Bring The Rain

Chapter 10

I rolled over and glanced at the baby monitor showing me Zahir's bed, he wasn't there but I was sure he must have decided to play with his toys after waking up. It was his usual routine to wake up and go right for his toy chest looking for something interesting. I didn't want to get up but I pulled myself away from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. My wrist watch said 2:48PM and I certainly didn't mean to sleep that late. I needed to get Zahir changed then give him a snack and something to do before I went back to my work. I washed my hands quickly and made my way to his room. I didn't see him immediately so I checked the closet, under his bed, and finally his tent that he loved to play in. When I realized he was nowhere to be found I started to panic, he usually doesn't leave his room so where could he be? I left his room searching the house in the usual places he liked to hide. I started with the kitchen and pantry knowing how much he loves to sneak in there and steal snacks, but he wasn't there, nor was he in the family room watching TV. Those were his favorite places and the only rooms in the house that he frequented. Now I was really panicking. I checked the back door and found it  unlocked again, I constantly asked Heather to make sure that it was secured at all times. God forbid he got out of the house and into the pool. I ran outside praying that I wouldn't find my child face down in the below ground swimming pool. What I found was Heather sun tanning while talking on her cell phone, just seeing her so wrapped up in herself while I was almost hysterical made me so angry. "Heather!", I yelled at her, making her jump. "Why the fuck are you screaming?" She snorted back. I explained to her that I couldn't find Zahir anywhere and she could clearly see how frantic I was about the situation. Her response was to roll her eyes, laying back down on the lounge chair she nonchalantly answered "he's with the nanny".
   I thanked God that he was ok and I was able to relax, but only for a moment. What nanny, where did they come from, when were you going to tell me about this; these were all questions I hurled at her at once. Heather was becoming annoyed with me and my questions but I needed to know where the hell my son was and who this stranger was that Heather left him with. "Stop stressing, I found her at 'The Grace Agency' they're the ones with a daycare and nannies for hire". That had to be a lie, I called them first thing this morning with no luck. That agency was in high demand and they aren't even allowing anyone to join the waiting list at this time. "Bullshit, I know there's no way you were able to find a nanny there". Heather did her signature eye roll again, "look, she's doing some freelancing so she doesn't have to give the agency a cut of her money, and that means we can pay her less; and by we, I mean you have to pay her. I'm tired of dealing with him and the two of you being in my way all day isn't gonna work for me. She'll be staying here and will work weekends and nights so when you have to go out of town everything will be taken care of. Trust me, this is the best option for everyone". I had to admit she made valid points, with this Florida job in the works I would need to start traveling down there in order to get everything set up with the job and our future home; but a stranger living in my house was something I was still on the fence about. "If she's going to live here, where exactly is she going to stay? Do you really feel comfortable with a stranger living in our home"? Heather seemed to ignore my question as she got up from her lounging position, slipping on her sandals and grabbing her phone. "She's staying in the pool house; I've done my fair share of the work with that kid and I'm tired of him. Her name is Ara and you can go meet her if you want, but don't you dare think about getting rid of her. She's staying and that's final". With that she turned away, flipping her long bleached blond hair behind her. I had grown to hate her so much and if this nanny she hired wasn't up to my standards she'd be out on her ass no matter what Heather said.
   I marched over to the pool house with the purpose of seeing my son and I wanted to meet this new nanny. It wasn't fair of me but I already had my mind made up that she wasn't good enough to care for my child. Heather would have grabbed a stranger off the street if they were willing to keep Zahir out of her hair for a while. Before I barged in I got a glimpse of Zahir and the nanny through the window. They were sitting on the rug in the tiny pool house living room. Zahir smiled up at her as she held his hand in hers and held a sliced apple in the other. "Apple", I could hear the woman slowly telling Zahir, "app-le" he repeated. It wasn't exactly correct but it was only on rare occasions that Zahir would speak for me and here he was doing it for her when she simply asked; I was both impressed and jealous. "Good job!", she excitedly cheered for him and handed Zahir the apple slices after he spoke. He happily took them and began to eat them as he crawled into her lap. She stroked his coily hair as he ate and smiled down at him lovingly.
   I walked over here insisting on giving this woman the third degree, I was going to bombard her with questions to find out who she was and to decide for myself if she was worthy of caring for my child. Seeing the two of them bounding so well now I couldn't do that, he was clearly smitten with her already. It took him over a month before he would freely climb in my lap and hug me but here he was all over this woman as if he had known her his entire short life. 
   I couldn't help but stare at her, she had an adorable baby face and I wondered if she was even old enough to drink. Her hair was full and fluffy as it framed her face which had cute little dimples when she smiled and her lips looked so full and soft that I wanted to kiss them. She was dressed in a beige skirt that was rising up her silky smooth brown thighs as she sat on the floor with her legs crossed. Her shirt appropriately covered her but I could see her breasts straining against the fabric. They were clearly double, maybe even triple D cups and I got the urge to squeeze them. I had to shake these thoughts from my head, she had to be half my age and I came here for a reason, and that reason wasn't to ogle the new nanny.
