Babysitter, Nanny, Friend ...

Eve was making tea when I went to the loo and I heard Oliver, so I went into his room and cuddled him for a while; so long that Eve came looking for me. "I suspect he woke up because he wanted to see his girlfriend in that dress again."

I stayed over that night and slept soundly. I was pleased not to have dreamt about Eve, maybe I'd regained my senses and she was just a friend and nothing else.

Break a leg

Everything was so bright it made me squint. My sight was all blurred initially and as it cleared I realised that I was in the hospital. Then I felt the pain in my left ankle and winced.

"It's okay honey, you're okay. You're in a hospital." Mum was sitting nearby.

"Why am I in hospital Mum and what's the pain?"

"You were knocked off your bike and they brought you here. You have a broken ankle and they had to operate to fix it."

"Operate, fix it? What's wrong with it?"

"You have a break just above the joint and they had to insert a metal plate to strengthen things up."

"Oh, shit Mum. What about university?" It was my first thought and I felt the tears coming. I'd been looking forward to going away and meeting new people.

"I don't know yet love, but it looks like you might be off your feet for a few weeks at least, then some physio and maybe another op."

Now the tears started properly, I was going to be stuck for a while and I was gutted.

The following day Eve turned up with some chocolates, magazines and a big smile. "Hi, how are you? Aside from the obvious bruises and grazes."

"It's nice to see you and I suppose I should be pleased that I'm not dead, but I'm gutted about the university. Still, I should be asking how you are, and Oliver."

"He's outside with your Mum. Would you like to see him?" I nodded.

Oliver had a big smile; he jumped up on the bed and gave a hug which made me feel much better. "I have an idea. It seems like your recovery is going to take some time. You could defer university for a year and give yourself time to recover."

I was glum. "Looks like I may have to, I was looking forward to going so much. But what would I do?"

"I know it's not what you hoped to be doing, but here's my idea. I need to get a better grip on the business or it's going to turn into a disaster. I hate the idea of child care, especially at this stage of Oliver's life, so you could come and work for me as a nanny, look after him and maybe me. It's a solution, I'd pay you a decent wage of course, and next year you could start at University, you'll just be a year older and you might be able to get some reading done before then that will help you."

Over the next few days, I gave the idea a lot of thought. When I asked my Mum what she thought, she waited for ages, obviously getting her reply clear. "I think that it's a good idea. You'd give yourself too much to do to catch up. Take your time, do your rehab, take up Eve's offer. It may not be what you'd most wanted, but under the circumstances, it's a good option and I think Eve will enjoy your company."

That was what I'd been thinking as well, but the last sentence puzzled me a bit. "If I'm just acting as Nanny she won't see much of me."

Mum looked surprised. "I think that Eve expected you'd go and live with her. It makes sense and that's what I thought as well."

That stunned me; I'd never given that a thought. As the days passed I realised that it was sensible, but leaving home was something that I'd only planned when heading to university.

Nanny

It took a couple of weeks before I was able to get around a bit easier and take up Eve's offer. Mum dropped me off at Eve's and both of them helped me in with a suitcase, a holdall and my laptop bag. Eve showed me the larger of the two spare rooms, the one with its own bathroom and I unpacked. Although I'd been in this house many, many times this felt a bit odd, suddenly it was my home for the next nine or ten months. I headed back down to the kitchen using my stick.

"All settled in?"

"I'm unpacked, but not sure about settled yet. This seems a bit odd."

"Isla, please don't feel odd. I know that I'm paying you so you're my employee, but I'd like you to be my friend as well and you need to treat this place as your home because that's what it is. Since Mike went lots of our friends have kept their distance. You've been kind, I need help with Oliver and you're stuck because of the accident. This is a solution for all of us, so please lets you and I be friends and behave like it."

"I'll try my best, but we need to sort out boundaries as we go." She poured me a glass of red wine and dished up dinner.

Over the next two weeks, I became more comfortable. I managed to plan meals, sort out laundry and a system for housework. I was struggling with shopping but made lists, ordered online and Eve dealt with the supermarkets for the other stuff that we needed.

