Agnes in JackieLand

Chapter 12

Before I opened my eyes, I knew that I was still Jackie. It's almost like I am settling into my body, which is completely unacceptable. I cannot be Jackie for the rest of my life. Last night had been horrible. I had no idea when Mr. Franklin had got home. I had gone to bed about ten-thirty, and he still wasn't back. The boys had been a handful, and that was putting it mildly. I knew I couldn't play mommy to these boys. They needed someone who knew what they were doing.

The nanny agency had been a bust. It had gone something like this.

"I'm looking for a nanny."

"For how many children?"

"They are twin boys, but the nanny will cook for three at times too."

"Can I get your name, please?"

"Jackie Franklin. I'm calling on behalf of my father, Thomas Franklin; we have used you guys before," I had told them.

"I'm sorry, miss, but your file has a red flag."

Huh? "A what?"

"A red flag. It means that we are unable to work with you."

This can't be real. "Ok, I'll just call another agency then."

"Miss, this red flag had gone out to every nanny agency in the city."

"Oh. Ok. Thank you, bye." I hung up, stunned. What could the twins have done that was so bad to deserve that? Now, what could I do? So, I decided to wait until Mr. Franklin got home to ask his opinion, but I had fallen asleep.

While I waited for him, I attempted to make the boys spaghetti and meatballs. I had never cooked a day in my life other than helping my father bake occasionally. Cooking was my father's passion; he did it all. I cursed him last night for not showing me how to cook pasta.

My pasta had turned out lumpy and stuck together; it tasted like glue. The meatballs were charred balls of meat in the sauce. The twins had taken one bite and spit it out, demanding I try again. When I refused, they started a food fight. The kitchen was a spaghetti war zone.

I found an emergency cash fund in the kitchen drawer and ordered pizza, which finally appeased the boys. After that, it took me two hours to get them bathed, in their pajamas, and quietly watching a movie. It took me another two hours to clean the ruined war zone of a kitchen. After that, I stumbled up the vast expanse of stairs and into Jackie's oasis—that is what I had dubbed it last night.

This morning, I knew I couldn't continue doing this. I couldn't believe Jackie had been going through this. I was too young to play mommy. I got out of bed and looked for Jackie's father, but he was not found. Who knew if he had even come home last night?

The twins were somewhere racing through the mansion, and for the first time ever, I wished it wasn't the weekend. I tried waking Jackie's mother up but only got a "go away" from her. I had enough after discovering that the boys had flooded a downstairs bathroom. I made a call.

Thirty minutes later, I buzzed in the woman who had saved my life once a long time ago. While I waited for her to drive up the driveway and get to the door, I remembered meeting her for the first time.

I was four years old, scared because the police had come and taken my mom away. Mrs. Evans had been the CAS worker in charge of the case. I had been hiding in my room in the closet, away from the screaming curse words my mother was saying. The door to the closet had opened, and I had whimpered. Scared of who was going to be there. It had been Mrs. Evans. She had soft blonde hair that rested on her shoulders, warm brown eyes, and a loving smile. She had coaxed me out of the closet and explained to me that they were taking Mommy away because she was having a baby soon, and they wanted to make sure Mommy and the baby were going to be ok.