.

  "This is William." Ella pointed to a tall guy with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. "He works for Mr. and Mrs. Bedford."

  "It's nice to meet you." I smiled and took in his costume along with the two small boys that were with him. They all had on tight black costumes with red headbands, swords, and nun chucks, ninjas.

  "You too, Ella has been talking a lot about you. It's nice to put a face with the name." He smiled warmly. "This is Michael and Gregory, Allison and Jonathan's children."

  I turned to a girl with light brown curly hair.

  "I'm Amber," she put her hand out. "I'm Dr. and Mrs. Bishop's nanny." She leaned in and whispered, "Larissa and Max." I smiled.

  "Pleasure to meet you Amber," Amber was dressed in a cheerleader uniform and little Ryan was in a full football outfit. "I'm Sophia, obviously." I felt like an idiot. She laughed.

  "I know. Ella has been talking a lot about you."

  "You guys are making me sound like a stalker." Ella protested and they laughed. "Don't make me sick my Indians on you." She threatened.

  "Bring it," William laughed. "Show her boys." All three of them took a ninja pose and made a 'hoowah' noise as the chopped the air with their hands. We all started laughing.

  "Okay, so let's get going." I announced. "Someone who knows what the heck we are doing, please lead the way."

  "Wait, wait…" Larissa hurried the best she could into the foyer. "I want pictures." Her smile was bright and perfect. Max moved up behind her quickly.

  "Honey, please don't move around so quickly." He rubbed her belly.

  "Nonsense," she swatted his hand away and pulled her camera up to her face.

  Amber and Ryan posed together, then all the kids posed together, and Amber took a picture of Ryan with his parents. Larissa kissed all the kids on the top of the head before telling them to have fun.

  "Who are you?" I looked down when I heard Victoria's question. She was standing with her head tilted and looking at a curly brown haired girl, who was clinging to Miranda.

  "This is Vanessa, but you can call her Nessa." Miranda knelt down. "Nessa, this is Victoria. Remember I told you about her?" Vanessa nodded her head.

  "What are you dressed as?" Victoria tried to see the whole costume.

  "Dorothy," Nessa whispered out.

  "OH...like the Wizard of Oz!" She smiled and looked up to me happily. "I love the shoes!" We all looked down at the shiny glitter red shoes Nessa was wearing.

  "Me too," I knelt down, "Can I borrow those some time?" I winked at her.

  "Your feet are too big," Victoria laughed.

  "Hey," I laughed back at her. I stood up.

  "So, everyone ready?" There were mumbles and screams of yes from the kids.

  "Let's go Trick or Treat ourselves into candy comas," I shouted and we all headed out the door.

  I was waiting for everyone to walk out before I closed the door, but Lucas had waited with me and held the door for me.

  We walked the streets of the upscale neighborhood, half of the kids being driven around on golf carts instead of walking. I really didn't know what to think about that. My evening was spent laughing with the adults and watching over the kids. By the end of the evening there had to be over a ton of candy in all of the bags, a million pictures taken, as well as some very exhausted kids.

  Miranda and Benji left with a very tired Nessa as soon as we got back to the house. Ella and William came inside to go through the candy, and Amber had left a little over halfway through trick or treating when Ryan fell asleep in his stroller.

  Arriving back to the house we found Mrs. Baker sitting on the doorstep passing out Halloween treats.

  "Oh my, look at you all!" She giggled, stood, and moved quickly to grab Victoria into her arms, "Hey there mermaid girl."

  "I'm Ariel," Victoria corrected with a giggle.

  "I'm so sorry princess Ariel." Mrs. Baker kissed her head and set her back on her feet. Then she turned and looked at the rest of us. "You guys look amazing." She focused on me. "Can I just say 'wow' Sophia? This costume is amazing on you!" She pulled me into a hug.

  "It's Princess Sophia to you," I teased. She swatted me lightly on my butt as I walked passed and into the house with Victoria.

  I learned the Bishop family was attending a charity even that evening, hence the tuxedos and gowns. Since it seemed pretty clear it would be a late night for the Bishops, we all huddled around the living room floor and dumped out the candy. Going through it all I was overwhelmed with the things that they had gotten.

  "Jeesh, when I was a kid I got apples, some candy bars, gum..." I drifted off.

  "It's crazy right?" Ella looked at me with a smirk.

  "I mean who the heck gives out Toys R Us gift cards?" I held up the card.

  "That would be the Vandermeyer's." I looked at William. "They do it every year."

  "Well...heck...can I tell them when my birthday is?" I laughed.

  "They send me birthday presents." Victoria looked up at me with a smile.

  I ruffled her hair and smiled at her.

  After everyone left, I gave Victoria a bath and got her into bed. Then it was my turn to finally wash out the hairspray and scrub off the make-up and glitter. Stepping out of the hot shower I felt completely refreshed. When I climbed into bed around midnight my body collapsed into the large bed and down comforter.

