3. Ria
CHAPTER 3
RIA
R ia sat at her dining room table, a steaming cup of coffee with plenty of cream and sugar in front of her, and clicked through nannying advertisements on one of the job boards she frequented. She hadn’t heard anything from Eloise since their meeting the other day, which meant that she needed to keep applying for jobs. She’d already followed up with a few agencies she’d worked with before, and a few replies had come in saying that they didn’t have anything at the moment but would keep her in mind for the future.
With a sigh, Ria clicked on a job that paid less than half of what Oh Pear! did and began putting in her contact information. Even a smaller paycheck was still a paycheck.
Just as she was about to click submit, her phone began to rang. Ria flipped it over to check the caller ID. Her eyes widened as she saw that the call was coming from Oh Pear! — this was almost certainly Eloise calling to tell her that her services were no longer needed. Her heart pounding in her chest, Ria swiped to accept and pressed the phone to her ear.
“Hello, this is Ria Hampton.”
“Dear, I have a job for you.” Eloise’s voice was brisk and rather more pleasant than it had been during their disastrous last meeting.
“Really?” Ria blurted before she could think better of it. “I mean, that’s excellent, thank you. I really appreciate you giving me another chance.”
“A last chance,” Eloise corrected pointedly. “It’s a live-in job with a wealthy and respectable client who doesn’t have many requirements. It begins today. I’ll send the address as soon as we’re off the phone, and I’ll need you to head over right away.”
Ria was already on her feet, pouring out the last of her coffee in the sink and hurrying to the bedroom to get her suitcase, the phone sandwiched between her shoulder and her ear.
“How old is the child — or children?”
“Two and a half,” Eloise said.
Ria nodded to herself. Two and a half could be a difficult age, but with only one child, it would likely be a cakewalk compared to Ria’s last few jobs.
“And what’s the client’s name?”
“Tristan West. You might have heard of him — he’s the founder and CEO of Limex.”
Although Ria hadn’t heard of Tristan West, she had heard of Limex. It was a huge tech conglomerate with everything from social media to data aggregation to database management under its purview. Ria tossed T-shirts and jeans into the suitcase as a picture of her new client came together in her mind. He probably worked a lot. He probably had plenty of money to throw around. He probably wanted a nanny who could actually speak foreign languages and play instruments.
“Is there anything else I need to know?” Ria asked as she reached for her pajamas.
“Yes.” The seriousness in Eloise’s tone made Ria freeze, pajamas in hand. “This is your last chance, dear. Show me that you can do better, or this will be your final job with us.”
With that, Eloise hung up, leaving Ria standing in her bedroom with her pajamas in one hand and the silent phone against her ear. Taking a deep breath, she tossed the phone onto the bed and resumed packing. A few minutes later, her phone dinged with an email showing her new client’s address and phone number. Ria glanced at it, nodded to herself, and continued packing.
Within twenty minutes, she was out the door, her rolling suitcase in one hand and her purse flung over the opposite shoulder. She double-locked her apartment, unsure of when she’d be back, and headed towards the bus stop. A glance at her navigation app showed that it would take fifty minutes and three buses to reach Tristan West’s wealthy neighborhood across town, but that was all right. The bus ride would give her a little time to calm down and prepare for her new job.
She was in luck; the bus arrived after she’d been waiting for about five minutes. She lugged her suitcase onboard and found a seat with space to keep it near her feet. As the bus pulled out, Ria dug her headphones out of her suitcase and put on one of her favorite playlists. Humming to herself, she settled in for the ride.
The apartment buildings and small shops outside slowly gave way to skyscrapers. By the third bus, Ria was passing enormous houses that looked more like mansions than single-family homes, and sprawling, leafy parks full of blossoming cherry trees. At her stop, she got off and checked the map. The route showed that her new client’s home was just a few blocks away.
When Ria arrived, she had to double-check to make sure she was in the right place. This house made the neighboring mansions look like dollhouses. Ria was sure she could fit her whole apartment in the Zen garden outside, and the path to the front door looked like it was a quarter-mile long. The house itself was very modern, with sleek gray walls, towering glass windows, and a sloping side. It looked more than a little foreboding.
