The Nanny

08

They walk into the foyer and I follow. She stands on the coffee table and he circles her. She catches my gaze and smiles softly.
"Remove your clothes." Carlos says. Ellen gasps and whips her head to look at him.
"Pardon?"
"Take your clothes off. I need to take your measurements." he says. She blushes and wraps her arms around herself. She glances at me and blushes more.
"Should I leave?" I ask.
"No." Carlos says before Ellen can say anything. "I will need your help. My assistant called in sick this morning."
Ellen reaches back and unzips her dress before letting it fall to the ground. My eyes trail down her body hungrily. Her ribs poke through her skin and I can see her hip bones. When she turns to face me, my eyes trace her curves. Everything about her is just the right size. Not too big and definitely not too small.
Perfect.
I glance up and see her looking at me. I blush, realizing that she caught me checking her out. Carlos begins to wrap the measuring tape around her in multiple different ways. I grow jealous as I watch him measure her bust.
"I have a few different fabrics." he says, pulling small squares of fabric out of his bag. He lays them on the table and I help her step down from it so that she can look. I hand her a robe and she gratefully takes it and puts it on.
"I like this one." she says, pointing at a beautiful dark blue color.
"I like that color on you. It makes your eyes pop." I tell her. She blushes and smiles softly.
The front door opens and someone walks in.
"Patrick?" Rose calls.
"In here." I tell her. She walks into the foyer and stands beside me.
"We are getting El fitted for a dress." I tell her, the nickname slipping out.
"El?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Ellen." I correct myself.
"I see. For the ball?" she asks. I nod and focus back on the other two in the room. They are deep in conversation about style of dress.
"..because I think everyone else will be wearing a poofy dress." she says.
"Actually quite the opposite. Many are going for the more modern look. The straight down." he says. I look at Ellen again, focusing on the way her eyes crinkle when she smiles. The way she occasionally nods to show that she is listening. And when she talks, she has this lopsided smile on her face and she uses her hands to gesture a lot. I listen to their conversation again when I hear my name.
"Patrick is paying for it so don't worry about that." Carlos says.
"Yes. Please. Get whatever your heart desires." I tell her. She blushes and smiles.
"We are done with you Patrick. You may head off to work now." Carlos says, waving me away.
"Alright. I'll be back soon." I tell them. They nod and go back to talking.
***
I walk down the stairs in my tux. I walk through the house into the ballroom. The guests have already shown and I greet them all with a smile. The room is packed with people dancing to the string music.
Tal clings to my hand, looking around curiously. Her poofy dress trails behind her and she smiles shyly at the guests. I look around, looking for Ellen.
"Hey stranger." I turn around and see Rose smiling at me. I smile slightly and go back to looking.
"Daddy, she looks like a princess." Talulah says. I look down at her and see her staring at the stairs that lead from the second floor to the ballroom.
I follow her gaze and audibly gasp. Ellen walks down the stairs in a large dark blue gown. Her dress resembles that of Cinderella. Her golden locks lay gently on her shoulders in loose curls. She looks around the room and finds my stare, smiling.
She walks down the stairs the rest of the way and makes her way toward us, multiple people turning to stare at her beauty.
"Hello Talulah. You look absolutely beautiful." she says smiling.
"Ellie. You look like a princess!" she shouts. Ellen giggles and grabs her hand.
"I apologize for being late." she says to me. I smile, not quite trusting my voice.
"Is there somewhere we can go to stay out of the way?" she asks. I clear my throat.
"Right outside in the garden. Or you can stay if you please." I tell her, hoping she will stay.
"Nonsense. We will be just fine in the garden." she says.
She makes her way outside and I watch her disappear into the crowd. I turn reluctantly back to Rose who looks annoyed.
"Would you like to dance?" I ask. She rolls her eyes and walks away.
Ellen's POV
We walk outside into the fresh air. The music is still very audible all the way out here.
"Ellie? Will you teach me to dance?" Talulah asks.
"Well, dear, I'm afraid I haven't got a partner." I tell her sadly. A man steps out of the ballroom and into the garden.
"I can be your partner." he says smiling. "Hi. I'm Chris."
"Ellen." I say, sticking my hand out. He kisses the back of it and bows his head. I curtsy and we begin to dance. He occasionally steps on my foot and I wince but don't say anything.
He spins me out and I run into something hard. I look up and see Patrick smiling down at me.
"Mind if I cut in?" he asks. Chris shakes his head no and walks back inside.
Patrick pulls me close and I look into his eyes as we gracefully twirl all around the courtyard. He spins me and refrains from stepping on my feet as though we are one person. One mind. I am so close to him that I feel his breath on my neck.
Once the song ends, we stand, still close to each other, just staring at each other. And then the applause starts. I whip my head toward the sound and find Rosalie and Talulah both clapping for us. I quickly step away from Patrick and duck my head.
"Beautiful. You two are quite the pair." Rose says bitterly but still smiling elegantly.
"Let's go inside darling." Patrick says, leading her inside. I sigh and look at Talulah who looks saddened.