Live-In Position

by V. S. Tice

  “Hey, you,” I hurried toward her, no longer caring about my wet hair. “Did you sleep okay?”

  She shrugged. “Is she still here?”

  “No, well, I don’t think so. Would that be so terrible?” I put my arm around her.

  She shrugged again. “I don’t know her. What if she doesn’t like me?”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” I pulled her into a tight hug. “There’s no way she won’t love you.” I kissed the top of her head and then realized, perhaps, I was encouraging her fantasy of me being her mother. Mentally, I debated with myself and then thought…“Screw it!” and continued rocking her on my lap.

  “Let’s head down for some breakfast, okay?”

  She nodded and silently followed me downstairs.

  Breakfast remained quiet. We spent the day relaxing and playing board games. I figured small moments together would be better than any large to-do. We were playing ‘Go Fish’ in the kitchen when someone entered the house.

  “Collin, you can’t honestly be agreeing to see her?” Allison’s nagging voice caused me to stiffen.

  “Allison…” he hissed in a warning tone. “She’s Victoria’s mother, for god’s sake.”

  “That bitch left her and you years ago. She is selfish trash. You knew the low class whore you were getting when you picked her up at that raunchy bar. I don’t know what you ever saw in that–”

  “Allison,” Collin’s voice was raised and irritated.

  “Hey…”

  Victoria’s head snapped up with wide teary eyes.

  “Why don’t we finish this upstairs?”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll get the cards, you head up.”

  I watched her hop up and hurry toward the back stairs. I was shoving the cards in their case when Allison’s heels click-clacked against the tile floor. My back was to her. I clenched my eyes shut, taking a deep breath. He didn’t have to speak for me to also feel his presence in the room.

  “Oh, and perhaps you should do something about Sophia and her inappropriate relationship with Victoria,” she spat.

  Slowly releasing a breath, I walked away from the kitchen. Victoria’s quick intake of breath and small sob gave way she was there before she ran past me and back into the kitchen.

  “No, Aunt Allison! No, Daddy, no! You can’t take Sophia away from me! Please, please don’t listen to Aunt Allison. She’s wrong!” Victoria screeched and flung herself at Collin’s leg. I hurried to her and pulled her away. His eyes were wide and panicked at her display.

  “Oh dear god, Collin, look at her overly emotional behavior. What has this…nanny…” her tone dripped with disgust, “done to her?”

  I glowered at Allison and pulled Victoria into my arms.

  “Victoria, I’m not firing Sophia, and Allison, I will meet with Grace if I wish to do so.” His tone was as sharp as the splintering edge of frozen glass.

  Victoria relaxed into my arms. I carried her away from the kitchen.

  “You can’t leave me. I love you,” she mumbled into my neck where her face was buried.

  “Shh…calm down. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

  She nodded.

  When we got to her room, I decided we needed to talk. We sat next to each other on her bed.

  “Did you bring the cards?” She wiped her wet cheeks.

  “Yes, but I want to talk to you about something first, okay?” She nodded hesitantly, like a child preparing to be punished. “Hey,” I pulled her chin up. “You aren’t in any trouble, alright? I just want to talk, clear some things up.”

  I took a deep breath. “Victoria, you realize I’m your nanny right?”

  “Of course.” She perked up.

  “I’m not your mother.” It almost hurt to say those words, given how much I had grown to love her.

  Her face fell. “I know, but –”

  “Sweetheart,” I took both of her hands in mine, “I’m not your mommy and will never be your mommy.”

  Tears collected in the corners of her eyes.

  “Don’t cry. I love you very much and think of you as my own daughter, but you need to understand that even if it isn’t your mommy who comes back now, it will probably be another woman sometime. Do you understand?”

  “You mean, my daddy might marry someone else?” I nodded. “But…why can’t he just marry you?”

  I literally choked on my own saliva. She was asking me to sign my soul over to that man?

