A nanny for Mia

Chapter 2

It was six pm in the evening, and Zoe and Mia just concluded Mia's school assignment. Mia sat on the floor in her room, drawing and colouring on a drawing paper. She coloured her drawings with undivided attention.

She finished colouring her drawing and showed it to Zoe, who bent over to put away clothes off Mia's bed. "Miss Zoe, take a look at my drawing," Zoe observed. It was a five-year-old girl drawing of; a little girl, holding hands with an older male. Zoe smiled at the drawing and asked. "Who are they?"

"That's Clara and her brother," Mia replied

" But darling… Why draw Clara and her brother?... The drawing is beautiful… I like it."Zoe said as she handed back the drawing to Mia.

" Miss Zoe, do you have a brother?" Mia's question came unexpectedly to Zoe and she chose to ignore it.

However, Zoe went back to clearing the clothes on Mia's bed. She was not so good with sharing her family background; that was because she had no family background.

Zoe had lived all her life in the orphanage. No foster family, no adopted family. So, she had little to no clue on what having or growing up in a family was like.

" Miss Zoe, is your brother as tall as Clara's brothers?" Mia asked again. This time, Zoe was forced to answer the curious, five-year-old girl. "I don't know if I have any…"

"What do you mean Miss Zoe?"

"I didn't have the privilege of knowing my real parents… I don't even know if they have other children, other than myself... I was taken to the orphanage at a very tender age, so I can't say for sure if I have a blood-related brother or not."

" What's blood-related brother, Miss Zoe?" Mia sounded confused.

" What I mean by blood-related brothers is; like I told you, I grew up in an orphanage… There are a lot of male orphans like myself... I refer to them as my brothers because we grew up together in the orphanage... But we don't share the same bloodline… That is why I specifically said, blood-related brothers." Mia seemed more confused at this point. She didn't bother to press further with more questions.

Suddenly, Mia's visage changed. Her face turned sour. Zoe reached down to her and held her. Mia refused to look at Zoe. She steadied her gaze to a spot on the floor.

"Clara's brothers in college took Clara to Disneyland during the holiday," Mia complained sorrowfully.

Clara was Mia's classmate and friend. She was the only friend who visited Mia at home. Clara and her family lived in the neighbourhood, so it was easier for her to visit.

Clara was the last child of her parents and she was a year older than Mia. She had many siblings and none of them were her age grade. Clara's parents had her many years after they had their other kids. So, the age difference between Clara and her other siblings was of great advantage to Clara. She was the little princess of her family.

Zoe held Mia closer and stroked her hair.

" I haven't been to Disneyland before." Mia cried. "Is that why you are sad?" Zoe asked. She nodded her yes. "Guess what, I have a surprise for you." Mia's eyes lighted in expectations, suddenly the whole gloominess was gone.

" I have a gift for you, but you will get your gift tomorrow."

"Woow… gift!" Mia chorused. 'What is the gift, Miss Zoe?" She asked anxiously.

"You will get to see it tomorrow… But for now, let's finish arranging your toys." Mia bent over and started picking up toys from the littered floor, she threw them into a plastic bag, while Zoe continued with the clothes. Zoe was glad she was able to manage the situation.

After a short sustained silence in the room." Miss Zoe?" Mia called out again.

"Yes, Mia."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

" No, I don't have a boyfriend." Mia chuckled and said. " But, adults have boyfriends and girlfriends."

"Not all adult Mia"

" But…"

"No, but Mia! Finish up… we will talk about this tomorrow." Zoe cut her off. The door clicked open and Audrey walked in. Mia ran off to hug him. He was just coming home, judging from his appearance.

Zoe got herself busy with the clothes as she tried to avoid Audrey and his unnecessary mean words.

" Daddy! Mrs Pamela came to my school… She said I should remind you to pay her what you owe her." Audrey swallowed involuntarily, he concealed his fear and shock under a weak smile.

"Daddy, do you owe Mrs. Pamela?" The little girl asked innocently. " Of course not princess. Did she say anything else to you?" Audrey asked hesitantly. Mia shook her head heavily. "Noo."

"You know what?...daddy will have to excuse himself for a moment and make this urgent business call." Audrey stormed out of the room.

" Is Mrs. Pamela evil?" Mia asked. Zoe didn't know who Pamela was, so she kept silent.

"She's my mother… she was holding a gun," Mia added with cold feet. Mia looked scared from where she stood.

Zoe felt sorry for the little girl, she sighed and moved Mia closer.

