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Once more she checked the address she had written down earlier against the house she was standing in front of before the young woman pressed the doorbell by the small gate.
“Yes?” The male voice echoing through the intercom sounded somewhat stressed and Paula got even more nervous than she had already been before.
“Um...this is Paula McCrae. You invited me over for an interview, I believe,” she stammered, fidgeting with the diary in her hands.
This would be her third and last interview of the day and the two previous families had been nothing short of a nightmare. The first one had ‘forgotten’ to tell her that they had, in fact, no room to accommodate her and she was expected to rent her own apartment somewhere else with the little money she would earn as an au pair. The next family was no better as they had treated her like a slave from the moment she entered their house. Now that she was there, couldn’t she help make lunch, tidy up the kids’ bedrooms and fold away the hostparents’ laundry? No, she couldn’t.
Disheartened, she had left both places as quickly as possible and was now hoping for a miracle behind the whitewashed walls of the house in front of her.
“Oh yes, come on in please!” The buzzer was pressed and she opened the gate after one last glance at Wandsworth Common behind her. Holding onto her handbag, Paula walked up the driveway, past the black Jaguar and towards the front door of the house, trying to remember all the details from the family’s profile.
Even before she had reached the house, the white door was opened and two curly-haired children tumbled out, looking at her with curious smiles and eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Oh hello there,” she smiled, warmly, bending down to greet them properly. “I’m Paula, nice to meet you.”
With a shy smile, the boy now hid behind his sister, who seemed much more confident. “Hello Paula, I’m Emiliana but most people call me Emmy. And this is Ben, short for Benjamin. We are twins,” the grey-eyed girl informed her with a proud smile and Paula sincerely hoped that their father, a single-parent, was equally as nice because she had fallen for those two already.
“Are you going to introduce me as well or do I have to do that myself, sweetheart?” Paula looked up at the man now standing in the doorway, his ginger-blonde curls gleaming in the sunshine while his face was adorned with the friendliest of smiles. Immediately, Paula straightened up, her shyness once more returning in the presence of her potential hostdad.
“This is our Daddy. He’s called Tom or Thomas or Thomas William but only grandma calls him Thomas William and only when she’s cross with him,” Emmy continued while Ben now clung to his father’s leg, peeking out at the blonde woman from behind it.
“Thank you, Emmy,” Tom grinned before stretching his hand out towards Paula. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Paula. Please do come in.”
The house was filled with light despite the old, Victorian structure and it felt cozy and homey at the same time. The odd toy lay next to piles of books and magazines and as they walked through to the kitchen, she got a quick glance of the living room and the bookshelf-lined walls of the dining room.
The kitchen was equally as bright as the hallway and a conservatory-like extension opened up into a small but neatly kept garden lit up by the bright summer sun shining down from the clear, blue sky above them.
“We were just about to decide what we’re having for lunch so please, cast your vote,” Tom smiled, offering her a seat at the dining table and placing her handbag by her feet, she sat down.
“Okay...what’s on offer?,” she smiled at him but it was once again Emmy who did the talking.
“Weeelll, we are either going to get Fish&Chips, which would be my favourite, oooor we are having Pasta with Tomato Sauce, which would be Ben’s favourite, ooor...Daddy, what did you want again?” Kneeling on her Tripp Trapp, she looked up at her father, who smiled at her lovingly.
“I suggested Beans on Toast, darling, because it’s quick and easy to make. But anything is fine with me,” he replied, gently ruffling through her curls before he helped Ben onto his chair as well.
“So, what’s your favourite food, Paula? Do you have one?” Once more the little girl directed her attention at the young woman, eager to ask more questions.
“Well, out of those you mentioned, Pasta is probably my favourite but in general I like lots of different things,” Paula replied, hoping that her answer wouldn’t cause any trouble between the siblings but Emmy seemed happy enough with her choice.
“So, can we have Fish&Chips tomorrow then, Daddy? And then we could have Baked Beans the day after tomorrow,” she tried to negotiate while Ben’s face lit up now that his favourite food was chosen for that day’s lunch.
“Of course we can, Emmy. Now, why don’t you and Ben go and play for a bit while I make lunch and talk to Paula, hm? You can ask all the questions you have later, would that be alright?”
The twins nodded and with one last wave in Paula’s direction, they ran outside into the garden to play.
“Can I offer you a drink, Paula? Some water, a glass of wine, tea or coffee?” Tom’s smile did not seem to waver as he prepared a pot with water for the pasta before he placed it on the stove and once again turned his attention to the young woman sitting at his kitchen table.
“A coffee would be lovely, thank you very much.” Despite the previous introduction she wasn’t sure whether to address him as Tom or Mr Hiddleston, especially now, after she had finally realised why his face seemed so familiar to her.
Her brother David, 7 years her junior, was a huge fan of the Marvel films and whenever she came home from school or uni on the weekends, which wasn’t that often, they watched another of the films much to his delight. She wondered what he would say if he found out she had been - hopefully - employed by none other than Loki himself.
