Matilda

four

After a good twenty-minute drive from the office building Harry stops the car in front of a huge white villa, from what I can see from outside the gate. But the massive doors already open automatically, letting him drive through and immediately close behind us.

We all get out of the car as soon as he parks it in a spot a few meters away from the entrance, some other cars standing next to his. He goes first, Pauli beside him and me and Val following behind them.

"Just feel yourself at home. The others don't bite and I don't either so you should be fine." He says, turning his head in our direction and giving us a wink.

Just calm down, Millie.

Harry types in a code into the keypad next to the huge white front doors. Damn, safety first. But I'd probably do the same if I were him. A quiet click signalised him to open the door, so he does.

The first thing I hear as soon as the door's open, is a baby crying. Loud crying.

"Damn they couldn't calm him down yet, poor boy." Pauli says to Harry, with a somewhat empathetic look. He just nods and we all four step into the house.

I let my eyes wander around the room. It's a long hallway, and plants and pictures decorate the walls. It has a plank floor and gives me that old house but still elegant vibe. I like it.

We follow Harry and Pauli through the hallway to the very back and with every step, the crying gets even louder. Suddenly they make a sharp turn into the room to our left.

We now stand in a large and cosy-looking living room. It has large windows, letting as much light through as possible. I see Mitch, Elin and Naomi sitting on a big couch in the middle of the room.
But now I also know where the crying is coming from. Sarah is holding a newborn, swaying it while walking up and down.

"Jeez, what's his problem?" Pauli asks while slumping down on the couch next to Mitch.

"Dude he's a baby, shut up." Mitch says, giving Pauli a good slap on his arm.

Oh, it must be Sarah's and Mitch's kid.

"Okay well, we found someone on our way back here." Harry says, all eyes turning to us. "This is Millie, our new tour photographer and her best friend Valeria." He tells them. They all give us a wave and a quick hello, before going back to focusing on the crying baby.

"He's not always like this, we don't know what's going on with him and we've been trying everything to calm him down for the last 3 hours." Harry tells us, referring to the baby, I still don't know the name of.

"Mills, why don't you try the stuff you did with my little niece when she wouldn't stop crying?" Val asks me and I really hoped she wouldn't.

"What thing?" Sarah asks, sounding desperate.

"I don't know-" I start. I don't want to overstep any boundaries. I don't know Sarah and Mitch nor the baby, to begin with.

"Please try, whatever it is. He's been crying for hours, I don't know what to do anymore." Sarah begs. I sigh but give in eventually. "Okay." I step towards them. Sarah hands me the boy and I go sit down on the couch next to Mitch. I carefully lay him down on my legs and start to slowly caress and massage his hands, then his arms, his small legs and his tummy. That's when the crying already stops, literally from one second to another. I stroke his tummy for a few good minutes before I move my hands to his face. That's the moment most babies, I tried that on, fell asleep - so does he.

"Wow." Pauli says quietly, leaning over Mitch, and observing the small boy. I give him a slight smile.

"Thank you so much, you have no idea." Sarah tells me while standing behind me.