The Circle Ch. 35

Chapter 35 - Tammy the nanny

Sandy said, "I think I might know someone who would be interested in a job as a nanny. She's been one of my waitresses when we do big parties, and she's reliable as anything, personable, and I've known her for two decades. She'd be perfect. She just finished launching her own kids that she started when she was in college, is suffering from empty nest syndrome, is a widow - he died in an auto accident, and has been wondering what to do with her life. She hasn't been a player in any of our late-in-the-party games though."

Alice said, "Call her ... right now. See if she can come over and talk to us."

Sandy pulled out her cellphone, and punched in a number.

An hour later, an attractive forty-plus-year-old came into the house after Sandy met her at the door. "Ladies, this is Tammy Reinhold. Among other things, she was on my cheerleader squad, and she is one who can probably still fit into her old uniform too."

Tammy greeted everyone, and instantly there was a bond with the pretty middle-aged brunette.

Alice and Sandy described the situation in the house, and the need for a nanny. Of course, she skipped over a few salient facts about the household to get to meat of the situation with the children.

Tammy said, "Wait, I don't understand. Is this like a condominium, and the new moms are hiring someone? Are there apartments here?"

Sandy winked at Alice. She said, "Tammy, let me give you a tour. Brad and I live here about half-time." She rose and Tammy did too. The two women headed off towards the lounge area and patio. Sandy was saying, "No, it's not like a condominium. Do you remember the French house on campus that was co-ed, and all the students used to ...?"

Lynn bounced Marshall on her lap. She laughed, "Either she'll run past here screaming about sexual misconduct, or we'll have a nanny by the end of the tour."

Michelle said, "And probably another member of The Circle. She's cute, and will appeal to the men, and I admit I wouldn't mind playing with her either."

Lynn needled her friend, both of them in their fifties, "Oh, you slut. You just like younger women."

Michelle nodded, "Yes. The pussy tastes younger and fresher." She was obviously teasing, and playing at being naughty with her best friend, who tried to look insulted as she looked down at her crotch.

Steph was laughing at their antics.

Twenty minutes later, Sandy and Tammy returned to the living room. Tammy's eyes were certainly large, as though she'd had a real dose of reality. She sat down silently.

Lynn put Marshall in her lap, and went off with Michelle to get more toddlers. She was back in two minutes with Theodore and Ariana. Alice appeared with Patrick, and Steph brought in the other two babies.

Tammy fussed over the babies, and cooed and played with them the way you'd expect a seasoned mother to do. They smiled and giggled and liked her immediately.

After a while Sheila appeared to claim Marshall, and together with the grandmothers, they took the kids off to the lounge area.

Tammy said, "I want the job, but we haven't talked about the rest of it. Am I even what you want?"

Alice said, "This all started in a conversation only an hour or so ago. Can we come up with an offer to you?"

Tammy said, "Yes, of course, but know that I'll probably take it regardless. Based on what Sandy said, I know you'll be more than fair." She hesitated and added, "I'd almost work for free just to see what goes on around this household. I can't imagine thirty people living together in harmony the way Sandy described. My late-husband and I often couldn't get along with each other, and there were only two of us; trying to do that with thirty is unimaginable."

Sandy laughed and retorted, "There's safety in numbers."

Steph tossed in, "The sex helps solve all problems." She grinned at her own remark.

Tammy asked the women, "You really sleep with all the men?"

Sandy retorted with a laugh, "Well, usually not all at the same time, and sleep is seldom on the agenda, but yes, over a period of a week or two, I will make love with each of the men, and many of the women."

Tammy asked in a hushed tone, "But don't you feel kind of ... I don't know ..."

Sandy said, "Slutty is the word you're groping for, and the answer is rarely. Many people love each of us. The sex is one important expression of that love. As I mentioned on our tour, everyone in the house seems to be a little oversexed."

Alice said proudly, "I believe I'm a genuine nymphomaniac."

Sheila stood with Marshall on her hip. She'd listened to the last couple of minutes of discussion. She said to Tammy, "Hi, I'm Sheila. You should know that we have some illustrious people as part of our circle." She winked at Alice.

Alice said, "Oh, yes. Renee Duval lives with us when she's home. Right now she's in London and Paris with Ellen, her assistant, who also lives here."

"You mean the supermodel?" Tammy said with awe in her voice.

