Thank you for reading my story, I hope that you enjoy it. Love Mica xx, Yorkshire England.
All comments good or bad are welcomed. I will try and reply to each and every one but please note that all anonymous comments will be deleted immediately and will not be read.
I had completed college and had my qualifications in child care. So now I just needed a job that utilised the qualifications that I had in order to get experience. I knew that jobs would be hard to find but I kept persevering and looking and then I found one that seemed ideal. A couple in Shipley were looking for an Au Pair to live in and look after their eight month old baby boy. One day off a week, on a Sunday, but the rest of the time pretty much twenty four by seven childcare.
I rang them and explained my position and the woman, Marianne, asked me to go across that afternoon and we could discuss it more. It was two buses to get to Shipley but the connections were okay and it only took just over an hour, not too bad. The address was a really big old house near the centre, Victorian perhaps, but certainly big, and looked three stories, perhaps four if they had a basement.
I knocked on the door and a woman, perhaps thirty, answered.
"Tasha?" She asked.
"Yes, Marianne? I am here to see about the Au Pair position."
"Yes of course you are. Come in."
I followed her into the hall way and then through to a huge kitchen which overlooked a beautifully landscaped garden. I was surprised that they had such a large garden in the centre of the town, I suspected that this was a very valuable property.
She offered me a glass of water, which I accepted, and then she explained what she expected. She and her husband worked both away and from home, they had high intensity positions and needed Oliver, their child, to be looked after completely during the week, they could have no interruptions. I would feed and clothe and entertain Oliver from Sunday Night until the following Saturday night. I then had a day to myself.
Occasionally they may ask me to do the Sunday as well, but that would be rare and would only be as work dictated. We would have the third floor to ourselves, it had a nursery for Oliver, a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom for me, playroom and a lift that I could use to get down to the ground floor in case I wanted to go out with Oliver. We had use of the garden on dry days. There was a full array of necessities, pushchairs, high chairs, cot etc. She then asked if I could drive, as that would be essential if Oliver needed to go to appointments.
I said I could but that I didn't have a car. She said that they would sort a small car for my use.
I asked if I could meet Oliver and we went up in the lift to the third floor.
"This is my niece, Leah, she is staying to help look after Oliver until we can find a suitable Au Pair cum nanny."
I said hello to Leah who, to be honest, looked just like a younger version of Marianne, probably Marianne's sister's daughter I thought, and around the same age as me by the looks. I took Oliver from her and a bonus; Oliver didn't immediately burst into tears. He was still a little chubby, as many babies are until they start toddling, something I learned at college, and sat him on my hip. He was frankly quite a lovely baby, and I walked around the room with him, talking to him, even though I guessed he wouldn't really understand much.
We, Oliver and me, went back to Marianne, "he's is lovely," I said and handed him back to Leah who fussed over him.
"Let's go back downstairs," Marianne said. I followed her to the lift and we went down to the kitchen.
"If I were to offer you the position, when would you be able to start?" Marianne asked.
"Oh, let me see. I would have to arrange with my mum to bring me over, I don't want to lug my suitcase of clothes on the bus. Probably Sunday early evening. Can I ask about meal arrangements?"
"You will eat with Oliver, we will provide you with food, if you have any food allergies let us know, and if we provide something that is not to your palate then let us know, Probably the easiest is if you use an online shopping account for you and Oliver, that way you can get things like nappies and food or Oliver as well."
"Oh, okay, no problem then. I tend to have Weetabix in the mornings, noodles or similar for lunch and then evening meals tend to be jacket potato, that sort of thing. What food is Oliver on, is he weaned? I assume he is."
"No and yes. He has formula, not my milk, and also has jarred baby food, we are cutting down the formula."
"Okay, that is easy. So yes. If you want me to, I can start on Sunday evening. I will need to give you my bank details so that you can pay me, unless you wanted to do it by cash."
"Bank will be fine. And yes, Sunday evening please. Say around seven, you can get sorted and then take over at eight, my husband can then run Leah back home."
"Sounds good, are you offering me the position?"
"Yes Tasha, if you want it."
"Yes please, Oliver is lovely and it would be a privilege to look after him."
"Okay, we will see you on Sunday then. Just one thing, what is your clothes size so that we can get your uniform."
Crumbs, a uniform. "Size ten usually fits, but it does vary from shop to shop."
Getting back home was not so easy, the connections didn't tie up and I was waiting for forty minutes for my second bus. Mum was pleased that I had a job, and said that she would take me across on Sunday, I think she wanted to meet the woman I would be working for. When Dad came home he asked if I had met the father, and I said no, not yet, Sunday I expected unless he was away.
I spent the next two days deciding what I would be taking. My laptop, mobile, chargers, kindle, earbuds, they were essential, several layers of clothes, but if I was to wear a uniform, then I wouldn't need that much variety, just loads of knickers and bras, some jeans and a few dresses. If they got me a car then hopefully I could use it to go out on Sundays, and probably go home for Sunday dinner.
If I forgot anything then mum said she would bring it over, so hopefully no drama. Sunday soon came round, I had my bags in the car and whilst dad was loading the dishwasher after Sunday dinner, mum ran me to Shipley. Marianne opened the door and greeted me warmly and I introduced my mum. Marianne gave me a set of front door and back door keys and left me an mum to it.
We took all my stuff up to my room and I saw some folded neatly uniforms on the bed, they looked like the dresses that the nurses wore at the dentist, they were white and with blue pin striping. I ignored them for now and with mum's help I put all my clothes away and then put my suitcase on top of the wardrobe. I went downstairs with mum, hugged her and then she drove off, me having promised to phone her tomorrow and tell her my day had been.
Back up in my room I stripped my skirt and blouse off and tried on one of the uniforms. I fitted okay, a bit tight on my bust, but not unmanageable, wondered if there was enough give in the seams that I could unpick them and ease them. I would look another time I decided.
I went through to the Nursery and Leah was sat in a chair with Oliver.
"Hiya," I said, "how's he been?"
"Oh good as gold. Right then, this is you then now. I'll pass you Oliver and I will see you next Saturday evening."
"Okay," so it seemed that his parents weren't going to do any actual parenting they intended it to be all me and Leah. I took Oliver from Leah and held him on my hip. She kissed him goodbye, waved at me and was gone, I could hear the lift going down. I assumed Mark, Olivers dad would take her back home. I would arrange for mum to pick me up Saturday evening, I presumed Leah would need my bed whilst she was here.
I played and fussed with Oliver for a while and when his eyes were drooping I laid him in his cot, stayed with him till he was properly asleep and then went back to my room. My blouse and skirt would do another day, possibly my bra, but obviously not my knickers, they went into my laundry bag in my wardrobe. I would have to ask Marianne where the laundry was, I would need it to wash Oliver's things as well as mine.
I had left my bedroom door open so that I could hear Oliver if he woke and I was startled when a man Spoke.
"You must be Tasha?"
"Yes, Mark? Olivers dad?"
He was quite tall and slim, very short hair on his head, it didn't seem as if he was balding, just that he kept his hair short, no beard or moustache, and he looked fit, as if he worked out, but not muscled like the men that seem to overdo it. He was wearing a polo shirt and shorts.
"Yes. Everything alright? Have you everything that you need?"
"Yes Mark, thank you, I just need to know where the Laundry is."
"In the basement. Take the lift all the way down, there is a washer, dryer and hanging space for stuff that doesn't go in the dryer. It should all be self explanatory."
"Thank you, I should be okay for a few days, I guess it depends how messy Oliver gets. Where do I put his dirty nappies?"