New Girl in Podash

Part 2

 “YOU!” Angie shouted as her gaze focused on the man who had visually tormented her during her haircut.

“Yes, indeed, Miss Walker.”

“Who are you?” she asked, her voice growing softer with each word.

“Come now, Angela, I know you are bright woman. Surely you can put two and two together.”

His voice was deep and husky. Just hearing it sent frissons up and down her spine. Yes. She guessed she did know who he was. “You’re William Anderson.”

He reached up and removed his aviator-style sunglasses. Immediately she noted the light green eyes and how intense they were against his tan. “And you accepted employment into my service, including signing an airtight contract.”

Angie fell back into her seat. “Why all of this?” she gestured weakly with her towards her clothing, ending with her hair.

“Things work a little differently here in Podash than they do elsewhere. No one here lives beyond their means, let alone ever filing for bankruptcy.”

Angie felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment. She had never considered that he might go beyond her references she’d provided in checking her out. Clearing her throat, she asked a question. “Are you going to review my duties like Ophelia was?”

William smiled slightly. “Miss Tollin can be intense at times, but she is totally efficient, even when ruffled. And she doesn’t know what all your duties include.”

Something in the way he said it made Angie wish she had read the entire contract before signing it. But she’d been desperate and half-afraid they’d change their mind if she said she needed some more time to read it. She had taken it home for the night to read. Instead of reading it as planned, the friend she was living with until she got a job came home and told her about a super party that was going on that night. She’d been a little foggy and bleary-eyed when she signed the following morning.

“I’m to act as nanny to your daughters, right?”

“Yes. You will dress as they do and accompany them each day to school. You will attend each class, and tutor them as needed. In each class, you will answer directly to the teacher in charge. If the girls don’t require any assistance, then you might be needed to assist elsewhere.”

Angie shrugged.

So far, so good. No sweat!

William smiled. “You will go to their after school activities and assist them with their homework until the evening dinner. We all dine together, if I’m at home. Otherwise, once the girls go to bed, you are free for the evening. When I’m at home, you will spend the time following the evening meal with me. The girls will be on their own those evenings, which I’m sure they’ll look forward to. Like most pre-teens, it’s easy to get parental overload. You are acting as their parent in my stead.”

Angie sat taking in his words. If he was gone, she’d be free. Would she be able to leave the house? Where she would go was another problem entirely. But what had he said about spending time with him? After dinner…but how long was that?

“When you are not at school, you may wear the other clothing I have provided for you. If there is something specific I want you to wear, you will be notified in advance. Now I assume you have no other questions about the other main points delineated in the contract?”

Angie shifted uncomfortably on the seat. She tried to remember if she remembered to bring her copy with her.

Damn!

“Good. Now how do you find your clothing?”

Angie felt her mouth drop open. He wanted to talk about her clothes?

“We insist on more clothing than what you are most likely used to, but you’ll get used to it soon enough. Just as you’ll soon realize how much nicer your new hairdo is.” William crossed his arms, turning slightly towards Angie.

Self-consciously she reached up to touch the super short hair above her ears. She didn’t know what to reply so she stayed silent.

“Had you ever had your hair cut this short before?” he prodded.

Angie jerked her gaze to meet his; surprised that he was staring at her. “Yes, when I was thirteen. I grew it back when I was sixteen.”

“What style did you have?”

“Like this, unfortunately.” Too late she let the last word slip out.

“Why do you say that? It’s a tidy, easy to care for look.”

“Kids called me nicknames.”

William shrugged. “What? Pudding bowl?”

Angie felt her cheeks flame brightly. “The milder one was muffin.”

Smiling, William stretched his legs out in front of him, taking advantage of the limousine’s space. “The other?”

Angie drew her breath in sharply. “It had to do with the whole bad situation. It was ‘Puddin’. I was grateful when I could finally grow it out.”

“Why did you cut it like that in the first place if you didn’t like it?”

She paused, struck once again that something about this man seemed familiar. Shaking her head, she replied. “There was a misunderstanding and my dad demanded I get my haircut. Then two years later they divorced and my mom and I moved to the city. I let it grow.”

