Live-In Position

by V. S. Tice

Victoria was in her room, cleaning up all the art supplies she had gotten out for a school project, and I was working on dinner when the house alarm went off. My first instinct was to run to Victoria, but when I reached the front of the house, I stopped. Allison was staring at the alarm pad.

  “Goddamn thing! Why did he change the code? Christ!”

  She didn’t hear my approach. I reached over her shoulder and punched in the code. She jumped to the side.

  “Jesus, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” She was her typical grouchy self. The phone rang. I hurried to answer it.

  “This is Charles with Cole Security Systems—” I cut him off.

  “Sorry, Charles, it was a false alarm. There is no emergency.”

  “Can I have the password, ma’am?”

  “Password?” I questioned.

  “Yes I need a confirmation—” The phone was pulled from my ear.

  “Grace,” Allison spit into the phone and hung up. Her eyes turned to me. “I see you’re still here.”

  “I see you’re still in a bitchy mood,” I countered, heading back toward the kitchen. She followed me.

  “I can’t believe you haven’t been fired yet,” she huffed. I ignored her.

  “Where is Collin?” she spat.

  “Work,” I answered curtly.

  The twins rushed into the kitchen.

  “What are you making?” Gregory questioned.

  “It smells so good,” Michael added.

  I turned and smiled down on them. They had grown so much, two mirror images of Jonathan.

  “Well, tonight is spaghetti and meatball night. I may have just enough for you two as well.” I winked.

  “That sounds good.” Will entered the kitchen with a backpack on.

  “Hey, how are you?” I stirred the sauce. With a quick glance, I realized Allison had left the room. I relaxed a little.

  “Good,” he smiled.

  “Come on boys, your mother wants us to get settled in a room.” He looked at me nervously at the completion of his sentence.

  “You guys are staying here?” My eyes were wide.

  He nodded. “Yeah.” Then he gave me a small apologetic look.

  “Well, it will be fun to have a full house again,” I said, winking at him.

  “Sophia,” I almost cringed at the sound of her voice saying my name.

  “Yes?”

  “Put together a salad. I’m not much for pasta.”

  There was already one made to go with dinner, but her flippant order was annoying as hell.

  “And tomorrow, could you please make something a little healthier?”

  I opened my mouth to speak.

  “Sophia is not the cook or the maid for that matter. She doesn’t function on your command.” Collin stepped into the kitchen and looked down at his sister’s shocked expression.

  “Since she will be making dinner regardless, I don’t see the problem with—” He stopped her by putting his hand up.

  “Allison, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need, you know that, but you will respect Sophia.”

  I was still internally grumbling over “as long as you need” when he continued.

  “Also, you can have the suite to stay in.” I wanted to sink into the floor or suddenly become the invisible woman. “There will be more room for you and the boys. Though Will and the boys are welcome to a separate guest roo—”

  “The suite?” she gasped. “And where is it Sophia is staying?”

  Collin started walking toward me as she began her questioning. He stopped next to me and kissed the side of my head before turning back to her.

  “Oh god, Collin, could you get anymore cliché? Really, the nanny? You’re sleeping with your nanny?” Allison’s voice had risen and was laced in disgust.

  “No,” he responded, and silence fell over the room. My insides twisted. “I’m sleeping with my fiancé.”

  The moment was palm-to-face worthy so that’s exactly what I did. This was not going to go well.

  “You can’t be serious?” Allison spat.

  “Oh, I’m quite serious.” He grabbed my waist, spun me around, and lifted my hand to her. “I plan to marry Sophia, and you will respect the fact that you are in our home.”

  Allison’s mouth was wide open, but nothing was coming out. For a moment, I had to stop myself from laughing in her face.

  “I cannot believe this. You’re just like our father,” she growled.

  “Allison,” he warned. “Our father had an affair. Who am I cheating on?” He pulled me closer to his side.

  She opened her mouth and then closed it before she walked out of the room.

  “Please don’t let her get to you. It will take time, but she will accept things.” He kissed my lips this time. “She has no choice in the matter.” He grinned before kissing me harder.

  “Daddy,” Victoria skipped into the kitchen, “welcome home.” She smiled brightly. “Mommy is making spaghetti and meatballs tonight.” She climbed up to the counter and sat on a stool.

  “I can smell that.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I’m going to go clean up before dinner.” His hand and fingers trailed against my back as he walked away. I shivered. Those damn fingers were talented.

  “Did she just call you mommy?”

  I turned to find an amused-looking Will. My face reddened and I felt the warmth of the blush. I nodded.

  “Wow, so Allison was telling the truth.” It wasn’t a question.

  “What?”

  “Oh, she is up there growling about men always sleeping with the help, marrying the damn nanny, being just like their fathers.” He shrugged but then caught the look on my face. I really did feel like a cliché. “Soph, really, it’s not that big a deal. It’s the same as people who meet at a bar and end up together.”

  “You are so full of crap,” I laughed at him.

  “It’s true. Think about it. You are just two people who met through a means and now you’re a couple. I’m happy for you – if you are happy?” Now that was a question.

  I turned with a large smile on my face. “I am.”