Looking after Oliver was pretty easy, he was funny and well behaved. I spent hours helping him with Lego, playing with his farm animals, painting - messy, drawing and dressing him up. I spent some time each afternoon reading to him and we managed a few words as we went. I counted with him and managed some simple sums. If the weather was good we were out in the garden, but I still found it difficult to walk far with him so the park was out of the question for the time being.

After dinner most evenings, whilst I cleaned up, Eve bathed Oliver and put him to bed. Then the two of us would chat and watch TV. We were good together and Eve became like my big sister. We shared a lot and after a few weeks she even spoke about sex and I admitted that I was not only a virgin but had never been touched intimately by another person.

I'd wanted to be away learning and preparing for my adult life, but circumstances had prevented that so I made the best of it and found that I liked being there, spending time with Eve and loving Oliver. I felt as if he was mine, at least partly.

*****

It took a couple of months before my leg was strong enough for me to lose the stick. I kept up my exercises and felt more confident, but I had a scar. It might have been a coincidence, I have no idea, but my legs developed a better shape and my bust filled out as well, so much so that Eve and I went bra shopping. We spent a small fortune and giggled like schoolgirls. She brought me a pair of heels that day; they were outrageous, black patent with an ankle strap and a five-inch heel. It took a while before I had enough confidence in my ankle to wear them, but when I put them on one evening Eve gave me a strange look. Later, I studied my image in the mirror. I'm not sure what they made me look like, maybe not slutty, but they did make something stir deep inside of me.

Eve was running late for dinner one evening, but things were under control, as long as she wasn't much longer. She'd reminded me that she was going to get her hair trimmed and I was relieved when I saw her car pull up outside. I heard her shout "Hi" when the door closed and she dropped her bags in the hall before calling, "Sorry I'm a bit late, but I bumped into your mum and forgot the time. Everything okay?"

I started to reply as I turned to see her standing in the doorway, "Yeah, dinner's almost ready ... Fuck me what have you done?" She smiled at me and I stood with my mouth open again. She'd had her cut even shorter, I doubt if there was more than inch of length and I felt something go twang deep inside of me. "It looked sexy before, but my God you're going to have guys drooling when they see that. I can't believe that shorter equals sexier."

"I love it and I did it for me. I have no desire to have guys drooling over me. But it is good isn't it?"

I turned away because I was confused. I busied myself with dinner whilst Eve went to see Oliver.

We chatted as we ate and as soon as I'd cleared up I headed over to visit my Mum, but couldn't get the image of Eve out of my head.

It was good to catch up with Mum and report on how I was doing. "I'm enjoying it, it's not what I wanted to be doing right now, but I'm learning and that's good. I love Oliver and it made me think about kids. I'd love a little one like him."

"I met Eve earlier. She really likes you and thinks that you're doing a great job, she loves your company. What did you think of her hair?"

"It stunned me, it's so ..."

"Sexy?"

I went red. "Yes. She's stunning and somehow that makes her even more so."

"She is and you still have your crush." She must have seen the look of embarrassment. "It's okay, I like her too."

*****

One morning Eve seemed to be late getting ready so I went to find her, to offer her some breakfast. She was still in bed and running a temperature. I called the office to let them know she wouldn't be in and made her sweet tea. I was in and out of her room all day and by evening she felt like something to eat. "I have a tin of mushroom soup and that sounds like just what you need."

I'd kept Oliver away from his Mum to be safe, at least as safe as I could. Later on, that evening, after I'd put Oliver to bed, I went to see if she needed anything. She smiled at me and patted the side of the bed. "Thanks for taking care of me, you're an angel."

"No, I'm doing what you employ me to do, but actually if you'd been stuck I'd have come over to help out anyway, we're friends aren't we?"

"Yes, we are. Can I get a hug, please?"

A hug? What the hell? "Why a hug?"

"I've not had a decent hug, apart from Oliver, for a while, not since ... You know."

I lay down on top of the covers and hugged Eve. I stared at her as we lay there. I'd admired her for a couple of years now, how she'd coped with adversity and managed the business was a miracle. She was also very beautiful and lying there something clicked inside of me again, I didn't know what it was, at least not right at that moment.

*****

I'd just finished making tea one evening and when I handed a mug to Eve said, "I've been asked out by a guy that I knew when I was at University before I met Mike. He's invited me out to dinner next Saturday, do you mind babysitting Oliver?"