“Well, both nicknames are not bad. After all, everyone likes muffins. Who doesn’t enjoy a bowl of pudding, especially when it’s warm and homemade?”

She froze. Did he know her? Why else did he say that—homemade—of all things. It didn’t make sense. But she didn’t want to dwell on it, so she didn’t reply. Besides, just hearing him drawl the word pudding and homemade had her getting wetter than ever before. She hoped she didn’t leave a puddle behind when she finally got up from this seat!

“I should imagine all the boys were after you,” he murmured a few moments later.

“I had trouble with boys my age.”

“I’ve been hearing the woes a pre-teen girl suffers at the hands of pre-pubescent boys.”

“Well, I can help them with that. I learned a few tricks to prevent trouble, or if you get into some, how to get out without killing one of them.” Angie answered quickly, naturally, without thinking about it first.

“Good!” William replied. “I’m sure they will appreciate your words of wisdom. Having been one, I know teenaged boys can stir up trouble.”

“I had a lot of bruises before I got smart.”

“Bruises?” William asked his confusion evident.

“Some kid was always trying to grab me. There was really only one bad time. This group of boys surrounded me and forced me down this empty hallway. I was pushed back against the lockers and they took turns squeezing my breasts. They had just decided to pull my bra out of the way when luckily this other boy came along and made them stop. I convinced my mom to let me take a self-defense class. My dad didn’t want me to, but I did.” Angie sat a little straighter as she remembered how she’d fought back.

“You were pretty sore after that?” William said softly.

“Yes. I had to miss school because I couldn't wear my bras for a few days. No way could I go to school without.”

“Early developer?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s what got me the stupid haircut in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

Angie sighed deeply, surprised that she felt comfortable enough to tell him these things. “There was a boy who lived next door. We played together when we were younger, and he was in my Algebra class. He asked me to help him study for a test so I went over to his place. He told me we had to study in his room. It was a rule of his mother’s. We hadn’t been in there long, which we were sitting on the bed since he didn’t have a desk or chair. All of a sudden he is all over me. He ripped the buttons off my shirt and tore open my bra. That’s when his mother came in.”

“What happened next?”

“She called my family and accused me of attacking her innocent boy. Unfortunately my father believed her. He decided the only way was for me to live a monastic life-style, as he put it. He insisted I wear my hair like this, and I had to wear old-lady clothes. I couldn't do anything after school. It was awful.”

“That’s how it ended, then?” William prodded.

Angie couldn't stop the harsh bark of laughter that broke free. “No. The little bastard told everyone that he got in my pants, besides feeling me up. I became the school slut even though I lived more chastely than a nun.”

“Then when you moved away, did you rebel?”

“Not until college, actually. I spent most of my time looking out for my mother the first couple of years we were on our own. My dad didn’t think he needed to pay child support if he didn’t have sole custody. Anyway, things were tight a lot of the time.”

William turned to look out the window.

After a few moments, Angie shifted on the seat and looked out her window as well. She didn’t like remembering those years. Finally, after several long minutes of silence, Angie spoke again. “What are the girls’ names?”

“Tina and Toni.”

“Those are nice names. They follow the traditional twin thing about similar names, and yet not too much so that they sound alike.” Angie added.

“Exactly.” William nodded. “We didn’t like the idea of Kari and Shari. Doesn’t seem to allow them the space to develop their own unique personalities.

“That’s what all the shrinks say these days. All the stuff people used to do cause they thought it was cute can cause too many problems.”

“Their mother agreed with you,” William replied quietly.

For the first time Angie thought about the woman who’d given birth to her charges and more importantly, the woman who was Mrs. Anderson. “Will I be meeting your wife when we arrive?”

“No, I’m not married. The girls’ mother passed away just after they were born.”

Angie didn’t know where the feeling came from, but instantly she felt sympathy for how difficult it had to be raising two babies alone. “It must have been hard for you.”

After a few moments, William nodded. “There was always paid help around, but it wasn’t the same as a mother and father.”

“I know.”