"Don't be scared, darling?" Zoe said as she cleaned the tear tracks off Mia's cheeks.

"Don't be scared, okay? Your daddy is always here to protect you and I'm here too… Don't be scared… everything will be alright, darling." Zoe squashed her into a warm embrace.

After the tension had died down and the long embrace ended, Zoe said "Alright, let's finish up." She started picking toys from the floor and Mia joined again.

An hour later, the room was cleared and Mia had already dozed off. Zoe quietly sneaked out of the room, she walked down the hallway and noticed Audrey's study open. She ignored it and continued walking her way towards the stairs.

" Can I speak to you for a moment ?" The calm baritone voice of Audrey interrupted her movement, she paused and looked towards the direction of the voice, and found Audrey leaning against the door to his study.

He folded his hands across his chest as he watched her move closer. Zoe stood a foot away from him. " I assume she's asleep right now?" Audrey asked

"Yes, she is… she fell asleep some minutes ago."

"I would have loved to say good night, if she was still awake…"

Audrey gestured to Zoe to come into his study. He ushered her to sit on a three-seater sofa in front of a bookshelf.

He reached for two glasses and a bottle of vodka. He poured liquor into the first glass and handed the glass to Zoe, but she shook her head vehemently. "No, I don't drink vodka."

Audrey scoffed and his usual mischievous look returned."What about cigarettes?" He asked.

" I don't smoke, either." She answered politely

"So, you don't smoke, and you don't drink, what about a boyfriend?" Audrey asked sarcastically.

Zoe felt embarrassed by Audrey's sarcastic comment. She unconsciously rubbed her dress with her palms to ease tension.

"Why don't you drink or smoke ?" Audrey asked. Now, in a more serious tone. Zoe hesitated. She chooses her words carefully to avoid sounding too religious; like most people would say, each time they ask a question regarding her faith.

" It's against the principles of my faith," Zoe answered gently. She thought that was a more suitable answer for someone like Audrey.

Audrey didn't even bother to press further, just like many other people had done. Some had gone ahead to call her names, like church rat, holier than thou, and so many other mocking names.

Some even went further to ask if she was Jesus Christ after she had told them she was a Christian.

Someone once said to her, "I was born into a Christian home, and automatically I became a Christian, but Christianity doesn't stop me from living my life the way I want. Girrrl!… you gotta Live your life… Do what makes you happy… We only live once, remember?"

Zoe smiled at the fellow and gave her her usual words of assertion. "We don't live once… we live every day and die once. We all are accountable for our own lives. How we choose to live is our responsibility….some choose to live by the Word of God, while others choose to live by their instincts and beliefs… it's always a battle of choices" Those words were her cliché. She used them usually when people challenged or questioned her faith.

However, Audrey didn't give a damn about what her faith, beliefs, whatsoever was. "That's okay if you insist." Audrey drew a truce.

At this point, he was sitting on a chair opposite Zoe, still holding his glass of vodka." I overheard your conversation with Mia, a few hours ago…"

He sighed and continued. "She sounded so scared..." He paused and rubbed his chin as he habitually does, whenever he was tense.

" She seemed distant and cold of late… It gets tougher and tougher by the day. I know she blames me for separating her from her mum... Mia would have been happier if she had her mum around." Audrey bemoaned his daughter's sadness.

" I know, I shouldn't be bothering you with these details, but you are the only one Mia can trust… she trusts you more than she trusts me… I feel awful saying this… she never told me Pamela visited her school with a gun."

Zoe had never seen Audrey in such a terrible mood, he looked so downcast. She watched him take another delicious sip, from his glass of vodka. He threw his head backwards and shut his eyes tightly as he took in the harsh taste of the liquor.

" I don't think, she blames you, for her mum's absence in her life," Zoe said.

" she's just being a kid, growing up to meet the imbalances of life… I think she needs only attention… she will be fine with time..." Zoe was interrupted by Audrey's phone. His phone beeped to a message alert.

Audrey reached for his phone and silently read the message. He hastily excused himself to a close end in the room.

Zoe waited patiently, while he dialled a number with his phone. On the second dial, the call connected, "Make the transfer, right now. I want the account monitored… get back to me once you have something handy." Audrey ordered.

Without saying more words, Audrey stormed out of the room. He returned in a casual outfit, he was holding his car keys, ready to drive out. From the look of things, he was driving himself. "Wait here… I will be back." He ordered Zoe to open her mouth to protest, but his cold stare silenced her.