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"Nothing. Nothing. Just--can you just leave me alone?" Mara said.
"Gladly," Jacqui said.
239
everything is getting progressively worse
For the first time the entire summer, both Anna and Kevin actually showed up for the weekly progress report in the screening room. Anna was in a good mood. Her co-chairwomanship of Super Saturday was almost locked. She had found a designer with a massive amount of overstock who wanted to sell it all in a prime booth, and it was just a matter of time before the committee anointed her with the title.
Mara and Eliza stumbled in late (projectile poo from the baby getting his diaper changed had delayed their arrival) and were surprised and not too pleased that Jacqui, of all people, was sitting there, conversing pleasantly with their bosses as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
They took their usual seats, perplexed at the turn of events.
"So, anyway, as I was saying, I just want to know how Zoe is keeping up with her reading. Has she moved on to the new Art Spiegelman?"
"Uh, I'm not quite sure, Anna," Eliza said brightly. "In fact,
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you should ask Jacqui since she's been reading to her all summer."
"Yes, she's completely engrossed in a book, I think it's called Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" Mara interrupted.
Jacqui kicked Mara under the table.
Anna beamed. "And Cody?"
"Oh, we've almost cured him of the whole running-around-naked thing. We're really setting a fine example that clothes are very, very important to one's social development," Eliza said, glaring at Mara.
Kevin yawned. He was still picturing Jacqui naked below the decks on his Catalina.
"As for Madison, she's learning the value of telling the truth. Especially to her friends," Mara said, returning Eliza's icy stare. "And William? Is he taking his meds?"
"Oh, absolutely," all three au pairs chorused. His doctor had put William on Adderall in addition to the Ritalin and Metadate that he was already taking, so that was true enough. Not that it had done anything to change the kid's personality. He was still a hyperactive little monster.
"Marvelous!" Anna shone. "Oh, Kevin, aren't these girls perfect? They're nothing like those other ones you hired. I'm so glad."
The au pairs' ears pricked up. They never did find out what happened to the 'A. Team," as they had dubbed the first set of au pairs, and they were slightly worried they would be given the boot as well. Who knew what those girls did wrong? It wasn't as if
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Mara, Eliza, and Jacqui were doing anything right. Except Anna and Kevin were so clueless or indifferent, it really didn't matter.
Kevin handed out the fat cash-filled envelopes. "Thanks, ladies. Keep up the good work."
He led Anna out of the den.
"Oh, darling, I forgot to tell you," Anna said as they walked away. "The landscaper--or the gardener--he quit today. You're going to have to find someone else in town who can take care of the azaleas. Such a shame."
Mara tried to catch Eliza's eye. But Eliza turned away.
As the girls pocketed their cash, each of them took mental bets on who wasn't going to make it to their final payday.
Mara: 5-1 it's Eliza. The girl was a complete flake. Plus she didn't have anything to stay for now that all her friends had abandoned her.
Eliza: 3-1 on Mara. She liked the odds on the small-town girl feeling homesick and quitting life in the fast lane.
Jacqui: 2-1 on herself. She wasn't sure she could take this any longer. She certainly wasn't having the summer of her life that the job ad had promised. So much for truth in advertising.