I sipped my tea and in the few seconds before I answered several thoughts spun around inside my brain, 'a date? Who is this guy? No, it's not right.'

"Well you employ me as a Nanny so there's no problem. Tell me about him."

I'm not sure that I heard her reply or that I was very interested. I finished my tea and picked up both mugs. "I'll check on Oliver and then I'm going to bed, I seem tired tonight."

I angrily threw my clothes into the laundry bin, my teeth got a good workout, eyeliner was wiped away with less than the normal gentle strokes and I threw myself onto the bed face down. I was crying, she was cheating on me! I was jealous and I was so stupid, what did it have to do with me? I sniffled, blew my nose and sat up. I loved her, I wanted her for myself. All of those strange feelings that I'd had became clear, it was love. It made no sense; I wasn't gay, was I? She was too mature to be interested in me, a stupid little girl. I cried for a while before I fell asleep.

The next morning I tried hard to be my normal self and I think that I managed until Eve left for work. I resolved to steel myself and be sensible. It was ridiculous to even think about.

Two days later I was leaving the supermarket when I bumped into an old school friend, Colin. I say, friend, we'd shared classes and he wasn't an arse. When he saw Oliver in his buggy he stared, "Isla ..."

I smiled inwardly; it wasn't hard to read his thoughts. "This is Oliver and the other one is due in six months." I patted my belly.

"But, you ..." He smiled, "You're winding me up. Just for a minute, I thought ..."

"I broke my ankle badly and wasn't able to start uni so I'm working as a nanny until September. I'm not pregnant either."

We chatted for about ten minutes until Oliver got grumpy and I was saying goodbye when Colin threw me. "Isla, I always liked you and the place I'm working at has a dance next week, would be my date, please?"

He was sweet and another time I'd almost certainly have declined, but Eve going on a date herself may have influenced my decision. "Let me check to see if I can get the night off, text me the details and I'll call you." I leaned in and kissed his cheek. I didn't know that boys went that shade of red.

I thought about it. I could easily have declined, but what the hell, I needed to get out a bit so I confirmed that I'd go.

I took a while to get ready that evening. I wore the dress that I'd had made in Thailand with a pair of nude tights that shone, with those stupid five-inch heels. My hair was in a chignon and I wore far more make-up than normal. I checked how I looked in the long mirror and decided that 'hot' was appropriate. My bust had filled out a little, although I was never going to trouble a C cup. My legs had developed some tone because of all the exercises I'd been doing, pretty sexy, as long as you ignored the scar on the lower left leg, but even that was fading a little.

Eve was reading to Oliver when I reached the lounge and she started to speak before looking up, "Is that you ready?" Then she did look up, her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open as she looked me up and down. "Bloody hell, Isla, you're amazing, my God you'll slay them. I don't think I knew how bloody sexy you are."

"Thanks, I feel great." 'And now you know what you're missing I thought and then checked myself. Stop being stupid and anyway neither of you is gay.'

Colin was pretty speechless when he first saw me, but I have to say he scrubbed up nicely and he was floating as he introduced me to all of his colleagues. Actually, it was a nice night, the food was good, the music lively and we danced a lot. He was good company and when he leaned forward to kiss; it was tentative as if he was testing the water. It was pleasant and he grinned, so I took his hand and lead him into the corridor outside of the function room. I leaned back against the wall and pulled him towards me, I was in control of this and with the heels a little taller. He was hesitant, but I wasn't and even though I'd never kissed like that before I knew exactly what I was doing and by the time the first one was over so did he.

We shared a taxi. The kiss as he was dropping me off was brief. As I turned away I heard the taxi driver comment, "Your girlfriend is hot pal."

Despite the late hour Eve was sitting up reading, wearing a robe, with her feet tucked underneath her on the couch.

"You didn't have to wait up for me."

"I know, but I wanted to be sure that you were home safe. Was it a good evening?"

"Yeah it was good, good food and the dancing was great."

"And what about your young man?" Eve cocked her head.

"He's nice, a proper gent and he kisses well." There was a brief glimmer of something in her expression. "He's not long term boyfriend material though, maybe still a bit immature. Seems stupid given that he's my age but ..."

