“She seems very nice,” I said.
“Is she pretty?” she asked.
Such an innocent question coming from her, I had to chuckle. Not that she could understand it, but thinking about how pretty Avery was, was about the last thing I needed to be doing.
“She's very pretty,” I said.
I spoke lower though, as if somehow admitting – out loud – that my potential new nanny was, in fact, very pretty, might betray the relationship I had with my wife. “Well, if she's nice and she's pretty, I think she's the one,” Maisie said matter-of-factly, as if those were the only two things that mattered in a nanny. “Don't you, Lola?”
“I think there's more to it than just being nice and pretty,” I said, ruffling Lola's head.
She never did answer her sister's question. We reached the bottom of the stairs and I led the girls into my office where I'd been conducting the interview. Avery stood as soon as the door opened, and her eyes positively lit up when she saw my little girls.
“You must be Lola and Maisie,” she said.
She walked toward us and kneeled down to be eye-level with the girls, the smile on her face reaching all the way up to her eyes, making them sparkle and glimmer with an inner light.
“My name is Avery,” she said.
“Avery is a pretty name,” Maisie said.
“Thank you,” she said. “And you must be – Maisie?”
“How did you know?” Maisie squealed, delighted that Avery knew who she was.
“Lucky guess,” Avery laughed and then turned to Lola, who stared at her with wide, uncertain eyes. “And that makes you Lola.”
Lola nodded, but said nothing in return.
“It's nice to meet you, Lola,” she said.
I interjected, just to stave off an awkward silence I felt was building. “Lola tends to be a little shy,” I said. “Maisie, on the other hand, will talk your ear off.”
“Is that so?” Avery asked.
Maisie rolled her eyes and looked up at me, her hands planted on her hips. “I like to talk. That’s how you make friends,” she said.
Lola finally giggled, and she managed to say, “You do talk a lot.”
Maisie shot her sister a look of disbelief and faux-outrage, but the two of them ended up giggling so much, I couldn't make out what Maisie said to her in return. My girls were laughing and happy, which meant the world to me. Even Avery seemed to join in on the smiles. There was suddenly a lighter feeling in the room, one of a blissful happiness or unfettered joy – something I hadn't felt in a long, long time.
Staring down at the three of them, I could tell the girls were already comfortable with her. I had a good feeling about this. The agency I'd contacted had highly recommended her for the position and her references were perfect. My only concern about Avery was how she'd interact with my girls, and I could see there was obviously no problem there. Honestly, there really was no reason to not offer her the job.
Especially since we were leaving for Paris in less than a week.
“Girls, what do you think? Should we bring Avery along to Paris with us?” I asked.
Maisie shouted, “Yes! We want Avery!”
Even Lola spoke up, “Yes,” she said softly, her soft cheeks turning a bright shade of red.
Avery stood up, her own cheeks flushed with color. She seemed surprised, but her smile stretched across her entire face. She was nearly in tears.
“Does this mean you're offering me the job?” she asked.
“The girls had their say, and I agree with them,” I said, feeling my own smile spread across my face. “So yes, Avery, if you'd like the job, it's yours.”
“Oh wow, I honestly didn't expect to – but, of course I want it,” she said, her face turning even brighter red, her hands coming up to her mouth. She looked like she might cry. “You have no idea how excited I am for this opportunity, Mr. Sullivan. I promise I won't let you down. Thank you. Thank you so much.”