  “Well…your daddy is my boss. We won’t get married. I’m here to help take care of you. I know it’s confusing. Heck, I’m starting to confuse myself,” I sighed. “Listen, I’m not trying to be mean or say I don’t love and care for you deeply, because I do, but I’m not your mommy and I won’t ever be your mommy.” Her tears were coming back. I lifted her chin. “I get to be the cool nanny you play with all the time.” I winked.

  She giggled and threw her arms around my neck.

  “I love you, Sophia.”

  “I love you too, Victoria.” I returned her hug. “Now, we need to get back to me kicking your butt in ‘Go Fish’.”

  She sat back on her bed. As I dealt the cards, I wondered what kind of hand Fate was dealing Victoria by returning Grace into her life.

  ELLA, WILLIAM, AND Amber stayed just passed midnight to ring in the New Year. After the sparkling juice had been drunk and the confetti tossed, they took their sleeping children back to their homes. Once Victoria fell asleep on the couch at twelve thirty, I took her to bed and began cleaning up popcorn, chips, and cups still lying around the room.

  While cleaning up the kitchen, the front door opened and closed. Whispers floated into the kitchen. The clock above the stove announced it was two thirty. Quickly, I finished cleaning and made my way to the doorway, stopping short at the sight in front of me.

  Dr. Bishop was pressed against the foyer wall, and Grace was on her knees in front of him. They were struggling between each other.

  Eww…eww…

  “Grace, control yourself.” Irritation laced his words.

  “Oh come on, baby, your little guy wants to play. I can feel that he does.” She ran her palm over him, and not even Satan could hold back his moan of pleasure.

  Did she just call him little? Ha ha ha.

  I shook off my initial shock and my internal musings, quickly climbing the stairs two at a time. I’d never been happier for carpeted steps in my life.

  “Grace, you need to stop…” That was the last thing Dr. Bishop said before a moan escaped his lips.

  Covering my ears until I entered my room, I closed the door on the scene I’d escaped. I hurried to my bedroom and shut that door too. I wanted so much to be able to pour acid into my eyes and ears but had to settle for a hot shower and Q-Tips instead.

  After New Year’s, I guessed Grace would become an ever-present figure in the Bishop household. The thought ate away at me as I tried to identify the feelings keeping me awake. Nervous, was the first I identified, but when I came up with jealousy, I couldn’t understand why.

  I’d been completely correct in my assumption. Mid-January was the reintroduction of Victoria to her mother, and by the end of January, Grace was living in the house and working on mending their relationship.

  Victoria had been nervous when I was dressing her to go to dinner with her mother and father. Dr. Bishop, thankfully, did not require my presence. I wanted to be there for Victoria, but New Year’s was still too fresh in my mind, as was the odd feeling of jealousy.

  From what I could tell when they arrived home from dinner, it had gone well. Grace came back to the house with Dr. Bishop, and Victoria was smiling. Once they were through the door, she tackled me in the kitchen. I had to grip the counter to keep us from hitting the floor. Dr. Bishop and Grace disappeared upstairs.

  Grace had been making attempts to get close to Victoria again. Taking her to the hair salon, shopping, playing a game of cards on her bed, and attending every school parent event became Grace’s responsibility rather than mine. I was
happy she was interested in working to get back into Victoria’s life. I mean, she was her mother, and she made a mistake.

  Everyone deserves a second chance, right?

  Three days after their family dinner, Grace informed me that the Alpha Omega Alpha, Honor Medical Society, was honoring Dr. Bishop. I had no clue what that was. Apparently he’d been a member since his residency, and they were honoring his contributions to the medical field.

  “It’s in three weeks, and you’ll be required to attend since Victoria will be accompanying us. In fact, the whole family will be there,” she boasted. “They may even take photos of us all.” Her eyes gleamed.

  “Okay, so should I prepare her attire or will –?”

  “Of course, I will pick out her dress. I need to be sure she’s fashionable.” She looked me up and down. “In fact, I’ll pick something up for you as well.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” The protest left my mouth without thinking first.