As Ria made her way along the wide, paved path towards the house, she couldn’t help feeling that this wasn’t exactly the place she would have chosen to raise children. Not only was it a little too modern, but the yard was devoid of play structures or children’s toys. Perhaps her new client just kept a very clean house. Anyway, it wasn’t for her to judge other people’s choices — she was just here to look after the child.
Ria climbed the three concrete steps onto the front stoop and rang the doorbell. It sounded a loud gong somewhere deep within the house, followed by the sound of running footsteps. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a man holding a small child.
Ria took in the duo. The man was, well, handsome, though in more of a hipster way than Ria’s usual type. He had black hair, cut short, and green eyes reminiscent of Ria’s own. A head or so taller than Ria, he appeared both strong and confident. He wore wide, circular glasses with thick rims and a T-shirt with a picture of a heavy-metal band on the front. This must be her client, Tristan West.
The child looked like a miniature version of his father. He had wispy black hair and green eyes, as well as the soft, lean limbs of a toddler growing into a preschooler. He smiled at Ria hesitantly, his chubby cheeks pink. Ria noticed that his T-shirt was spotted with something that looked like apple sauce. This must be her new charge, though she didn’t know his name yet.
“Hello.” Ria smiled her best meeting-new-people smile and stepped inside, her suitcase in her left hand. She extended her right for a handshake. “I’m Ria Hampton, your new nanny.”
“Thank goodness you’re here.” Tristan handed the toddler over to Ria in lieu of a handshake. More than a little surprised, she adjusted her weight to balance the little boy on her hip. “I’m late for a meeting.”
Just then, another little boy, the replica of the one in her arms, came charging into the hallway. He had a red crayon clutched in his fist and a mischievous smile on his young face. Ria knew that look well.
“Oh, twins!” Ria said.
“No.” Tristan frowned. “Triplets. Didn’t your boss tell you?” His phone began to ring, and he backed away slowly. “I really need to go. You’ll be all right?”
The last sentence clearly wasn’t a question, because Tristan didn’t wait for the answer. He just turned and strode off towards the back of the house, already answering his phone as he went. Ria stared at him, open-mouthed, as he disappeared. In all her years of nannying, she’d never had a parent rush off so suddenly after she’d arrived.
Ria set down her suitcase, which she’d still been holding, then pivoted to shut the door gently with her hip. Next, she turned her attention to the child in her arms.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Jamie.” The little boy popped his thumb into his mouth.
“Nice to meet you.” Ria gave him a little hug. It wasn’t this child’s fault that his father had rushed off so suddenly. She bent down to the other boy’s level. “And what’s your name?”
“Jacob.” The boy’s smile widened. “Juice?”
“I’m sure we can find you some juice.” Ria scooped the boy into her other arm. “But we should find your brother first.” The third triplet was still nowhere to be seen.
As though Ria’s thoughts had carried, a cry came from the adjoining room. Ria hurried after the sound, Jacob and Jamie each perched on one of her hips, to find a third child lying on the floor in a starfish pose, wailing. The third child wasn’t a little boy at all, though, but a girl with the same dark hair and bright-green eyes. She wore a tutu, a race-car shirt, and a pair of jean shorts. This was clearly a child who had dressed herself.
Ria wanted to scoop the little girl up, too, but she didn’t have any more hands. She smiled to herself slightly. She literally had her hands full with this new job.
The little girl’s wailing intensified, and Jacob wiggled to be let down. The moment his small feet touched the floor, he ran to the wall, which already bore red marks from the crayon in his hand. Simultaneously, a distinctive smell rose from little Jacob’s pants — he needed a diaper change, right away.
Ria looked from the little boy scribbling on the wall to the little boy with the dirty diaper to the little girl lying on the floor wailing, then sent a slightly reproachful glance in the direction their father had disappeared. It was clear that this family needed her help. Desperately.
Taking a deep breath, Ria began formulating a plan for where to start.