William cleared his throat. “Tomorrow will begin your duties. I’ll have a copy of the contract sent to your room so you can review the finer details.” The car came to a stop. “Here we are.”

*****

Angie looked around her room slowly. It was much bigger than she’d anticipated, and really quite nice. She’d expected above the garage or in the attic with the nursery. But she wasn’t meeting the girls until dinner. So she’d spent the hour before dinner checking out the clothes in the closet.

To start, the closet was much larger than she’d anticipated. About one-third was filled with white blouses, similar to the one she now wore, as well as skirts in the same plaid, varying slightly in length and styles. The other two-thirds involved pale colored dresses, blouses and skirts. Nowhere did she find a single pair of shorts or trousers.

“Hmm.”

“I said ‘damn’ when I saw what was in your closet.”

“Not me. I said ‘hell.’”

Angie spun around and found herself looking at matching faces. No doubt the expletives were said to test her, because she did remember that phrase in the contract. “Hello to you too,” Angie replied, walking out of the closet.

The twins backed up as she got closer. They reminded her of two skittish colts. They were dressed casually, no uniforms. One had on a blue blouse and skirt and the other wore a green dress. Their hair was quite a bit longer than what she’d thought it would be. The chestnut locks, similar to their father’s, covered their ears and down onto their necks.

The twin in blue spoke first. “I’m Tina. We decided we didn’t want to wait and meet you at dinner.”

“Daddy gets enough advantages as it is.”

Angie grinned. “Yeah, and men think they run the world.”

Both girls giggled.

Toni, in green, shrugged. “Daddy runs a tight ship, as he puts it sometimes.”

Angie crossed the room to sit on the side of her large bed, which had also surprised her. “I would have sworn we were on solid ground here.”

Tina laughed out loud and skipped across the room to join her on the bed. “You’re funny.”

Angie held her hands palms side up, shrugging. “If I’m wrong, then I’ll need to go ashore for seasick pills.”

Toni came over to stand at the foot of the bed. “The way Daddy runs things even the smallest wave wouldn't dare upset his ship.”

“Maybe he just hasn’t encountered any seas rough enough to challenge a real sea man?”

A bell sounded in the distance.

“There’s the dinner bell. We better get going.” Tina said quickly, scooting off the bed.

Toni nodded. “We don’t want to spoil his plan of introducing us.”

At the door, both girls turned to wave.

Standing, Angie walked over to check her appearance. She had not changed out of the uniform outfit because William had not specified it.

Tap, tap, tap.

Angie crossed and opened her bedroom door. A young woman stood there, wearing a maid’s uniform—long black dress and white apron. Her hair was cut in a traditional poodle cut, upon which perched a staid-looking white cap.

“I’ve come to show you the way to the dining room, Miss Angela.”

Angie nodded. From the minute she’d seen the size of the large house outside of the city limits, she’d known it would be easy to get lost the first day or so. “Thank you,” she said and followed the woman downstairs.

She was shown into a sitting room. Immediately she saw the twin girls seated across from each other on small settees, which faced one another. Their father was standing between them, in front of an impressive, ornate, but unlit fireplace.

“Good evening, Miss Angela. Come in and meet my daughters.”

Angela crossed the room quickly. “Thank you, Mister Anderson.”

Immediately she noticed the way the girls stiffened, looking first at her, and then at their father. Obviously she’d done something wrong already. Sighing heavily, she waited to learn what it was.

William merely smiled slightly. “My staff calls me Master William.”

Angie had suspected all day that this was the case. Slowly she nodded her head. “Of course, MasterWilliam.”

“Excellent. Now these are my daughters. This lovely girl in blue is Tina, and the beauty in green is Toni.”

Angie watched as both girls stood and curtsied.

Speaking almost as if one, they said, “How nice to meet you, Miss Angela.”

Angie quickly held her smile. “Thank you, girls. I hope we will get along well and be friends.”

The girls started to smile.

William interrupted them. “The goal is not for you to be friends, Miss Angela. Please don’t forget that.”

Angie looked from Tina to Toni and saw that their smiles had disappeared the same as hers.

“Very well,” William spoke briskly. “Let us go into dinner.”

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