Ricky and Nini are polar opposites—he's a nonfiction writer about who-knows-what, and she's determined to bring joy and laughter back to the Bowen house. He may find out he's falling for the cheerful nanny, but nothing ever goes as planned in this household.
Ricky's POV
I carefully looked her over. She had that head-in-the-clouds look on her face. The look that Lea used to have before she left.
"You're hired," I said, shaking my head. I absolutely had no other options.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, clapping loudly like a little girl on Christmas Day. "I won't crash your car into a garage, I promise."
"Right," I muttered, typing up the next paragraph for my book: The State and Debt of the Economy, by Richard Bowen.
Soon, two curly-headed, hazel-eyed kids came in. Those were my children, and I hoped this nanny would take care of them well. Introduce them to the concept of the real world. They were seven, old enough to know.
I didn't want them to fall into the world of fruitless fairytales and those ridiculous notions of "true love." I knew for a fact that it was better to be faced with reality rather than with fantasy, no matter how painful the truth was.
"You two can show the new nanny the apartment," I said as I typed another paragraph. "Dinner's in the fridge, frozen spaghetti or frozen waffles, just reheat it."
I could see Nina give me a curious look from the corner of my eye, but I paid no heed to it. Charlotte and Clayton led her out of my office, and I sighed as I rubbed the small patch of graying hair on the back of my head. I'm twenty-six, but I've seen a lot in the past years.
So far, I'd typed about 4,000 words in this paragraph. I don't understand why everyone thinks state and debt of the economy is boring, it's absolutely fascinating! The checks, the balances! What's not to love?
I soon fell asleep on my computer keyboard, like I did most nights.
The next morning, I woke up to my favorite sound: silence. That's how it's always been, and that's how it will always be.
That was, until Nina came into the room, humming and singing a tune under her breath. She told me it was someone called "Taylor Swift," whom I assume must be very fast in the sport of running.
"Morning!" she chirped brightly. "I made pancakes for breakfast. They may not be very good, but they do look nice."
I observed the panned cakes. They were decorated to look like smiley faces, with chocolate chips for the eyes.
Charlotte and Clayton sat down and gobbled up their food, then they sprang up and tugged at Nina's arm. "Can we go now?"
She ate the last bit of her pancake before laughing. "Of course, just grab your coats. It's quite windy outside today."
As they left, I set my fork down on the table. "Where are you going, exactly?"
"We're going on an outing in Central Park," she replied. "Then we're going to the grocery store, so tell us if you need anything."
"Just have them home by 5," I muttered.
Soon, they left, and it was just me, myself, and I. Plus the silence and Ginny the Goldfish sitting in the bowl.
When the kids came home, they were more cheerful than usual. They were singing and prancing around, which they never do. Well, they're not the cheerful type, I run a practical household.
"What happened?" I groaned.
"Nini took us to the park, where we fed the birds! We also saw a man with an accordion, and there was a flash mob singing!"
"In the grocery store, there was a fifty percent off deal!"
"I saw a balloon lady on the way home!"
I gave them dinner and then sent them off to bed with a pat on the head, like every night.
"Now, go to sleep. I'll be there to read your weekly history book later."
Nina turned to me with a confused expression on her face.
"It's 6," she stated bluntly.
"So? Children need to go to bed early to be healthy."
"Not this early."
"It's the practical way to go, Salazar-Roberts. I've already got enough on my hands, and I don't need you filling their brains with stuff and nonsense."
"Why are you so insistent on the fact that love and fairytales don't come true? Kids need a little imagination, Richard."
"Because it doesn't exist!"
"That's what you always say, but I know that it does."
"It's honestly true. There's no such thing as true love, only if your head is too swept up in those Disney movies."
"It does exist, Richard."
"I KNOW THAT IT DOESN'T!" I screamed, slamming the dictionary on the table.
For once, she was quiet.
"I was once like you, young and naive," I said, about to narrate my entire life story. "I believed in true love, the kind that you talk about all the time. When I was in high school, I met a girl. Her name was Lea. We became really close and got married when we were nineteen. Then, we got a little...drunk and ended up having Charlotte and Clayton. For the first few months, we were overjoyed. I was living in fairyland, too. But after three years, we began to fight for no reason at all, or just silly blasted nonsense. One day, she just...up and left with a note that said, Don't find me. I'm better off without you. That left me as a single parent with two kids left to raise, and poof, I was in the real world. That's why I don't believe in love, not anymore. My parents divorced, and I actually thought that I wouldn't be like that. My fairytale ending became hell, and I'd rather be in New York than Neverland."