   I decided to knock on the door so as not to startle the two of them. She opened the door while holding Zahir on her hip, her face was even cuter up close. "You must be Mr. Taylor, I'm Ara", she stated while extending her hand to me. Any hesitations I had about this woman before were melting, I needed to stop thinking with my smaller head and use the one on my shoulders, Zahir required the best not the most attractive. I always questioned any daycare or sitter that I hired for Zahir, never truly trusting anyone completely with him but as he saw me he didn't even budge from her hip. Usually once he saw me he would run to me, grab my leg and want to be picked up, however all I got at the moment was a smile and a wave. I smiled at the two of them "hey buddy", I said trying to take him in my arms, he only giggled and wiggled away from me making it obvious he wanted to stay by Ara's side. He laid his head on her shoulder as he ate his apple slices and hugged her closely with his free hand. Zahir was clearly growing attached to her and seemingly wanted to stay with her more than he wanted me.
    "You can just call me Mike. Can I come in"? Why was I asking her to come into the building I paid the bills for, the moment this woman looked at me she had me in her trance. Ara smiled at me and stepped aside "of course, please come in". I walked into the pool house looking around at the new features, I didn't know why Heather had begun reconstruction on the tiny space six weeks ago but now I wondered if this is what she was planning all along. The living room and kitchen were connected and didn't have much room in either but the kitchen now contained a full sized oven and fridge. There were two doors adjacent to the living area which contained the new bedroom and bathroom that were added on. The place was no bigger than a hotel suite and I wondered how Ara was going to live in such a small space.
   "Thank you so much for your consideration and hiring me. Your  wife explained that you work often and that Zahir would need round the clock care. I just wanted to let you know that I'm so happy to be here and I can assure you that I will take very good care of your son". The speech sounded perfect, as if she had practiced it over and over again in her mind. She sounded confident and I had to admit that I was impressed with the way that she was handling Zahir but I still had to be sure that this woman was trustworthy. "Do you have any references? My wife said she found you at The Grace Agency but I've already contacted them and they had no one available, were you fired? I don't see why you would leave the agency just to watch my son". I had forgotten the immediate attraction I felt for this woman as I interrogated her, I needed real answers and they better be good if she wanted to live under my roof and care for my son. She shuffled her feet and looked away nervously, "Well I do have references that I can provide and I have a resume. Let me get them for you". She stepped away opening one of the doors behind her. I could see that the door led into a small bedroom and I watched as she grabbed a piece of paper from the dresser handing it to me. Her resume didn't have much work history but she had a degree in early childhood education which intrigued me. I definitely wanted Zahir to start speech therapy but I needed a reliable person to take him there consistently and do the required work with him after the lessons. I also wanted him to work with someone who could help him with his basic knowledge before he started preschool. This could work to my advantage but I still had my hesitations. "You didn't answer my last question, why aren't you still working at The Grace Agency"? I could see her slightly hesitate before taking a deep breath and answering; "I was never an employee of the agency, I was there for an interview when I met your wife. I heard her talking about your situation and how you needed a nanny as soon as possible". She looked almost desperate as she explained the circumstances of how she met Heather. "I recently received my degree in early childhood education and I have plans to continue my education but I wanted to have a stable job before I go back to school. I have what it takes to care for your son and if you agree to keep me here I promise I will take great care of him and help him in any way I can. He's in great hands with me and I've already gotten to know him so well". I sighed and rubbed my forehead, it was almost 3:30 and I needed to get back to work. I wasn't sure if I truly trusted this woman yet but she seemed genuine and there was something that had me drawn to her; maybe it was the way that Zahir attached himself to her or maybe it was the way she made me feel. I tried my best to put my own physical attraction to the side, I needed to focus on what was best for my son. "You can stay, but let me be clear this will be a trial period. I'll see how well you do with Zahir this week and if I approve of you I'll hire you as a full time nanny". Ara breathed a sigh of relief and flashed me that adorable smile again. "Thank you Mr. Taylor! I promise I'll prove to you that I'm the best person for the job", I looked her up and down before pulling my eyes back to hers, "I hope so". I handed her my card that listed my business, home, and cell numbers. I explained that my job was very time consuming but I was always to be notified when Zahir needed something or had any type of incident. I finished giving her all of my numbers and telling her all that I felt she needed to know about taking care of my child. I managed to get a hug from Zahir before leaving for work but he soon wanted to get back into Ara's arms. I didn't want to take Zahir away from her now, it was clear that he wanted to stay with her and I really did need to get back to work, I had a virtual meeting at 4:00 and I couldn't be late.
   I made my way back to my home office and opened my case folders. I needed to focus on work as much as possible right now but my mind constantly went back to Ara and Zahir. I wanted to ensure his safety and leaving him alone with her so soon was causing me concern. Being a criminal defense attorney gave me knowledge of background checking and with ease I was able to find that she had no criminal record of any kind, which was only slightly reassuring. I looked into her history and found that she technically didn't have her degree yet but I discovered that she would be receiving it soon as she was scheduled to graduate next month. I emailed her references, one of which was her former professor who immediately responded to me. She had nothing but positive things to say about Ara and gave her raving reviews on the hands on work she did with children when she did her teaching assistant courses. It wasn't much later before I received another email from the school where Ara worked. I was more than impressed with the glowing recommendations that she received and I felt more at ease after reading them. I was still going to keep a close eye on Ara but for now I believed my son was in good hands.