  “Then that’s all that matters.”

  Once dinner was served, everyone started to file in. Collin took his seat at the head of the table; Allison sat to his right with the twins between Will and her; I sat on Collin’s left side, and Victoria took a seat next to me. Collin’s hand rubbed my knee briefly before starting to dish food on his plate. Halfway through the meal, Collin broke the silence and addressed Allison.

  “So, Allison, are you in town permanently or will you be going back to Whidbey?” He pulled his wine glass to his lips and looked over the rim at his sister. She patted her mouth with her napkin before answering.

  “I had to come back to finalize the divorce.” She tried to appear calm, but you could see the sadness behind her eyes. “I have to meet with Jonathan on Tuesday evening to discuss some final terms before we get everything taken care of.” She placed another bite of the pasta she doesn’t care for in her mouth.

  “You‘ve decided to go through with it then?” he asked.

  “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

  “Allison, we know you‘ve been through a lot, and we know John is no angel, but you two did share something—”

  “Just stop right there. If it was so special then perhaps he wouldn’t have ruined it.”

  That was the last they discussed the subject. The conversation turned to registering the kids for their transfer to St. John’s as well as Victoria discussing the school project she was working on. When dinner finished, I was happy to have Will help me clean up. We spent most of the time gossiping. Will spilled about everything that had happened since they’d been away. Apparently, Allison had come to terms with Juliet, and staying with her had been interesting. From what Will said, Juliet wanted to spend time focusing on helping Allison. Allison was hesitant with Juliet and downright rude to her at times, but Juliet did not give up. They ended up bonding through Juliet’s interior
design business.

  “I think we are staying in Seattle, and Allison is going to start her own branch of the business.”

  “Really?” I was a little shocked. The snobby princess was actually going to work?

  “Yeah, I guess she likes it. I also overheard her telling Juliet she doesn’t want or need a man in her life anymore.”

  “Wow.” I finished loading the dishwasher.

  “Yeah, but it’s still not as wow as your news.” He grinned. I threw a dishtowel at him.

  Bedtime that evening was a little crazy. The twins were wound up and didn’t want to settle down. William finally got them into the bathtub as I was climbing in next to Victoria for her bedtime story. We were about five pages in when Gregory and Michael burst into her room and jumped onto the bed.

  “We heard you reading,” Gregory spoke.

  “Can we listen too?” Michael finished.

  “I’m sorry, Sophia,” Will rushed in after them. “Let’s go, boys,” he ordered and they groaned.

  “Do you care if they listen?” I raised my brow at him.

  “You sure?” He looked at me questioningly. I nodded. “Okay, I’m gonna go clean up the bathroom.”

  “Okay,” I waved him off and continued to read.

  Gregory and Michael were full of questions about the story. Victoria was getting irritated, but I told her they didn’t get to hear from the beginning so they needed to catch up. She took their questions for as long as she could.

  “Listen, if you ask one more question you have to get out,” she barked.

  “Victoria,” I hissed. She looked up at me with a scowl. “Apologize for being so mean.”

  “But they keep…”

  “Apologize,” I warned.

  She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Sorry,” she grumbled.

  I continued reading, and the boys didn’t ask any more questions.

  By the time I finished the chapter they were all asleep. Victoria was on my left, Gregory on my right, and Michael was curled up with his head on my right leg. I fought the chuckle about to burst from me. I was stuck. Eventually Will showed up.

  “Looks like you have a magic touch for bedtime.” He smiled and picked up Michael.

  I slipped to the end of the bed and pulled Gregory into my arms.

  “I can come back and get him,” Will argued.

  “I’ve already got him so get moving.”

  We took the boys to the sofa bed in the suite. It surprised me that Allison wanted the boys in the room with her. She was shocking me left and right. Although her tongue was still sharp, there did seem to be some small changes about her. I was determined to focus on the good.

  I passed Victoria’s room and found Collin at her bedside. He was running his fingers through her hair lightly as he said goodnight to her. I moved to his side, picked up the book and tucked her in with a kiss to her cheek. He grinned when I turned to look at him, took my hand, and walked us to bed. There was nothing I wanted more than to shower after spending a couple of hours cleaning and then cooking spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. But when I got into the bathroom I saw there was a bath drawn in the tub. Collin wrapped his arms around me.

  “Did you do this?” I craned my neck to the side to look at him.

  “Who else?” he chuckled.

  He grasped the bottom of my shirt and tugged on it until he had removed it. When he unlatched my bra, he kissed my shoulder blade, and when he pulled my jeans off, he kissed a warm trail down the back of my left thigh. With all of my clothes removed, he took my hand and helped me into the tub. Before I even had a chance to ask, his clothes were piled with mine on the floor and he was climbing in behind me.

  Lying back against his chest, I closed my eyes and relaxed until his hands began to wander. Starting at my shoulders, he manipulated them firmly. I moaned. His brilliant fingers slid gently over my body. His lips pressed to my neck, just below my ear. His long fingers worked with surgical precision.

  “I love you, Sophia,” he murmured against my skin.

  We lay in the tub for ten more minutes before he carried me to the bed, soaking wet.

