Whispers From The Heart

Chapter Six

As I ring the doorbell, I take a deep breath and hope for the best. I can't help but worry about what kind of person I will be meeting this afternoon. Father Bob had said she was quite a bit younger and I wonder just how young. I've gotten accustomed to Mavis and her motherly ways and it's hard to imagine how a younger, less-experienced person might fill her shoes. It's incredible how daunting it is to trust a total stranger with my baby girl. I almost turn to leave, but before I can, Father Bob opens the door and greets me with that reassuring smile of his, his dog Sheba right there with him, as always, when it's after hours.

"Come on in, Lyndon, get out of the cold." It has started to snow again, quite heavily and the temperature has dropped significantly in the last hour. But then that's to be expected when it's December in Toronto. "How were the roads?"

"Slippery, I'm glad I don't have far to travel," I say as I brush the snowflakes off my coat. "Is she here?" I'm not in the mood for small talk. I'm anxious to meet the prospective nanny.

"She is, right this way, Lyndon." Father Bob leads the way to his office, but before we reach the door, he stops and turns to face me, a look of concern on his face. "I must warn you, though, the situation is a little complicated. I should have mentioned it to you sooner, but I felt it would best if... well, if you met Evelyn first." From where I'm standing I can see someone sitting just inside the office, but I can only see a pair of legs, rather a set of winter boots, crossed at the ankles. I hear a soft voice and the distinct swishing of winter jackets. Whoever it is, is speaking softly and I wonder who else is in there besides this Evelyn I am to meet.

"Complicated?" I groan. The last thing I want to deal with is anything complicated. I have enough to worry about.

"Yes, but not so complicated that it should be a problem, really." He is hesitating and it is making me nervous.

"Complicated, how?" I wince.

"There's a little brother involved."

"Brother?" This throws me for a loop. "Why should it concern me that a nanny has a brother? I don't expect whoever it is not to have a life. Mavis has a life, a family of her own, otherwise she wouldn't be leaving." He takes me aside and I follow him a few steps from the door. As I do, I can't help feel a pair of eyes watching me. Unable to resist, I turn around and catch a small boy peeking out at me. But before I can smile at him, someone tugs him from view.

"I should have mentioned earlier that Evelyn and her brother are on their own. Sadly, they are having to live at the church-run shelter. While it's not a bad place, obviously, it's just not where they need to be. What they need is a nice stable home. A home such as your own."

"My home?" I balk at the idea. I suddenly find myself fuming. "You expect me to take in strangers, people I've never met into my home, with me, and my infant daughter?" Is all this just part of Father Bob's agenda to find homes for the homeless for Christmas? Am I just a pawn in his game of wanting to be the saintly priest? I am now wondering if I am just another charity case, only in my case, I'm the one with the money. Well then, he can just forget it. First and foremost, I must think of my daughter's safety. I'm all she's got and I refuse to put her at risk.

"I can understand your trepidation."

"Trepidation? Father, I was hoping for someone like Mavis who shows up in the mornings and goes home at night. I have no desire for a live-in nanny, much less one with a little brother."

"Listen, Lyndon, I know what you requested and I know you believe it is what you want, but I can't help but think this is what you might actually need."

"Oh, Father, please," I groan with frustration. "How in the world can you ask me to take strangers into my home?  Why would you put me in this situation? Do you not think I have enough guilt as it is already?" I rake my fingers through my hair in frustration.