"I know what you mean; we girls seem to grow up quicker than the boys. Women commonly marry men a few years older than they are. Me and Mike for instance." A shadow passed over her face.

I lay in bed thinking about the night. Colin shouldn't get his hopes too high, but I enjoyed his company. The kiss was great, but I realised that I'd imagined that it was Eve. Then a horrific image of her and this guy she was seeing in a few hours going at it in her bed a short distance away popped into my head. The thought made me want to throw up.

Our roles were reversed from the previous evening, I was reading to Oliver when Eve appeared and I'm sure that I made those same stupid faces that she had as I ran my eyes over her.

She wore a simple black dress, probably jersey; it was strapless and shoulderless. The neckline sat just above her cleavage and carried onto the sleeves, what little there was of them. It flared from her trim waist and was wide at the hem, which sat about six inches above the knee revealing long and shapely legs that I'd have killed for. Black sheer tights were paired with some gorgeous heels. Her hair was gelled and she wore pearls. It was sophisticated yet sexy, jealousy was ripping through me.

"Bloody hell Eve, you look stunning, he's a lucky guy.

"Thanks, but I'm sure that you looked better last night." Clearly, she was deranged; I could never have looked that good.

I put Oliver to bed and went to collect the laundry. I don't know why, but I sat down on the end of Eve's bed holding her clothes close to me. Seeing her all dressed up and the jealousy that I felt confirmed that I was in love with her. I wanted to be the one kissing her and lying beside her in bed. I buried my head in her clothes and inhaled, Eve! The laundry was damp before it even reached the machine

This time I was the one sitting up reading, wearing a teddy that I sometimes wore to bed under a short waffle robe. It wasn't as late as I'd been the night before. "Hi, I didn't expect you back for a while yet."

She drew me a black look and was a bit nippy, "Did you think that I'd be going to bed with him."

Oh, now I've upset her. "No, that thought never entered my head and it's none of my business. I just thought ... I don't know what I thought. I'm sorry."

"So am I. I shouldn't have snapped at you, you didn't deserve that. It was a nice meal and he was good company, but it was clear that he expected us to have sex and his hands were ... ugh, it was awful."

The smile that was deep inside me had the decency to remain hidden and I kept a straight face as I muttered, "That's a shame."

"Come on, hot chocolate. Fancy a weepy movie?"

"I'll make the drinks; you change if you want to."

She came back wearing shorts and a T-shirt. As she sat down, closer to me than I expected, she curled her legs underneath herself. They were a lovely colour, beautifully smooth, shiny and her pink toenails looked cute. 'Cute toenails? Catch a grip.'

"Pass the throw and snuggle up." I watched the film, but my head was in a whirl. I wanted to stroke those legs and take those cute toes in my mouth. The thought was etched into my brain before I realised that it was weird, where on earth had that thought come from?

Eve kissed my cheek and patted my bum as I walked into my room. "Good night, see you in the morning."

I seem to do a lot of thinking staring at my bedroom ceiling nowadays. I was smiling and happy after she told me that she didn't think that she'd date the guy again. Then a reality check made me realise that I was a bloody fool.

*****

Eve was frustrated with her work. The small engineering company made components for other manufacturers and shortly before his passing Mike had branched out into plastics. His employees had kept up the good work in terms of production, but the management had slipped and Eve had been struggling to get on top of things for a while. That was one of the reasons I was working for her. Clearly, many of the males resented a female running the show and she'd had plenty of resistance to change and innovation.

Each evening she'd talk through the issues and after a few months, I was able to give her my thoughts. Some of them were naive and impractical, but it was these conversations that made me change my ideas about the university. After speaking to several people I switched to business management for my degree, instead of English. It gave me something new to focus on when I started.

At Easter, Eve rented a small apartment in Mallorca for a week. Oliver was no trouble, so I had plenty of time to relax and talk to Eve; we never seemed to run out of things to talk about. We toured the island, ate some tasty food and spent several evenings watching the religious parades. On our last evening, I was pushing Oliver's buggy as we made our way back to the apartment when Eve slipped her arm around my waist and whispered. "Thanks for this week. I've felt alive and enjoyed your company. I'm going to miss you when you go."