  The next morning Victoria burst into the bedroom.

  “Mom, Dad,” she called as she bounded in.

  My eyes shot open. I grasped the covers tightly over my naked body, sitting up. Collin mimicked my actions.

  “Hey,” I was more than a little flustered. “What’s going on?” I looked to the clock. She had twenty minutes before she had to get up.

  She shrugged. “I woke up.”

  “Okay, well, why don’t you go get cleaned up and dressed for school. I’ll meet you in your room in ten minutes.”

  “Can’t you come help me now?” she whined.

  “Give me ten minutes and I will be in, okay?” I nodded.

  “Fine,” she huffed. Collin chuckled.

  I sighed in relief when she left and threw myself back onto the pillows. Soon, the feel of his warmth was against me, his arm slipping over my waist.

  “Good morning, Mommy.” I felt the smile on his lips as he kissed my collarbone.

  I tugged on his hair teasingly. He growled and moved his mouth lower.

  “Ah, ah, ah,” I slipped out of the bed. “If I don’t get moving, she will be back in ten minutes. Not a good idea to start that.”

  I entered the bathroom and quickly wrapped myself in a robe. Grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste, I went to work on my morning breath. After I got dressed, I went to Victoria’s room. She was trying to brush through her hair. I walked up behind her and helped her before we went downstairs for breakfast. Since we had extra time, I made pancakes and bacon. The twins slowly dragged themselves into the kitchen with their uniforms on and Will carrying their backpacks. They sat down, perking up at the sight of pancakes.

  “Can we have some?” they asked at the same time. I giggled and nodded.

  “Are you sure?” Will asked.

  “I made extra for them.” I nodded toward the extra plates.

  “Thanks.”

  “I thought they had to register with the school?”

  “They do, but Mrs. Bed…I mean, Ms. Bishop is pretty sure they’ll get shown to class today.”

  I nodded. Of course she could get them signed up and attending in the same day. She was a Bishop.

  At 2:00, Will met me at the front door to go pick up the kids. We drove in separate cars since Victoria and the twins had separate after school activities. Apparently, Allison had gotten the twins in with the fall soccer league, even though it was a month after registration.

  As we pulled up to Victoria’s horseback lesson, she was going on and on about Halloween and the different costumes she was considering. I had to admit, I was surprised she didn’t want to be a mermaid again. She talked mostly about dressing up as a princess.

  Victoria was halfway into her lesson, and I was sitting on the fence talking with another nanny, when I heard the horse’s loud “neigh,” Victoria’s scream, and her instructor call out for her. As my head snapped toward the commotion, a multitude of things washed over me. Anxiety crashed onto my shoulders as Claire grabbed for the reigns of Victoria’s horse, fear coursed through my veins as the horse jerked her body around roughly, and panic grasped my chest when Victoria flew from the horse’s back and hit the hard dirt.

  I was off the fence and sprinting toward her without any concern of being trampled by a horse. I screamed her name the entire way, but she didn’t answer or move. I slid toward her body like she was the home plate of the World Series. Fighting my instinct to wrap her up in my arms, I quickly appraised her body for damage.

  “Don’t touch her!” Claire yelled when my hands reached out for her instinctually.

  I placed a hand on her forehead and called out to her. Nothing, there was no response at all.

  “I called 911,” a random voice yelled from behind me.

  “Victoria, sweetheart, can you hear me?” Again, nothing.

  Tears began to roll in large
drops down my face.

  “I tried to get her, I thought I could get the horse in time…” Claire chanted and rocked slowly as she looked down on Victoria’s still body.

  Laying my head on her chest, I could hear her heart beating ferociously. I breathed in relief and then placed my cheek next to her mouth. Warm breath collected on my cool skin. More relief washed over me. She stirred.

  “Victoria?” I leaned over her.

  Wincing, cries of pain bellowed from her.

  “What hurts, baby?” I scanned her body for the hundredth time.

  “My arm,” she cried.

  I looked to her right arm, but it seemed fine. Her left arm, however, had a bright red patch and a dark purple color was starting to spread. I assumed it was broken.

  “Is there anything else?”

  “My head,” she sobbed and tried to sit up.

  “Stay lying down.” I slipped next to her and curled to her body.

  The sirens announced the ambulance’s arrival and the paramedics surrounded us quickly. They checked her over, asked some questions, and then placed her in a brace before moving her body to the board. I followed them into the back of the ambulance and pulled out my cell phone.

  During the ride to the hospital, I called Collin to let him know about the accident. I got his voicemail, which was normal, so I left a voice message and then sent him a text.

  When we arrived at the hospital, I told the nurse to have Dr. Bishop paged. Once she realized Victoria was his daughter, she rushed from the room. The emergency room doctor looked over her diligently before he ordered an x-ray of her arm and an MRI of her head.

  Victoria was conscious and still upset, but they had given her pain medication and an IV to settle her down. I wiped at the tears still streaming down my face.

  While she was getting her x-ray, my emotions started to calm, replaced by exhaustion. I walked to the closest coffee vending machine for some liquid lucidity. On the way back I stopped at her room and looked upon a familiar face.