  The weekend was quiet. Victoria was oddly less energetic. Sunday afternoon I spent with my father before I met Miranda, Benji, and Lucas for dinner. It was a nice evening and went till about eleven at night. Before I went to bed that night I checked on Victoria.

  Monday morning she was a lot more tired than usual and when I tried to help her get dressed I could feel the heat pouring off of her in waves. Quickly I had her back on her bed and the thermometer in her ear. With the sound of the beep I looked and saw it was almost one hundred and three degrees, so I called the doctor number in the binder.

  Around eleven in the morning I had her in a comfortable outfit and in the car heading to the doctor. On arrival she was taken back and seen. After some tests he determined it was strep. He gave her a shot and sent home prescription for cough. I also received instructions on ibuprofen doses for fever and other things. I got her back into bed and made her some soup, which she ate very little of before she went back to sleep.

  I had decided to sleep on the couch in her room so I could be close to her. It was around two in the morning when her coughing attack began. I could hear the congestion in her cough and chest.

  Grabbing
her cough medicine from her bathroom, I poured out the correct dose and then coaxed her into taking it. I gave her a drink of water and lay her back down on elevated pillows. Her coughing subsided but I could still hear the rattle in her breathing.

  In the hall closet I searched on my hands and knees until I found a vaporizer. I was thankful to find it was a cool mist one; though with a doctor for a father I would hope he knew this one was better. I was standing up from the floor with the vaporizer in my hands when he scared me.

  "Is there something the matter with her?" I gasped and spun around, almost dropping the vaporizer on the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly.

  "She has strep throat." I panted, still trying to catch my breath from him startling me.

  "Did you take her to see the doctor?" His brow furrowed.

  I nodded.

  "Yes, he gave her a shot of penicillin and a prescription." I lifted the vaporizer up. "I am just going to get this going to help with her congestion and cough." I closed the closet door with my foot and headed back to her room.

  I plugged in the base of the vaporizer, inserted the filter, and then took the top into her bathroom to fill with water. Stepping out of the bathroom I saw Dr. Bishop standing at the end of Victoria's bed looking down at her. Taking one deep breath, I walked toward the vaporizer base next to her bed and put the top on it before turning on the machine.

  Once it started I stood up and turned. He was still standing there, but he was looking at the couch.

  "Is that where you are sleeping?" His tone was as cold and monotone as usual.

  "Yes. I wanted to be able to hear her if she needs me." I walked toward the couch.

  "There are monitors in the wall that allow you to hear in your room." He looked at me puzzled.

  "I prefer to be here if she needs me." I said in a flat tone as I sat on the couch. I looked up to him. "The doctor's papers are in your mail slot on your office door." He stood there saying nothing. "Was there anything else?"

  I saw him stiffen up and watched his fists clench.

  "No." He said and then briskly walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  With a loud sigh I threw myself back onto the couch and pulled the covers over my head. That night I was up almost every hour with Victoria's coughing. I finally just got into bed with her once her fever broke.

  She stayed home for three days before she was finally able to get back to school on Thursday. I was internally doing a happy dance that this was my whole weekend off. I really needed some sleep and to get out with some adults.

  However, Friday arrived and after I took Victoria to school, I felt like crap; complete and utter crap. I felt light headed, tired, hot, and just completely irritable. Once I got back to the house I took some medicine and tried a nap. When I woke up my throat was itchy and irritated, along with my congested sinuses. With a groan I headed down to make some soup and tea. In the middle of making soup I had lay my body over the cold marble counter top.

  "Ahem." Slowly I pulled my head up and squinted until I focused on Dr. Bishop leaning in the doorway. With a groan I just put my head back down. "Not feeling well?" Maybe it was the cold medicine, but I swore I heard humor in his voice.

  "I'll be fine." I croaked out. The microwave beeped and I drug myself over to it, pulling out the mug of soup before heading back up to my room. I hadn't even cared enough to excuse myself from the room. I just pushed past him to get to my room.

  Having fallen asleep again after the soup I was woke by a knock on my bedroom door. I jolted up, but then had to brace myself from the dizziness flooding my head.

  "Whoa..." I groaned and closed my eyes.

  "Come in." My eyes snapped open and shifted to where the voice came from. I felt my eyes widen as they landed on Dr. Bishop sitting in the corner of my room with his laptop on the table in front of him. I heard the door open, but didn't even look. I was still too fixated on the fact he was in my room, while I had been sleeping. How long had he been here?

  "Ah, Harold, thank you for coming over so quickly." He stood up and walked over to a black haired gentleman with a black leather bag.

  "It's been awhile since I made a house call." The man chuckled.

  "Well, I appreciate it." Dr. Bishop released his hand.

  "I take it this is my patient." He turned his cool gray eyes on me with a smile.

  "Yes, this is Sophia, Victoria's new nanny." Dr. Bishop turned his intense green eyes on me as well. I began to feel uncomfortable under their stares.

  "So, my dear Sophia, tell me what's going on." He sat on the edge of the bed.

