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Chapter 5
The days before Randy, Eimy, and Ryan left for Taiwan were crazy. Eimy was on her own, going to the lawyer and having papers drawn up that gave me temporary custody of her baby. Blessedly, I had to go to my new job every day and was exempt from doing any preparations for babysitting. I already had all the baby supplies I would need while Eimy was gone. My biggest fear was Yasmine’s father; if he gave me any trouble, I’d just call the police.
As far as childcare was concerned, Pam’s assistant, Hocus, knew the availability of the women in her family who nannied. And through her, I found Myrla Perez, a cousin of Lisa’s nanny Daniela.
The following Saturday, after Ryan left to visit his parents in New Jersey before leaving for Taiwan, I met Myrla. She took the subway down from Highbridge.
“It’s not that far,” Daniela had said. “Don’t let her try to con you into paying more because it’s ten miles away.”
I expected a young, plain girl like the nannies in Babylon. When I looked through the peephole, I was a little shocked. Myrla was neither young nor plain.
“Myrla? Come in,” I said, holding the door open.
I had to look up at her as she walked by me. I’m nearly five-nine, but Myrla had to be six feet tall. And she was dressed for a corporate job interview, in a beautifully cut pantsuit, expensive boots, a long wool overcoat, and a Hermes scarf. She had beautiful coiffed hair and perfect makeup, and I felt like a slob next to her. Holding designer sunglasses in one hand and a Fendi purse in the other, Myrla was stunning.
“I love this apartment,” she said, looking around. “You’ve done an amazing job decorating. And the location is just wonderful.”
“I love it, too,” I said, pleased. “Can I take your coat?”
She shrugged out of her overcoat and handed it to me. “Thanks. I’m excited about this job.”
“Why is that?” I asked, curious.
“I want to be down here but not stuck in an office. Do you know what I mean? I can walk around the city for eight hours a day if I want to, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner from famous food trucks, sit in the library as long as the baby can tolerate it, watch the boats on the river. I mean, as long as the weather is accommodating and you’re okay with it.”
“Have you been a nanny before?”
“Only to my own two sons, both away at college. David is at Michigan and Keith is at Michigan State. Rivals. But it’s easy to get them to and from school because they’re so close to each other.”
“Can I ask what your last job was?”
She opened her purse and dug through it, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to me. “My resume.”
“Have a seat,” I said, glancing over the paper. “I made coffee. Cream? Sugar?”
“Both,” she said, sitting on the couch. “Where’s the baby?”
“I’ll tell you all about it,” I said, fixing the coffee. I brought her a mug.
I told the story of the baby’s kidnapping and how I’d reached out to the mother, feeling it was better to have everything out in the open.
“Is the father still a problem?” she asked.
“It’s possible. He’s on everyone’s radar, however.”
“Is there a restraining order?”
“No, unfortunately. He never tried to harm the mother or the babysitter, so there were no grounds.”
I read down the list of jobs she’d had for the past twenty years. Miss Perez was no slouch. She had been the personal assistant for the former mayor of New York’s wife for six years.
“Wow, I’m impressed with your resume,” I said. “Especially your last job.”
“Ha! Don’t be. That was a piece of cake. Literally. I ate so much cake while I worked for her, I gained ten pounds. It was mostly accepting and attending functions on her behalf. The mayor’s wife was a ball of fire. Not many people knew she was a practicing attorney.”
“You have a commanding presence,” I said, grinning. “I’m sure she was thrilled to have you.”
“I don’t know about that. Anyway, so your baby isn’t really your baby exactly, but you’re watching her and paying me to watch her for a friend. Is that correct?”