  “I’m sure you need something to wear, and I’ll be going out today so it’s really no bother.” Her tone was too sweet, and I didn’t like the glint in her eye.

  Over the next two weeks, when Victoria didn’t have school or lessons, Grace arranged tea parties, shopping trips, manicures and pedicures, mother-daughter spa visits, and more bonding activities. I enjoyed watching them interact as their bond strengthened, but I was also sad. My time with Victoria was greatly reduced. There was also something else bothering me – Victoria. She seemed happy, but it didn’t seem natural. I tried multiple times to talk to her about it, but she never said anything. I was forced to shrug it off as my own longing to have her all to myself.

  The week before Dr. Bishop’s award dinner, Grace appeared with the dresses. She handed me an adorable light blue dress for Victoria and then a dark gray dress she’d chosen for me. I had to force a thankful smile. The dress was hideous – clearly her intent when she picked it out. It definitely resembled something that would have been worn by a maid in the eighteen hundreds. It only needed to be made out of wool to be an exact replica. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to make her dislike me, but I could only assume it was my relationship with her daughter.

  The day of the dinner, Grace rushed Victoria and herself to the spa and salon to prepare for the night. I did what I needed from my room. With a homemade oatmeal mask on my face and a mayonnaise mask in my hair, I worked on my book. Thankfully, I was rinsed off and washed when they got back.

  Victoria’s hair was perfectly curled and piled on her head while Grace’s hair was smoothed and sculpted around her face in a very retro style, like a 1950 starlet.

  I dressed Victoria and sent her for Grace’s approval. After she left, I took my curlers and finger combed my hair into place. For the amount of time I had the curlers in, I should’ve looked like little orphan Annie, but my poker straight hair didn’t take well to curling so I ended up with waves instead. Before slipping into my dress, I secured the top half of my hair and allowed the waves to fall loosely down my back.

  “That’s not the dress that Grace bought you.” Victoria pointed out the obvious as she entered my room.

  “Nope.” I pressed my lips together tightly to hold back my smirk.

  “I like this one better.” She ran her hands down the pleated skirt.

  “Me too.” I looked over my reflection in the floor length mirror.

  In place of the hideous granny dress Grace purchased, I went with my own last minute choice. It hadn’t been as cheap as I was hoping, but Miranda convinced me it was too gorgeous to put it back. I put down three-hundred dollars for a dark blue satin dress with two pleated straps wrapping up over my left shoulder and separating across my back. The skirt was a flattering pleated A-line and made me feel good. I slipped on my silver strap heels, grabbed my silver clutch purse, and then took Victoria’s hand before we left the room.

  Dr. Bishop and his parents were standing in the foyer, their eyes on Grace as she descended the stairs in front of us. She was wearing a long shimmering metallic gold dress that fit her model thin body perfectly. With a fur wrap around her shoulders, she exaggerated her entrance, soaking up the attention.

  My self-esteem took a hit before I remembered no one was going to be looking at me anyway. With a deep breath, Victoria and I began our own descent. We were almost to the bottom step when Connor noticed us.

  “You two look lovely.” He smiled warmly.

  “Oh dear,” Mrs. Bishop gasped and placed her hand to her chest. “Victoria, you’re beautiful. What an adorable dress.”

  “Can you believe I convinced the designer to release it to me?” Grace beamed proudly. Her face fell when she took in my dress. “You look…nice.”

  “You look beautiful, dear,” Connor quickly stated.

  I gave him an appreciative smile before going to get our coats from the closet. Along the way, I glanced at Dr. Bishop, taking in the way his dark gray tuxedo enhanced his strong, lean build. His eyes focused on me, but instead of the calculating look, his eyes were reminiscent of swirling seas of emerald. For just a moment, the right corner of his mouth began to lift.

  “Doesn’t she look beautiful?” Grace gripped onto Dr. Bishop’s arm and motioned to Victoria. His eyes stayed on me.

  “Yes, she does.”

