and walking to the other side of my studio apartment. “My place is tiny though so not sure it’s gonna be much better over here.” I sit in my purple papasan chair, holding the laptop in my lap. I’m sure the angle is totally unflattering but I don’t care — I just want this job.
“Well our home is a good size, and we have a room all ready for the nanny we hire.”
“Sounds great,” I say. “But I’m more interested in the little one.”
“She’s here right now,” he says.
“I wish I could see her.” I twist my lips, frustrated. “I’m sorry about this connection.”
“You come highly recommended,” he says. “And I know the agency briefed you on the position.”
“They did. It would be a good fit for me on all counts.” I don’t mention the pay is twice what I make stocking shelves, or that my next-door neighbors are always up cooking bacon at odd hours of the night. I focus on the important stuff. “I’d love to nanny again. It’s been a few years, while I was in school, but it’s really where I am happiest.”
“Where do you work now?”
“I work at Grady’s Garden Supply, it’s downtown.”
“Really?” His voice is so warm and welcoming I want to wrap myself up in it. I just wish I knew what he looked like, could see his eyes. “He’s a buddy of mine. We work out together.”
“At the CrossFit gym?” I ask, knowing my boss Grady works out there religiously. He and his friends meet up several times a week for challenges.
“Yeah, I joined it when I moved to town.”
“My best friend Mirabella, her husband Matt works out there too.”
“Small world,” he says.
“Small town is more like it.”
He chuckles. “Fair enough. So, when can you start? I really need someone as soon as possible.”
“Oh, well, I just need to put in my notice with Grady and then…”
“Perfect. So can you come in tomorrow to meet Annie?”
“So soon?”
He clears his throat. “The thing is, I’ve been on leave at the fire station for a few months and I am scheduled to start again… I’ve been having a hard time finding a nanny that felt right. But you… you seem perfect. For the job I mean. Perfect for the job.”
I laugh nervously, aware of the fact the video is working on his end. He can see me, every single facial expression. “How can you tell?”
“You look… you seem… Annie hasn’t stopped smiling since the video started. Which is saying something. She is a bit of a fuss nugget.”
I laugh. “She a handful then?”
“She’s been through a lot.” Beckett’s voice softens. My heart softens then, too. I don’t know his and Annie’s story, but she doesn’t have a mother. That is a lot of loss for a little one.
We spend the next hour talking about my old nanny job in Paris, how I want to be a teacher someday. He tells me about the firehouse, how he misses working. I don’t ask about Annie’s mom, but we touch on the fact it’s just him raising her. I can hear his commitment to her, through the blurry video feed. I wish I could see them both, but instead of focusing on anything too heavy, he asks what kind of food I like, what movies I watch.
We agree on our favorites, which is a surprise.
“Chocolate chip cookies, sure,” I say. “But you really love rom-coms?”
“My sister and I would always watch them together, every holiday we’d turn on some J-Lo or Meg Ryan film.”
“That’s adorable,” I say. “And I make the best chocolate chip cookies ever, so I got you covered there.”
He laughs. “It’s nice of you to say but I make the best chocolate chip cookies.”
“Not possible,” I say forgetting this is an interview. “We’ll have to do a bake off sometime.”
“So do you think you might want to move in and help with Annie?”
“I’d love the opportunity to work for you guys,” I tell him honestly.
He breathes out a sigh of relief. “You have no idea how good that is to hear,” he says.
He gives me his address and we make plans for tomorrow. He tells me he will email the contract over to the nanny agency. I can start tomorrow, and he will spend a few days with me at the house in between shifts, helping me get the lay of the land and making sure it’s a good fit. And if I feel comfortable, I can move in next week.
A few minutes later,