"Yes," Sheila said. "We also have Marlene Mason and Tina Valentino as circle members."

Tammy gave her a blank stare. "I don't know those names. Should I?"

Sheila smiled, "They're both porn queens, but for that matter some of us are too." She winked at Alice and Sandy. "We're all dormant 'stars' right now. I tell you this because I don't want you to get here and discover some of this as a huge surprise and run screaming for the door."

"Do they still make videos or whatever they did as porn queens?" Tammy was not reacting in a negative way, only appearing to ask out of curiosity.

"No. Tina works at a spa doing massage, and is working on getting certified as a physical therapist - not an easy task, I might add. Marlene works with Alex, also one of our members, doing investments in penny stocks. She's catapulted her own net worth from near zero into millions, and is working with Alex to do that that for some of his firm's investment clients."

"And the rest of you?"

Alice said, "I usually work from home doing web design work on a freelance basis."

Sheila said, "I work for a financial advisory service, sort of in the same area as Marlene and Alex, but with a different bent. I also work with clients, and I just got promoted to major accounts investment manager about a month ago."

Tammy looked at Steph.

Steph replied, "Paralegal, and I think I might be starting a new job Monday. I'm not a mother, by the way." She paused and added, "Yet."

Alice stepped in, "Some of our other circle members are engineering managers, land developers, photographers, claims adjusters, researchers in pharmaceuticals, home and commercial construction, bank manager, optical sales, TV news anchor, and on and on. We have a pretty robust group of professionals with demanding jobs; it's why we need some help with the kids."

Tammy nodded. Obviously ignoring the negative that she'd reacted to, she said, "Just let me know what I need to know, and tell me when you want me here."

Sandy and Alice exchanged looks. Alice said, "Either Sandy or I will definitely call you tomorrow before the end of the day."

At dinner that night, Alice brought up Steph's idea. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have another latent need that was called to our attention today by Steph." She gestured at Steph, who instantly blushed.

Steph said, "I just observed how Lynn and Michelle were so tired by early afternoon tending to the children, and everyone is so busy. It just seemed that The Circle should hire a nanny or two. We shouldn't be tiring our own grandmothers." She looked back at Alice to pick up the thread.

Before Alice could speak, several at the table were mumbling 'Of course,' 'Duh,' 'How'd we miss this one,' and so on.

Alice said, "Sandy?" She gestured to her friend.

Sandy said, "So, I know a woman who's a new empty nester, cute, ex-cheerleader, widow, and a ball of energy, and loves kids, and I called her. Tammy Howard is her name. She came over and saw our set up, and is ready to start."

Bob said, "How much does she want?"

Sheila offered, "Maybe the moms pool some money together to pay her and ..."

Bob said in a loud tone that made everyone stop and take notice, "NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT." Everyone looked at him in alarm. He started, "I'm sorry Sheila, but I had to interrupt. This is not something that only the mothers do. When we decided to have children, it was a unanimous GROUP vote - we ALL wanted kids around. We went out of our way pretty much to be sure that paternity is uncertain, so every man and every woman is in on this journey. This is a Circle expense, NOT something that only the mothers pay for. If anyone disagrees, please speak up."

Heads nodded around the table, and no one said a word.

Bob gestured back to Alice.

"Ooooookaaaay. Now, I looked up nanny pay. The high end for a 'live out' nanny is about $18.50 an hour, but there are benefits and overtime atop that, and some kind of bonus, probably at Christmas time, plus vacations."

Jim looked at Sandy, "Is she really good?"

Sandy puffed up, "I'll put my reputation on the line for her. Yes, she will be outstanding."

Jim said, "Then we should pay her at a premium of $20 an hour, and increase to $22 after six months if all goes well; overtime beyond forty hours should be at $30 an hour; three weeks vacation paid; and we can pick up her healthcare under our Circle plan. We should also get her some insurance and put her on some kind of IRA or 401k or whatever too."

Heads again nodded.

Bob stepped in, "Is what Jim said all right? We'll pay her out of the general fund. Objections? Comments?"

There were none.

Tammy started at noon the next day.

* * * * *

Bob was down on the floor playing with Teddy and Ariana, both of whom were nearing the two-year-old mark. The floor was littered with various toys.

