Once upon a Nursery Rhyme

The Interview

Foreword
I thought I should put pen to paper, weird things have been happening to me just recently, since I started my new job in fact, it's difficult to explain and I can't really talk to anyone about it, they would think I was crazy but I wanted, needed to leave a record of my experiences , so I thought I would keep a diary, so here goes.....

Let me tell you a bit about myself before we start:

My name is Charlotte Brown, most people call me Charlie. I'm pretty average, you know, average height, average looks and average intelligence .

I'm not looking for sympathy but I am an orphan. it's just the way it is, I lost my parents 13 years ago, I was too old for people to want to adopt me and not pretty enough for people to want to foster me, that being said I was quite happy in the home and now at the grand age of 18 I'm about to lose the only home I've ever known, that is why I am sitting here in front of Mr Henry Hope, father of a 2 yr old little girl called Constance .

He was looking for a nanny/help and I was applying for the job. I have no experience and no proper qualifications but I am an optimist besides I need a job, he needs a nanny, I need a home and his job is live in - a perfect match I say, and I am cheap!.

Mr Hope put down the papers outlining my qualifications - or lack of them, He looked at me over his glasses

"You seem very young" he said, mentally I crossed this job off my list , these words were usually followed with

'I was really looking for..........someone older / more experienced/ more qualifications / prettier' actually no one has said that last one but I'm sure they think it, so you can imagine my surprise when Mr Hope continued

" but I do want someone active to care for my daughter, someone who can connect with her, I think you may fit the bill, obviously as you have listed item qualifications and experience your wage will reflect that, (as I said, I'm cheap) Let us go and meet Constance - if she likes you then I am willing to give you a months trial, make sure you are suitable, and that will also give you the chance to decide whether this is the job for you, Any questions?"

"um, does your wife want to meet me?" okay I was flustered, remember I had been expecting the brush off.

" My wife Clara left me - us about a year ago now, there is just Constance and I, I have an important job and unable to take her with me, Mrs Golightly, the lady that comes in a couple of times a week, finds it too difficult to watch Connie and do her work, hence the need for a nanny - would that be a problem?" He said rather abruptly

I said "No", mentally kicking myself for putting my foot in it!

" Come along - let us meet Constance" said Henry rather briskly.

Feeling somewhat subdued, I followed Mr Hope - 'call me Henry', down the corridor to meet Constance.

She was an adorable child with golden curls and sparkling green eyes, she appeared to be a happy outgoing child and we hit if off instantly. It was obvious that Mr Hope adored his young daughter.

"She is the spitting image of her mother" he said softly, so softly that I almost missed it.

He gave me a brief tour of the house, he had a lady Mrs Golightly, come in a couple of times a week to cook and clean so I would not need to worry about that, in the front room he indicated a bookcase which he said belonged to his wife so if I wanted a read I would probably find some girly books in there. I would have a small bedroom connected to Constance room so I would be close at hand for the majority of the time.

We agreed that I would have a months trial, starting from the 1st of next month, 'which' Henry said 'would give me time to sort out my affairs'. it would give me approximately two weeks time, at the front door he added

" Before you go, I should mention that my wife Clara said that Constance disappears from time to time, I believe that is why she left, she couldn't cope with it - she was highly strung. Even so, I will require you to be vigilant, I don't want anything to happen to my little girl, especially since she is all I have left of my wife"

Obviously, I agreed to these terms, after all I needed the job and how difficult would it be to take care of a 2 year old girl. But it did strike me as a strange thing to say.