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A second door in the bedroom leads to their shared bathroom, and then into Madden’s bedroom. “This is Madden’s room, the third door on the right if you’re in the hallway,” Lara says.
Madden’s room is light-blue, and the tapestries are a mixture of tropical colors. Pictures of mermaids line the walls and I see a mermaid tail blanket draped over the end of her bed. “It feels like you live in the middle of the ocean,” I tell Madden.
She smiles and leads us out of her bedroom and back into the hallway. “That’s Mom and Dad’s room.” She points diagonally to the right. “And?—”
“You must be Haley,” a tall slender man in a tuxedo says, walking out of the bedroom Madden was just pointing toward. “I’m Corbin. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Lara has been raving about you for days, telling me you’re the perfect fit for the job with our girls.”
I guess I have high expectations to live up to. She took a lot out of our brief conversation and my college credentials.
“You left your phone on the dresser,” Corbin tells his wife. “You missed a call.” Lara takes the phone and studies the display for a second.
“Oh shoot. I am so sorry. I will be right back. I just need to return this call before we leave.” She has the phone up to her ear and a finger pointed upright as she pivots around and returns downstairs.
“I assume the girls have shown you around?” Corbin asks, taking Lara’s lead in returning to the stairwell.
“The bathroom. We didn’t show her where the bathrooms are yet,” Blakely says.
“Ah, well, there’s one to your right,” he says, pointing to the darkened room, “and our master bathroom, which they know not to go into. There is a guest bathroom downstairs outside the great room. You probably passed it on your way up here.”
“I’m sure I can find it. Are there any rules for the girls while you’re gone?” I’m sure neither of the girls appreciates me asking this question, but I should be familiar with the household rules.
“They know the rules,” Corbin says, his voice deepening as he gives each girl a lingering fatherly look. “No sweets after eight, no scary movies, and no hide-and-seek. Someone likes to hide, and someone forgets to seek. It never ends well,” Corbin says with a chuckle as he ruffles his hand through Blakely’s hair.
Madden and Blakely stare up at Corbin as if they’re confused about his rules. “Dad, you said?—”
“No, no hide-and-seek. That’s the end of the discussion.”
EIGHT
FRIDAY, JUNE 9TH 6:30 PM
I’m not sure if I’ll have kids of my own someday, much to my parents’ dismay. I’m sure I’ll have a clearer view of my future once I graduate. But if I do have children, I’m not sure I’ll be the type to trust anyone as quickly as the Smiths have done with me tonight. My willingness to sit through the first-aid course must have satisfied Lara and they left with seemingly little worry. Other than telling me the girls had already eaten dinner and showing me where to find the first-aid kit, there was little else to discuss.
The twins are quiet as they rummage through two bins of what looks to be forgotten toys that they’ve pulled out of the closet. A sigh and a pair of slouching shoulders tells me neither are interested in playing with anything in front of them. The air is heavy with the weight of their silence.
“So, what do the two of you like to do at night? Do you like board games or doing crafts? Blakely, I know you said you like to draw, right?”
“We don’t do much at night,” Blakely responds, her voice shrouded with a weariness as her gaze probes the depths of the toy bin, searching for answers within.
“You must be worn out from a long day at school most nights I bet,” I respond, trying to be subtle with my inquisition.
“The long days at school are nothing compared to the long nights…here,” she says. Her response is the one that will lead to many other thoughts and questions but none that I can vocalize after only meeting them a half hour ago.
Madden stands from her spot between the coffee table and sofa and meanders toward the wall of windows, stopping in the center to stare outside.
“It must be nice to live so close to the ocean. You have such a pretty view from these windows.”
“Sometimes,” Madden says. “Other times, it can cause trouble.”
“Trouble?” I question, finding the mysterious inflection within her words a bit concerning.
“She just means we aren’t allowed to go down there by ourselves,” Blakely follows.
I twist the hem of my shirt behind my back as I watch Madden roll her eyes in response to Blakely. I have more questions to follow the last but know better than to ask them too quickly.
“Hmm, let’s see… Do you girls have any favorite movies?”
Madden turns away from the window and stares at me as if my face is hypnotizing. “We like to play hide-and-seek,” she says.