Tammy sat on the sofa beside them holding Patrick, Ellie's baby, and Charlyn, Tina's baby. Sheila had taken Marshall on some errands, and Monica was working from home and had little Alyson upstairs with her.

Monica, Ellie, and Tina were still nursing their babies, a point the men relished with glee because their breasts were swollen and looked marvelous, plus they often got to taste the nurturing milk.

Tammy said to Bob in a low tone, "I watched you suck on Monica's breasts yesterday; you actually drank some of her milk."

Bob laughed and teased, "It tasted good, and I got to suck on one of my favorite teats."

She blushed, "I also saw Derek and Kyle making out with Tracy - at the same time. They then all went off to her bedroom."

Bob asked, "Did those things bother you in some way? I apologize if we were out of line. Alice said that Sandy told you about our lifestyle."

Tammy said in an embarrassed tone, "Well, I guess it's the difference between hearing about something and actually seeing it in action."

"I'll remind my family to be a more discreet around you. We don't want to lose our great nanny only a few days into her having joined us."

"Oh, no. Please don't say anything," Tammy pleaded. She blushed and said in her quiet tone again, "I kind of liked seeing it."

Bob chuckled and teased, "The you that you wish you were?"

"Yeah, kind of.

Neil came into the living room, "Ah, Mr. Cooper, I was thinking of chicken parmigiana as the entrée tonight, along with salads, a tasty dessert, and some special vegetables. Is that all right?"

Bob rolled his eyes, "Please, call me Bob. Mr. Cooper is my father. The dinner sounds delightful, and I also remind you that you are in charge of the menu unless you decide to serve liver and onions, or haggis with lima beans, in which case I will be part of the posse that lynches you."

Neil bowed as usual but with a broad smile, "I'm sorry ... Bob. I just wanted to be sure to run it by someone." He backed away and headed off to the kitchen. Over his shoulder he said, "I know how to fix haggis so that no one would recognize it ... it can even end up looking like ... chicken parmigiana."

Bob laughed and turned to Tammy, "Why don't you stay for dinner? We'd love to have you as our guest any time you want to be with us. You're rapidly becoming an important member of our family. I'd like you to be here all the time."

Tammy smiled, "Why, I'd love to join you, if it's not an inconvenience and you have enough food."

Bob explained about the amount of food prepared - there were always leftovers ... especially when we have haggis.

Bob's cellphone buzzed with a text message. He rolled a ball to Ariana, and looked at the phone's display. He smiled and commented to Tammy, "Oh, great. Renee and Ellen will be home for dinner. They're back from London."

Tammy said with a twinkle in her eye, "I so look forward to meeting Renee. She's become so famous in just the past year. It's getting hard to pick up a magazine that she's not featured in some way. Why was she in London; fashion show?"

"She was modeling, yes. She also took a side trip to Milan last week. I think Ellen had set her up with a couple of the houses there to represent their product lines in the United States. She also had some kind of photo shoot at the Galleria - supposedly the world's oldest shopping mall."

"Oh, I hope she talks about it at dinner. I'd so love to hear about her travels."

A few hours later, Tammy watched the homecoming between five and six o'clock. As each person came home there were kisses and handshakes, and everyone hugged everyone else. The smiles were genuine. This family liked each other.

Renee and Ellen finally arrived home in a stretch limousine. The chauffeur carried a dozen bags of various sizes into the foyer and as instructed set them near the stairs to the second floor.

Everyone gathered around the late arrivals, with more hugs and kisses.

Tammy watched at how natural and relaxed everyone was around the supermodel. Bob commented after returning to her side from greeting Renee and Ellen, "The only reason she's getting special attention tonight, is that she's been away for two weeks."

Tammy nodded. She thought it'd be hard not to give special attention to someone so pretty and in the limelight.

The arrivals at the house went off to their rooms to change to more casual clothes for dinner. Renee appeared in minutes in cut-off jeans that hugged her pert butt, and a sexy top that revealed more than it covered, including her braless breasts.

Bob called her over as she came down the stairs. "Renee, come and meet our new nanny. This is Tammy; this is Renee."

Renee lit up into a nice smile. "I read the email that announced that you'd accepted the nanny job. I think this is so special that you're in our family now." She leaned in and hugged the older woman.

Bob said to Renee, "Tammy really wants to hear about your trip to Milan, Paris, and London. If you could be sure she sits near you at dinner, it'd make her very happy."