  "It's just a cold." I forced a smile. "I'll be fine." I turned to look at the alarm clock next to my bed. "Crap!" I threw the cover's back, not caring that my shorts were way too short and I didn't have a bra on.

  "Sophia? What are you doing?" Dr. Bishop moved to the side of the bed I stood from. I couldn't answer because the wave of dizziness that overtook me. All I could focus on was trying not to fall over. Hands grabbed onto my elbow and hip.

  "Sit down." His tone was forceful and slightly startled me. The warmth from his hands radiated through my clothing and deep into my skin.

  "I have to pick Victoria up from school." I croaked as he sat me onto the bed. I put my head in my hands to stop the room from spinning.

  "You are in no condition to drive dear." I heard the older man's voice behind me.

  "Victoria is taken care of. William will pick her up." Dr. Bishop's voice sounded closer.

  "Please lie down." I did as the older gentlemen requested. I felt his cold hand on my head and opened my eyes to look up at him. "I'm Dr. Vaughn, by the way." He had a large thin lipped smile.

  "Pleasure to meet you," I croaked.

  "Open up," he held a light in my face. I opened my mouth and he looked at my throat, ears, nose, and then took my temperature. "You said Victoria just got over strep, right?" He looked over me to Dr. Bishop. He must have silently answered him, because I didn't hear anything. "Well, dear, it seems Victoria has shared her germs with you." He smirked down at me. "Are you allergic to any medicines?"

  I shook my head.

  "Alright, well I am going to give you a penicillin shot and leave you with some cough medicine. You can use Motrin or Tylenol for the fever." I felt the pinch in my arm and then heard the bottles as he set them on the table next my bed. "If any other symptoms arise, please call me."

  "Okay," I rasped. Dr. Bishop answered at the same time. Too tired to even care about Dr. Bishop, I rolled over to my side and fell back to sleep.

  I woke up around two in the morning with my first coughing attack. After I couldn't take it any longer I rolled out of bed and got a drink of water from the bathroom. I returned to the bed and stopped in my tracks when I saw Dr. Bishop standing in my open doorway.

  "I, uh...I just got a drink of water." I choked out and then started coughing horribly.

  Ignoring him for the moment I crawled across my bed and grabbed the cough syrup. Not even taking the time to measure it out, I simply put the open bottle to my mouth and gulped. It was quickly followed with a large drink of water. That stuff tasted nasty. When I looked back to the door Dr. Bishop was gone. I breathed in relief and lie myself back down on the bed. The next morning I woke to Mrs. Baker bringing in hot tea and toast. I smiled.

  "Thank you," I coughed.

  "Of course" she smiled down at me and brushed hair off of my forehead.

  "Sophia," Victoria ran in and jumped on the bed, crawling up to lay down with me.

  "Hey you," I pulled her into a hug.

  "You aren't dying are you?" she looked at me with concern.

  "No." I laughed with a cough. "I feel like it, but I'm not I promise."

  She smiled. "Nanny swear?"

  "Nanny swear." I grinned and turned to Mrs. Baker. "Who is taking her to school?"

  "I believe Dr. Bishop is dropping her off this morning and William is picking her up. Once she is home I will keep an eye on her." She smiled and rubbed my arm.


  "You shouldn't have to –"

  "Nonsense, you just get better." She scolded like a mother. "Come Victoria, we need to get you some breakfast." Victoria leaned up and kissed my cheek before following Mrs. Baker out of my room. I fell back to sleep.

  The weekend I had been excited for turned into me staying in bed; however, the fact that Dr. Bishop was home all weekend was odd. Of course I didn't know what he did on my weekends off, but I didn't think he stayed home. Victoria on the other hand was not home at all. It was weird to be here without her.

  I woke up late Saturday morning feeling a little better, but still awfully congested. I tried a hot shower to feel human again and it worked a little. After drying off and brushing my wet hair, I slipped into another pair of cotton shorts and t-shirt.

  Deciding I didn't want another day in bed, I walked out to the living room of my suite and stopped when I saw Dr. Bishop sitting at the small table and chairs at the far side of the room. He had his laptop on the table and was talking on his cell phone.

  Quietly I made my way to the couch and curled up with a throw pillow and blanket, grabbing the television remote. I turned on the TV and his attention turned to me. I heard him mumble something and then he set his phone on the table.

  "Good morning."

  I looked over to him and forced a smile.

  "Morning." I turned back to the TV.

  "Are you feeling okay?" He stood and walked toward me.

  "Yes, much better. Thank you." I smiled at him. "You know, for the doctor and –"

  "Couldn't have you running around sick," It was his normal cold tone.

  "No, I guess not." I responded and turned back to the television.

  He cleared his throat and I could see his posture stiffen.

  "You were, ummm, talking in your sleep last night. Are you sure you are feeling alright?"

  I put my face in my hands.

  "Yes." I turned to look at him. "What did I say?"

  He actually cracked half of a smile. I thought for a moment he might be having a stroke, before I realized that his smile was crooked.

  "Something about ridiculous gift cards and step ford wives."