A cold gust of wind blew over her neck making her shiver as she set her first steps onto American soil, a cold welcome to say the least as the icy east coast winds nearly swept her off her feet as she stepped outside JFK airport in New York City.
Sofia sure wasn't used to this cold. She had never left her native Mexico before and the warm beaches 10 minutes from her parents' family home seemed further away than she would have ever imagined possible.
Growing up she had always had a fairly stable life but now as a 19 year old, thousands of miles away from home she felt smaller and more helpless than she has had in many years.
Her big brown eyes scan the row of cars, drivers holding up names, and quickly she notices a beautiful black Mercedes with a friendly looking dark-skinned man holding up a sign that said 'Sophia Velasquez', 'close enough' she thought with a smile as she walked up to the man that would take her to her new home for a year.
Sofia had never been the brightest of students and the next years after high school seemed daunting to her as she had no real skills and wasn't interested in most subjects. When she saw the flyer from a Catholic exchange program for Au pairs she was instantly excited, hoping to improve her life skills and mastery of the English language while spending a year away from her strict parents.
Ever since Sofia had blossomed into the delicate young woman she had become, her father became rigidly strict about her curfews and appearance sticking to the classic strict Catholic upbringing.
Her slender figure and perky 26B breasts were always hidden under the thick cloth of the clothes she was made to wear, while her firm young behind had never seen anything but an old-fashioned 'granny style' bathing suit.
But as the cold Manhattan wind brushed through her heavy garment she realized this clothing might have actually served a purpose for a change as she would have definitely caught a cold in the summer dresses she always wanted to wear.
Sofia breathed a sigh of relief as the gentle driver took her luggage and lead her into the comfy black leather seat, away from this cold weather and on her way towards her new life as a live-in servant with this American family.
As the shiny German car sped over the highway, weaving around the slow moving traffic, Sofia mustered the courage to ask the driver about the family she was to work for. The driver was polite and gentle; he told her both the parents worked as top new york lawyers, running their own firm from their Manhattan office.
He also told her about their two sons who were older than Sofia had expected, she had thought that her job would consist mainly of changing diapers and calming screaming babies but hearing the boys were 18 and 26, the oldest not living at the parents' house anymore, she wondered what her duties would consist off mostly.
After almost two hours the scenery was changing and everything seemed to look more expensive and chique as they drove towards the rich area called the Hamptons in Long Island. Sofia saw houses the size of castles as they entered her 'new neighborhood' by passing a gated entrance, the driver being lead through instantly as he waved to the two guards crammed in the security booth.
5 minutes later the expensive car pulled up to another gate which opened at the press of a button as she saw the house she would be living in the coming year.
And the word 'house' didn't seem appropriate, as the huge mansion in front of her reminded her more of a palace. Or a hotel, she thought as she saw the enormous door above at least 50 steps, like she would expect a queens door would look like.
Once inside she was introduced to a friendly looking gentleman, introducing himself as Paul, the main servant for the house. He ordered the driver to grab her bags as they walked slowly through the most regal and impressive rooms she had ever seen in her life into the main study where she was told to sit and wait for the father of the house to meet her.
Sitting in a comfortable vintage leather chair she scans the room as she waits, seeing all the little trinkets and symbols everywhere that hinted of the same devoutness to their faith that her parents shared.
She jumped slightly as the heavy door to the study creaked open and the father of the family walked in and introduced himself as Peter Braddock, a warm smile and a friendly handshake instantly reassuring her.
Her tasks, he described, would mainly consist of looking after their youngest son Charles, cleaning up after him and serving him drinks and dinner when their parents' were out on business. Also she was to be his Spanish tutor as he struggled with foreign languages at school.
Up till now, he explained, the general staff had tried to keep up with Charles' mess and requests but couldn't keep up now that Charles had demanded to make the garden house his private residence.
Silently Sofia snickered, picturing Charles as a spoiled little brat, wanting to play in a tree house in the garden, but as Mr. Braddock lead her through the house to the back garden she saw why Charles wanted this place.
About two hundred yards from the house was a two story house that would be a great place for a regular family to live, with a big porch all the way around the house and a small private swimming pool in the back.
They walked in and heard the thumbing of a heavy bass drum, which grew louder and louder as they walked through a small corridor to a big double door from where the noise appeared to be originating from.
Mr. Braddock swung open the door and music filled the air, a slow heavy rap beat made her eardrums vibrate as she looked around what appeared to be a large 'ball room' with a hard wooden dance-floor circled with large red chairs, a DJ booth at the other end of the room.
As they walked towards the DJ booth Sofia got the first glimpse of Charles, he was not at all what she expected as she looked at the pimple faced white boy. He was quite fat, but it was hard to tell as he wore an extremely baggy American Football jersey and baggy pants that must have been hanging from below his hips as his shoes were barely visible.
This kid dresses like a rapper, she thought, but his Caucasian skin and pudgy cheeks made him look more like a caricature of one as his overall appearance hinted more of a lazy spoiled white kid then the 'cool' guy he was trying to portray.
'What up pops?" the boy opened with, making Sofia smile hearing him fake the stereotype African-american or even Latino accent you hear in the movies so often.
"Ühm, yeah, I'm well Charles, meet your new housekeeper Sofia, she's the Mexican girl from the exchange program we talked about". Sofia slightly shivered as she felt Charles' eyes creeping up and down her body, peering at her so intently she thought he was trying to see through her conservative dress. Sofia blushed and looked away at this obvious appraisal of her body, she stood there for a short time before Charles' father started walking towards the door. "Show Sofia her room so she can get some rest, tomorrow she'll start work after breakfast."
The boy nodded and cranked the music back up as his father left them alone, after a minute of fiddling with the buttons on his music equipment he stepped down to walk through a side door, gesturing her to follow him.
