Chapter 3

EMMA

My mother was Brazilian and married an American, but I was born and raised here, far away from everyone and other family members. After arriving in the other city, I feel my legs hurt from walking so fast, and on the way, I ask some people about the location of the house, and I am surprised when I stop in front of a very luxurious residential condominium. I straighten my tied-up hair before identifying myself to the security guards, who let me through, advising me that the place is two streets away. I am even more surprised when I see the huge mansion in front of me. Furthermore, I take my cell phone out of my purse and check the address and the house number one more time, but I am in the right place. I take a deep breath before walking towards the huge entrance door of the mansion, but before I have a chance to press the button available next to it, I see someone opening the door. A lady with gray hair and clothes that are part of some kind of work uniform appears in front of me. “Good morning, my name is Emma, and I came...”, I open a gentle smile, but she interrupts me when she opens the door completely, giving me room to enter the house. I find myself in an extremely luxurious entrance hall; no doubt this is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. I walk a few steps, following the lady, to a room that looks like some kind of office. “Have a seat.”, I sit down in one of the comfortable chairs facing the lady, who takes out some kind of paper before reading aloud: “Emma Cooper, my name is Bethany, and I am the housekeeper of this house.” “It's a pleasure to meet you, Bethany.”, I smile as she nods her head. “I saw in your resume that you have no professional qualifications, you finished school, and you have no experience with children.”, She looks at me with an arched eyebrow. “No, but I am a fast learner and good with children.” “You are still very young; do you have children?” “Yes, a four-month-old baby, but I can assure you that this will not interfere with the work.”, She nods before asking a few more essential questions, and I try to answer all of them briefly. I need this job, God. I am about to answer one more of her questions when I hear a baby cry coming from a baby monitor on the office desk. Bethany sighs tiredly before standing up and picking up the device that monitors the crying baby. “I am sorry; this is why we urgently need someone to take care of her; she is a very active baby, and it drives me crazy.”, She flashes an embarrassed smile for the first time. Bethany is about to leave the room when we hear someone open the door, and I am surprised to see a little boy in pajamas and black hair enter the office, rubbing his eyes with a still sleepy expression on his face. “Liza is crying again.”, he tells the housekeeper, who strokes the messy hair of the little boy, who starts to look at me curiously. I open my mouth with a smile, and the little boy also returns the compliment by waving his little hand in my direction, so the job opening for drooling will be to take care of two children and not just one, as I thought before. “Excuse me, I'll be right back!”, Bethany announces as she leaves the room, leaving me alone with the little boy who approaches me. “She cries a lot...”, he says, pointing to the outside of the room, and I smile at his expression. “Is that your little sister?”, I ask, and he nods. “Who are you?”, he asks curiously. “I'm Emma, and you are?”, I hold up one hand, and he wastes no time in shaking my hand in greeting. “Enzo.” I'm about to get to know the nice little boy better, but the office door opens, revealing Bethany holding a small baby on her lap. “So you've met the little man of the house...”, Bethany points to Enzo, who smiles. “Yes, a very handsome man!”, I joke, drawing a laugh from him. “Liza!”, Enzo points with his finger to the little girl sucking a pacifier on the housekeeper's lap. “The position is to take care of these two little ones. Enzo is a good and obedient boy, but this little girl is the opposite.” I can see that this is not Bethany's job and that she is visibly tired. Before I can break the silence, Liza starts crying again, and I see that the housekeeper tries to do everything to make the baby stop crying. “Can I try?”, I stand up without thinking and see Bethany hesitate a bit, but she also stands up and hands me the baby in my arms. “Hey, pretty girl!”, I murmur, rocking her gently on my lap to try to calm her down. “Why is such a pretty girl crying like that?”, I whisper, touching the golden strands of her hair and watching her look at me intently, as if trying to figure out who I am. I take the pacifier from Bethany's hands and place it over her mouth. She accepts the object and stops crying little by little while I keep moving my body around the office. “She liked you...”, I hear Enzo's voice and smile at the little boy, realizing that Liza has stopped crying completely. “Incredible!”, I turn around to see Bethany looking at me with an expression of surprise and disbelief at the same time. “No one can almost ever get her to stop crying in a few seconds; you have been the only one since she was born.” “I told you I'm good with children...”, I murmur, smiling.