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I was glad to hear those words. The salary I was offering wasn’t amazing (at least I didn’t think so) and I really couldn’t afford to pay anything higher.
“Well, so far you’ve answered all of my questions perfectly. When can you start?”
“I can start right away,” Julie replied.
“So, tomorrow then? That would be perfect.”
“Great!” Julie said with a wide smile. I thought I saw her jumping inside of her own skin or about to break into a weird little happy dance. “I’d also love to ask you a few questions about Zoe.”
I was a bit surprised by this. She was the first person who’d ever asked much about Zoe herself. “By all means, go on.”
“Is there anything that she hates?”
“She hates spinach, and mushrooms. And she hates when I tease her about the boy at school who likes her. I’m very sure she has a crush on him. His name is Mikey. I’m sure she will tell you all about him. She also hates it when you talk during her TV time. It annoys her to no end.”
“Ok, I’ll try to contain myself. Does she have any allergies, take any medications, anything like that?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing. She is very healthy. Would you like to meet her? She is playing in her room.”
“I’d love to.”
I called Zoe downstairs. She came down a few moments later yawning as if she’d fallen asleep on the floor of her room again while playing with her toys. Yeah, most likely. She would pretend that she didn’t because only little kids and babies do that kind of naps. So, I could never refer to it as a nap. That would really get her angry. It was hilarious.
“Zoe, this is our friend Julie. She wants to be your new nanny, so I thought we could all hang out for a little bit and get to know her.”
“Ok,” Zoe said. “That’s a cool sweater.”
Julie looked at me with warmth in her eyes. Zoe was already making her melt. Yeah, that little angel had that effect on everybody. “Thank you, sweetie,” Julie said. “I love your hat.”
Zoe was wearing her favorite witch’s hat from her Wizard of Oz Halloween costume. It was her all-time favorite movie and she made me sit through it at least once a week with her. I could sadly quote the whole thing by heart now.
“Thank you,” Zoe said. She sat down at the table and looked at me. “Daddy, can I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”
“Well, it’s lunch time, so I guess that is alright.”
I went to grab the bread from the breadbox.
“Peanut butter and jelly? Wow, that’s my favorite,” Julie said. “What kind of jelly do you like?”
“Grape, of course,” Zoe replied.
“Ah! Me too!” Julie gave Zoe a high five. Zoe cheered and giggled. The two of them were getting along nicely. Normally, it took Zoe a while to warm up to people, especially since her mother was no more. When that happened a little bit of the spark inside of her went out and I had yet to see it again. Maybe Julie could find some way to pull it back out of her.
I made the sandwiches and sat them in front of Zoe. She began to eat it while I poured her a glass of milk. “Doesn’t Julie get one?” Zoe asked.
“Does Julie want a sandwich?” I teased.
Julie looked at Zoe and then at me. “I would love one, thank you.”
“As you wish,” I said as I prepared a sandwich for Julie as well.
“So, Zoe what is your favorite color?” Julie asked.
Zoe rubbed her chin as she thought of the best answer. “Purple.”
“Oooh, I like purple, too. Do you like blue? Or pink?” Julie asked.
“Pink is awesome. I love pink. It’s my favorite.”
