Nanny

1

first of all I don't know what I am doing, I was once a holy child, I blame wattpad for it and second enjoy it!

Kate

"No one is going to hire me," I complained. "I'm going to be unemployed forever."

We were sitting at the dining room table, which was covered with our two laptops and dozens of classified ads. I'd grabbed a copy of every newspaper in the area, along with several job fliers that were stapled to neighborhood bulletin boards. Nothing was promising.

"Relax," my friend Miranda said. "Be patient. The nanny gig will pan out."

"I've never nannied anyone before."

"That's not true," she replied. "You were a babysitter when we were teenagers."

"Yeah, fifteen years ago. Besides, babysitting kids for a couple of hours isn't the same thing as working as a private nanny."

"It's something!"

"It's not enough," I insisted. "I have almost zero experience. That's why nobody has contacted me."

I had lost my job as a translator two months ago. Foreign language jobs were hard to come by, even in the greater New York City area, so I had finally started expanding my search to other professions. When Miranda told me she could get me into the nannying agency, it felt like being thrown a life preserver.

But that was four weeks ago, and I hadn't gotten so much as a phone call.

I picked at my half-eaten sandwich while listening to the drone of a helicopter. There was a hospital nearby, which meant helicopters were always coming and going. The noise rose to a climax, then faded away.

"It's worth the wait," Miranda insisted. "It took me a while to find my current family. Now I get paid stupid money to watch their kids."

"You have work experience," I replied. "You nannied for the Hendersons throughout college. Plus, you have to drive into the city every day. I do not want that commute again. I'm hoping to find something closer."

Miranda's house was in Norwalk, Connecticut. About forty-five miles away from New York City, which meant the commute was anywhere from an hour to three hours, depending on the traffic and time of day. Miran
da nannied for a family on the upper-east side of Manhattan. Even though she got off work every evening at six, sometimes she didn't get home until nine. And then she had to turn around and do it again the next day.

I had made that commute for years as a translator, and I didn't want to do it again unless I absolutely had to.

"So which is it?" Miranda narrowed her eyes at me. "You're desperate for anything, or you're holding out for a job in Connecticut?"

"Both." I sighed. "Either. I don't know. I feel so lost these days. Honestly, I would take my old job back in a heartbeat. Even with the commute. I..."

My throat tightened and I took a sip of water. Miranda scooted her chair closer to me and gave me a reassuring hug.

"It's going to be okay," she said. "I promise."

I didn't believe her, but I said, "I know," anyway.

I opened the spreadsheet on my laptop titled BACKUP JOBS. There were a lot of jobs in the gig economy I could fall back on: Uber driver, Grubhub, Postmates. I hated driving, especially in the city. Spending all day in a car, delivering food or taxiing people around Connecticut was my idea of hell.

But I was already behind on rent, and my meager savings were dwindling rapidly. Granted, I was renting Miranda's spare bedroom and I knew she would let me stay here as long as I needed, but I didn't like owing anyone. I wanted to stand on my own two feet.