Standing in front of me was a man who simultaneously reminded me of both a pirate and Gimli fromThe Lord of theRings, and neither of those was a bad thing. His dark red hair had been scraped up into a messy bun, which appeared to have a teaspoon sticking out of it, and he had a rather lush red beard to match. There was a scar on his nose, and I noticed at least one of his ears was swollen at the top, which had to be from some kind of injury. I was pretty sure Annabelle’s email had mentioned something about sport… rugby maybe?
He was younger than I’d imagined and looking at me with a pair of appraising hazel eyes and a set mouth, so I smiled brightly and stuck out my hand.
“Hi, I’m Harper Cohen,” I said as Matthew took my hand and shook it, and I tried not to focus on the strength of his grip. Oh my days, it was strong. “I’m from The Midlands Nanny Agency. I believe you’re expecting me.”
“Hi, yeah, come in,” he said. His voice was softer than I’d imagined and I swallowed. First rule of nannying wasdo notget a crush on a parent. It always led to disaster, not to mention I could lose my entire career. “I’m Matty and this is…” There was the soft thump of feet and a toddler appeared from a nearby doorway, dragging a cuddly toy giraffe and wearing a pair of Halloween pyjamas that had pumpkins all over them. He had red hair and freckles across his nose, and Matthew… Matty… scooped him into his arms as soon as he appeared. “This is Jack.”
“Hi, Jack,” I said, giving him a little wave as he looked at me appraisingly. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Harper.”
“’Ello,” he said as he leant against Matty’s shoulder, burying his face in his neck. I suddenly wondered if I’d come at a bad time because he looked about ready for bed, but this was the time Annabelle had given me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Is this a bad time? Annabelle said six but…”
“You’re fine,” Matty said as he stepped back to let me in, waiting as I slipped my shoes off. “We just had an early bath today because we got wet and sandy at nursery.”
“Oh dear, was it a fun wet and sandy? Or a not so fun?”
“I assume fun,” Matty said. “Apparently, a few of them decided to take sand out of the sandpit and mix it with water from the water tray on the grass to make a swamp. Something about dinosaurs?” He shook his head and gestured for me to follow him into the room nearest the door. The one Jack had appeared from. “Anyway, we can chat in here if that’s okay?”
“Of course.”
The room in question was a gorgeous playroom with sunshine yellow walls and polished wooden floors covered with an enormous brightly patterned rug. The curtains were closed, making the room feel soft and welcoming but not overstimulating. There was a low sky-blue sofa on one side, which was the perfect height for Jack to climb on and off, that was decorated with animal cushions. On the far wall there was floor-to-ceiling white shelving with books, toys, and colourful baskets that I assumed were full of more toys and craft supplies, given the low children’s table and chairs near it. The ceiling was strung with fairy lights, and in the middle of the room was a castle-style tent, which had a couple of stuffed animals discarded inside and a few DUPLO blocks spread out around it along with what looked like some stray Cheerios.
“Wow, this is gorgeous,” I said as I followed Matty over to the sofa, watching as Jack slid out of his arms and pottered over to the castle with his giraffe in tow.
“Thanks. I thought it might be a bit bright, but I didn’t want it to be boring. Not a big fan of beige.”
“Well, yellow is my favourite colour.”
Matty gave me a small smile as I sat down next to him. “So,” he said. “Tell me about yourself. Why do you like being a nanny?”
“It’s magical,” I said, beaming at him. “Getting to help children learn and grow, watching them explore the world, seeing them experience things for the first time and supporting them, nothing could be better. I’ve been nannying professionally for five years, mostly for children aged six months to seven years, and I’ve wanted to be a nanny since I was fourteen and started babysitting for my neighbours. In terms of qualifications, I have a degree in early years education and then post-graduate certifications in child development, educational play, and nutrition as well as food safety, safeguarding, and first aid certificates. At some point I’d like to also do my master’s degree, most likely focusing on the role of imagination and play in development.”
Matty nodded, but his mouth was pinched and I felt something knot in my chest. Did he not think I was qualified enough? Should I not have mentioned wanting to do my master’s? It was the standard answer I gave every parent, and I’d never had anyone disapprove before. “Why did you leave your last position?”
“Oh, er, well, the family were moving to Germany and going with them wasn’t the right choice for me.”
“And before that?”
“Excuse me?”
“And your job before that, why did you leave there?”
“Um, the children got to the age where they were in school full-time, and the eldest was even looking at weekly boarding, and so having a live-in nanny wasn’t really going to fit their needs anymore, so we decided it would be for the best if we parted ways,” I said slowly. “They were great, though. I’m sure their reference would be in any details the agency provided.”
“It was but I wanted to hear it from your side. Do you usually leave if children get too old?”
I let myself take a beat before I answered. I wasn’t sure if he was wilfully misunderstanding what I’d said or if he was looking for reassurance that I wouldn’t suddenly up and leave. If he’d had an issue with nannies in the past, which was the vibe I’d gotten from Annabelle, it would make sense for him to want stability, even if he’d been at fault. Still, it wasn’t what I’d expected, especially as one of his first questions.
Usually, people wanted to ask about routines, activities, or how I’d handled difficult situations and emergencies. Not about when I was planning to leave.
“It really depends on the needs of the child and the family,” I said, reminding myself to smile so he didn’t know he’d thrown me. “Every situation is different, and before any changes are made, I’d always ask that it gets discussed in depth and that we come up with a plan for talking things through with the child or children affected. Just so they don’t think I’m abandoning them or think that they’ve done something wrong to make me leave. It’s really important that children don’t feel any responsibility for the change, like it’s their fault. But I have some guidance I can offer parents, including some suggested templates for the conversation.”
“Cool, cool, thanks.” He nodded. “Sorry, I know it’s a strange place to start but we’ve, er, we’ve not had much luck with nannies. I think I’m a bit… particular.”
“That’s okay. Leaving your child with someone can be scary and difficult, even if you have experience with nurseries. If it helps, I’m sure the agency can provide you with details for my previous employers so you can talk to them yourself. And I’m happy to work with you on routines, schedules, activities, all that good stuff. Our goal is the same: to make sure Jack is happy, healthy, and well taken care of.”
He chuckled wryly. “You seem surprisingly okay with the fact I might be a complete dick to work for.”
