Nanny Penny
She disobeyed, and someone had to pay. (SCOTTISH DIALECT)
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* * *
Mr. Carter shakes his head. He is nae in his usual jovial mood.
"You've disappointed us, Penny. We gave you one simple rule, and you disobeyed."
I know I'm done for. Me bum is sure to be carted off back to Scotland in shame. I cannae imagine what sort of reference they would give me now. I fancy I'll be lucky to find a job as a pet-sitter, let alone another placement as a nanny.
His bonnie wife stands behind him, glaring at me in her usual haughty manner. She would seem more fearsome except for the vision in me head of the last time I seen her, shackled to that wooden cross with red stripes across her bum. A giggle threatens to bubble up from me belly, but I manage to hold it down. 'Tis nae the time nor the place for flippancy.
This was such a gem of a job. I cannae believe how quickly my silly, Scottish curiosity dropped it like a jobby in the jonny. What were I thinking?
* * *
I was livin' the dream. I'd left dreary Edinborough when I were accepted into one of the finest uni's in the sunny south of California. Here I was, a simple, young Highland country lass in the land of milk and honey. Then I found the advert for a nanny, for which I had ample experience and excellent references from the laird back home. It were too good to be true.
The quaint town in the hills north of Los Angeles where the Carter family lived were nothing like me village back in Scotland. I'd never seen such a profusion of Aston Martins and Lamborghinis.
When I showed up at their spacious house for the interview, the round-faced and ever-grinning Mr. Carter ushered me down a side hall to his office.
"Call me Ben," he said.
A kind and merry gentleman in his middle-thirties, he offered me a nip of a fine Scottish whiskey, which I was heedful to decline. Wouldn't want him to think he were hiring a lush. He explained he was an executive producer who contracted with the big names in the entertainment industry. I were duly impressed.
He weren't much taller than me, and his stocky frame made him look like your average, middle-aged businessman. Yet, he were nae entirely unattractive. His effervescent personality more than compensated for his ordinary appearance. He were easy to talk to, like an old friend whom I wanted to please. He made me feel right at home, he did.
From the office next door, I could plainly hear the missus railing on some poor soul over the phone. She cursed and spit venomous invective at her poor victim about some language that were omitted in a contract.
Ben nodded in her direction and explained in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Caroline is a prestigious lawyer. Don't let her intimidate you. Unlike me, her bark is worse than her bite." He winked. Then he gave me a warning I should have heeded. "Don't ever lie to her, though. She can smell a fib like a hound on a coon."
Whatever a "coon" were, I followed his gist.
After finishing her call, Mrs. Carter made her appearance with a stern clip-clop across the hardwood floors. I were intimidated by her natural beauty, yet she were nae the Hollywood trophy wife I expected. Like a proud, elegant, Norse goddess, she was. The tall heels made her an inch or two taller than Ben.
Having warmed herself up on her phone call, she turned her guns on me, aiming a volley of incisive questions across me bow. Her interrogation left few stones unturned--family, schooling, experience, and even me past boyfriends. She stopped just shy of digging into me long-absent virginity.
I had been fairly warned of the way these Americans often blurred the proprieties of personal space. I answered most of her sharp-tongued questions as forthright and honest as I could, without offering unnecessary detail. Whenever her determined and clever inquiries approached the personal goings and comings of me former employers, I politely declined. That brought a flicker of a smile to the corners of her carefully painted berry lips, as well as a pleased expression from Ben, which warmed me.
The dynamics between the two of them were most intriguing. Ben remained silent through most of Mrs. Carter's probe--unlike her husband, she didna give me permission to use her given name. I found it most interesting that whene'er Ben would interrupt his wife, her mouth snapped shut. If he were to clarify or soften her question, she would reply, "Yes, that's what I meant." Often that were accompanied by a nasty glance in his direction which he ignored, though she never challenged him. Their interchange left me intrigued to learn more about this lovely couple.
Next, they brought in young Danny. Nary a more beautiful and intelligent boy had I seen. I was told he was but four years old--"Four and three-quarters," he was quick to correct his mother. He and I bonded immediately. He seemed fascinated with my thick curls of dark copper-colored hair, hence my name, 'Penny'. I could already see his mother's lovely eyes and mouth on his cherubic face, and he was blessed with his father's charming personality. We became fast friends.
While Danny and I played, Ben and Mrs. Carter retired to discuss the matter. After only a few minutes, they returned with an offer. Me jaw hit the floor. I'd done my research online, and even by American rates the wage they put to me were well above standard. The deal included me own furnished suite with a kitchenette and private whirlpool bath, as well as a full twenty four hours to meself on Sundays. I would need to shuffle me day classes to accommodate Danny's pre-school, although they would accommodate me night classes, as one of them were always home in the evenings. Three weeks of vacation would coincide with their summer travel, which I was invited to join for extra income, if I were to so choose.
How could I decline?
* * *
The missus drew up an agreeable contract. We all signed, and I moved in the next day. The following month were the happiest of me life. I were making excellent grades with me schoolwork and found many friends. Often, I would meet them at the beach on me days off. I even found time to enjoy a couple of romps with well-tanned lads which kept me ooie well-polished, though the tight schedules prevented any sort of serious affair. Bright little Danny were a constant joy. Ben was always in good humor, and I got along splendidly with Maria, the rotund Nicaraguan cook and housekeeper. She presented me with a plate of Scottish bridies, which relieved a bit of me homesickness.
Mrs. Carter remained aloof where me and Maria were concerned, constantly barking some command or another at us. Her manner were different where her family was concerned. She adored both her husband and her son. I was relieved to see how warm and loving she were around Danny, doting on him as a proud mother should. She spent all day with him on most Sundays. With her husband, it was yet another matter. Mrs. Carter was often at Ben's side, their arms around each other. She didna cross him, and promptly did anything he asked of her. Still, I detected a subtle tension in their intimacy that I could'na quite describe. Something about their relationship seemed off.
Regardless, I were blissfully happy with nearly all the circumstances of my employment. One curious clause in me contract stated that I were nae allowed to enter the locked room adjacent to Ben and the Missus' bedroom. The modern design of the white brick house were a sort of an 'H', with the living and dining areas in the center. Me own luxurious suite were along the front hall, near Danny's room. It overlooked a lovely courtyard gairden, which Mrs. Carter tended to, herself.
The other arm of the 'H' at the front of the house contained the offices and a conference room that doubled as a dandy home theatre, which Ben used with his job, but was otherwise available for family entertainment. On one side of the back of the house were the kitchen and Maria's equally comfortable quarters.