  “Collin?” Grace hissed.

  Swiftly, I pulled my attention away from the draw of his eyes and back on the coat closet.

  “Yes,” his tone was sharp. “You look lovely, Victoria.” He knelt on the floor in front of her.

  “Thank you, Daddy.” Her smile could have lit the darkest night.

  Upon arrival to the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Seattle, we were helped from the car by valets. Mr. Bishop took Mrs. Bishop’s arm and led her into the hotel. I took Victoria by the hand and followed. We met up with Dr. Bishop and Grace in the lobby and then proceeded in the direction the signs led.

  We entered the West Foyer reception area where cocktails were being served. There were two bars and at least fifty small cocktail tables full of mingling people. Victoria began to fidget.

  “What’s wrong?” I whispered.

  “I don’t see any other kids,” she whispered back.

  “I’m sure there’s at least one somewhere,” I tried to reassure her, but honestly I didn’t see any other children either.

  Mr. Bishop appeared before us and asked for our coats. We passed them to him, and he carried them to a coat check window. I waited for him to return with the tickets. Once he did, we were ushered to follow Dr. Bishop and Grace around the room. They mingled and introduced Victoria a couple of times. I stayed back and tried to stay out of the way.

  The cocktail hour finally ended, and we were allowed to enter the ballroom. Streams of people piled into the room of round tables. Both the east and west ballrooms were opened up into one. At the front of the room were pictures of different men, including Dr. Bishop. Victoria and I walked to the front to view the portraits.

  “That’s Daddy,” she said excitedly.

  “Yep.” I scanned the plaques beneath each picture. “These other men were also up for the award.”

  “But my daddy beat them.” Victoria’s face was full of admiration. I led her to where the Bishops were taking their seats.

  Max, Larissa, Allison, and Jonathan had arrived when we returned. They were sitting at the round table. Another table where William and Amber were sitting with the kids was obviously where we would be seated. Thankful I didn’t have to sit at a table with the Bishops all night, I breathed in relief and pulled out seats for both of us.

  “Well, well, look who cleans up nicely.” William winked at me.

  “Thank you, kind sir,” I curtseyed.

  “That dress is amazing.” Amber walked over to my side and held my hands out so she could take in the entire dress. “I love it.”

  “I’ll let you borrow it next time.”

  “Yeah, like I would look that good in it.” She released my hands and sat back down.

 
“You would,” William said without looking at Amber. A small smile crept up on her face.

  Dinner was served and announcements were made. The kids were restless so Amber pulled out crayons and coloring books from MJ’s diaper bag. That kept them entertained for a little while.

  The speaker finally got to the awards portion of the night. Before speaking of Dr. Bishop’s accomplishments, he spoke of the other candidates and described the decision-making process. Thankfully, Dr. Bishop kept his speech short and to the point. After three long grueling hours, I’d had enough. Just as I was getting ready to run out the door, it was announced that the bar would be open for two more hours, and a small orchestra set up to play. I groaned.

  Victoria was bored to tears and being whiney. In order to lighten things up, I took her to the dance floor. Dr. Bishop was dancing with Grace, Allison with Jonathan, and Max with Larissa. We stayed off to the side, away from them.

  “Oh my goodness,” Victoria gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” I stopped dancing.

  “Becca’s here.” She waved to her friend.

  I followed her line of sight and saw her friend standing on the other side of the room, waving wildly. Becca moved to us quickly.

  “Have you been here the whole time?”

  Becca nodded.

  “Can we play?” Victoria pleaded with me.

  “Of course, but don’t get in anyone’s way and stay close. Okay?”

  She nodded frantically and ran off. I smiled and began to walk off the floor.

  “May I?” I looked over to a very tall, dark, and extremely handsome man with his hand extended toward me. He wore a dark tux that complimented his olive skin, brown eyes, and thick dark hair.

  “Um…” Did he realize I was just a nanny?

  “Please?” he half grinned.

  “You realize I’m not…you know…one of these people?”