"Oh, of course," Renee said. She went over and took little Charlyn from Lolly, kissing the baby and getting a chortle from the infant.

Bob said in a teasing tone, "You look so cute as a mother. Whenever you're ready, we are."

Renee said, "I'm seriously considering it. I think this is my last month on birth control for a while. Let's see what nature conjures up for me."

Tammy was almost speechless, only commenting on how nice it was to meet her and how she looked forward to hearing about Europe. Bob called over Ellen when she came down, also giving introductions. She was also sexily dressed, her long legs even giving her boss a run for her money.

Dinner unfolded as usual, with many different conversations, but an occasional focus on one person's comments. That night one focus was Renee's ten-minute summary of her European trip.

She laughed, "The men I met in Milan were either gay or tried to get me into their beds after only the briefest of introductions."

Ellen needled her in a teasing tone. She turned to the table, "Ask her whether she accepted any of the offers."

Several at the table went, 'Oooooh.' Jim said, "Details, Renee. Details."

She laughed, "Well, there was this one man, he was a count or something like that. He was so suave and smooth. I just had the hardest time resisting his charms." She winked. She also countered, "I know what I did with the count, but my assistant was left in the capable hands of several other handsome men, all of whom seemed to want to communicatedeeply with her." She nudged the ball back to Ellen.

Ellen laughed, "A woman never reveals her secrets, especially if she had a really good time, but I can comment that those men can't even begin to compare to the sexy gentlemen sitting around this table."

The men all applauded the compliment and laughed at how she dodged the issue.

One of the men said, "Is that a comparison based on size, technique, sexy vocabulary, oral skills, or some other factors?"

Ellen teased and looked at Renee. "Well, Renee and I did compare notes the next day. I guess I'd say the comparisons were based on ... all of those factors." She laughed at her evasive answer, and Renee gave a totally innocent smile.

Bob, Alice, and some of the others grinned with joy as they watched Ellen interacting with everyone in such a primary role. She'd come into The Circle so broken and abused some doubted she'd ever recover. Between the love from everyone and her counseling sessions with Dr. Slarinsky, Ellen had turned her life and attitude around. She continued the counseling, but now came at it from a stronger place.

As the sexually charged banter bounced around the table, Tammy's head swiveled as though she were at Wimbledon watching a high-speed tennis match between two-dozen players.

Neil came in with a glass of wine, and sat next to Michelle near one end of the table. Most of the people praised his cooking skills again, and thanked him graciously for the great meal.

Neil, as it turned out, was like many musicians. The praise from his 'audience' was far more motivating than the money or flexible working conditions of the job. Most of The Circle knew that, and went out of their way to tell him how they appreciated his work.

Michelle added a special treat for Neil that night. She planted a rather solid kiss on his lips, and gave him a full body hug. People guessed she'd really liked the chicken dish.

Nathan teased Tina, "Hey, movie star. Any chance we could watch one of your videos tonight? I'd love to snuggle with you when we do."

Alex chimed in, "Oh, Marlene and I would like to watch too."

Ellie was sitting in Don's lap as she held Patrick, and they both loved up the baby. She looked up, "Don and I will watch too, at least for a little while. Can you wait until I put Patrick down?"

Nathan said, "OK, we'll wait for you, but Tina's getting wet just thinking about being with me later." He tried to look down at his legs; "I can feel her leaking on me right now."

Tina poked him in the ribs, "That's because I spilled my wine in my lap earlier, Dummy."

Nathan acted as though he was putting a finger in Tina's crotch. He brought it up to his mouth and licked the finger. He said, "Hmmmm, Chateau Le Tranc, 1983 - a distinguished wine with a hint of ... pussy. A good vintage." He got his laughs, and another poke in the ribs, but after that she kissed him with some obvious tongue action.

Renee looked up the table at Bob and winked. The message was unmistakable; 'I want to be with you tonight.'

Bob mouthed back at her, 'I love you too. Yes. Do we want company?"

Tammy had read the lips and even heard his nearly spoken question.

Renee nodded and held up one finger. She pointed at Jim, who was talking to Ellen. She amended her comment, and spoke, "Bring both of them. I want a foursome, and I know Ellen does too." Bob leaned over to Jim and they started whispering.