"I'm...sorry," she finally said.
"Well, sorry isn't going to change the past."
"I'm just going to use the TV for a few hours. I've got Titanic on, if you want to come join me."
"Thank you, and goodnight," I replied briskly, heading for my bedroom.
"Your loss," she shrugged.
That night, I fell asleep, lost in thought about what Nini had said.
Wait...Nini?
I called her by her nickname?!!
This woman is really rubbing off on me.
The next morning, I woke up and saw that the house was clean, but all the windows and curtains were open. I could hear music blasting from the end of the hall, from that ridiculous movie my mum made me watch when I was in preschool.
"Come my little friends as we all sing a happy little working song..."
Of course I knew who did this.
I saw Nini and the kids cleaning up the room, singing along to the music and
"Did you have sweet dreams?" she asked brightly.
I shook my head. "Still think I'm in one."
"So, what's the agenda for today?" Charlotte asked.
"I need to get a business suit fixed at the washers, and then..."
"We can stop for ice cream!" Nini finished.
"Uh...yes, that," I said, still pinching my arm.
The twins cheered and began to get ready. I turned to Nini. "Any plans for today, Nini?"
"Huh, Nini. I thought you only called me Nina."
"You're really rubbing off on me."
She chuckled and shook her head. "Well, there's this King and Queen's Ball at the Empire State Building. I've always wanted to attend one, because Shinnecock Hills, nothing ever happens in my boring little neighborhood."
"Guessing you want adventure in the great wide somewhere."
"Didn't think you'd be quoting movies, Richard Bowen."
I turned red. "That was a spur-of-the-moment decision."
We all got onto the subway and drove uptown to the big city. I've been in NYC before for some business meetings about my books, but never on a sightseeing trip.
Finally, they reached their destination: the Empire State Building. There was a room for the kids to watch Lion King upstairs, so I dropped of Char and Clay and promised them ice cream later.
God, what is it with me and my nicknames these days?!
We went to the ballroom, and I immediately regretted forgetting to tell Nini that this was a royal-ish type of ball. I assumed she watched enough movies to know what to wear.
"I'm extremely underdressed," Nini said, looking around.
"Well, so am I," I answered. "Besides, we're already here, so let's just have fun for the hell of it."
She took my hand and led me to the dance floor. I placed my hands on her waist as hers were on my shoulders, softly dancing to the music.
This feeling was something I hadn't felt in a long time. I didn't know what it was, it was...interesting.
The next song that came up was "So Close" from Enchanted. Nini had told me this was one of her absolute favorite movies of all time.
"You're in my arms, and all the world is calm, the music playing on, for only two..."
It felt like it was just her and I, in that ballroom, alone. I remembered that quote from High School Musical 3 that my dad used to quote to my mum: "keep your eyes locked on mine and let the music be your guide."
I used to love my parents' romance. I even believed in it, but I'd stopped when I was 16. When Lea came along, that passion was rekindled, but when she left, that door was closed to me forever.
Later that evening, we'd taken both of the twins to the park for ice cream. Right now, we were swinging as they played on the playground.
"Did you learn anything from today?" Nini asked, our hands laced together as we sat on the park bench, watching Char and Clay slide down the tubes.
"I guess...that famous happy end exists."
"I was right, then."
I bit back a smile. I didn't want to let Nini be right, but at the same time, I kind of did.
"No, you weren't."
"Yes, I was."
"No, you weren't."
"Yes, I was."
The remarks went back and forth for a while. When it was my turn to say "No, you weren't," she silenced me by pressing her lips against mine.
I felt myself melt into her as I passionately kissed back, my hands gripping her waist and hers roaming through my messy curls.
It was perfection.
Well, you can likely guess what happened after that.
Ricky changed...for the better. Instead of sticking with books about "State and Debt of the Economy" which absolutely no one understood, he began to move towards writing romance novels. He became widely and internationally acclaimed.
He and Nini did get married. She was quite an influence on him and the kids, as their dreary apartment once again filled with life and laughter.
This was kind of a Mary Poppins/Sound of Music/Jessie/Enchanted thing. Kind of a filler chapter, since I've been writing too much lately. I'm pretty sure I'm hallucinating, because I keep seeing puzzle pieces everywhere when they're not there.
Keep reading. Keep writing. Keep dreaming.
-V