“So, first of all, let me apologise. I have never done this before really, - well, except for those two interviews this morning, - so if I say anything stupid, please forgive me. I’ve tried to prepare myself but I’ve probably missed a lot of things,” Tom smiled apologetically as he placed two steaming mugs of coffee on the table before he took the seat opposite her.
“Oh don’t worry, I’m no expert either so at least we’ll make some mistakes together,” Paula grinned and he chuckled in response.
***
“Daddy, can I leave the table, please?,” Ben asked, quietly, his mouth and cheeks still covered in tomato sauce.
“Of course, Ben, but let me clean you up, first. You look like you had a big, nasty fight with that pot of tomato sauce,” Tom grinned but before he was able to grab a napkin, Paula had already conjured one up and gently wiped the little boy’s face clean.
“Thank you, Paula. Do you want to come and play with me?,” he smiled afterwards, surprising his father as he was normally extremely shy with people he didn’t yet know. The blonde, young woman, however, seemed to be different and when she nodded after a quick glance at Tom, the little boy’s smile became even bigger than before. Taking her hand gently into his small one, he slipped off his chair and led her out of the kitchen and up the stairs into his room.
“Wow, this is the coolest bed I have ever seen!,” Paula marvelled at the branches of the four-poster bed and Ben jumped proudly onto the mattress.
“Daddy gave it to me for Christmas last year. Emmy’s looks similar but she has different branches,” he explained, holding onto a cuddly toy kangaroo.
“You know, when I was at school, I always had a bunk bed and underneath it was my wardrobe but sometimes I would make a cave out of it with blankets and then I would sit there and read all day long,” she smiled, sitting down on the mattress herself.
“I can’t read yet but I’ll start Reception in a few weeks. Do you like to colour things in? Because I still have some egg shapes from Easter and we could colour them in.” Ben had already jumped off the bed before she was able to reply but Paula followed suit. It didn’t take long before they were both busy filling the egg templates with all the colours of the rainbow, Ben sitting on his little chair and Paula kneeling next to him on the floor.
“What are you doing? Can I have one, too?” Her curls sticking out to all sides, Emmy came running into her brother’s bedroom, eager to join in the fun and with a nod Paula moved aside so the little girl could sit down next to her.
“Wow, yours looks really pretty, Paula. I like the purple and the pink.”
“Oh thank you so much, Emmy. What’s your favourite colour then?”
“Well...sometimes it’s pink and sometimes it’s purple but then again, on other days, it’s yellow,” she explained gravely while Ben continued adding colour to his sheet of paper, his tongue sticking out between his teeth.
***
“I’m so sorry, I can’t believe we’ve kept you busy all afternoon,” Tom apologised with a smile after he had tucked Ben and Emmy into bed. Paula was standing on the wooden patio, relishing the warm feeling of the last few sunbeams of the day on her skin.
“Oh please don’t apologise, Tom. I had such a great time,” she admitted, hoping that the feeling was mutual.
“I am very glad to hear that, Paula. To be honest, I haven’t seen Ben that open towards someone he doesn’t know for ages and...well, I would love to welcome you into our family. That’s, of course, if you want to and don’t have any other plans already.” Tom’s eyes rested on the young woman who seemed to have captured his little boy’s heart in no time.
He hadn’t been too enthusiastic about the idea of getting an au pair but he soon realised that he needed help with the twins if he wanted to continue working. The first two applicants this morning, however, were rather a big disappointment as the first one had forgotten to tell him in her application that she was indeed a smoker while the second one was more determined to find out when she would have free time rather than to get to know his children.
Paula was different. She was maybe a little shy still but she was wonderful with the children and both of them had been drawn to her immediately, playing with her all afternoon before begging her to read a good night story to them.
“I would love to stay, Tom. Ben and Emmy are wonderful and I so admire the connection the three of you have. I would love to get to know all of you better and help out and...yeah…,” she blushed a little under his friendly gaze but she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Indeed, she felt so welcome and at home already that the thought of going back to her hostel that night filled her with a hint of sadness.
“That’s fantastic. I’m so glad to hear that. So...when would you like to start? Your room is ready upstairs so it’s all up to you.” He pointed at the top floor window where her new bedroom would be and still a little shyly, Paula buried her hands in the pockets of her jeans.
“Well, all my clothes are already at the hostel down by Clapham Junction. I could move in any time,” she confessed and once more his face lit up with the brightest smile.
“Why don’t I get you a cab so you can pick up your things and then you could stay here right away. I’ll pay for your hostel in case you needed to make an advance payment but that way we could get to know each other a little better already and I’m sure Ben and Emmy would be delighted to have you over so quickly,” Tom suggested enthusiastically and she had to laugh quietly which caused him to blush now.
“Sorry...I just feel like you are perfect for us and I’m afraid someone else might snatch you away,” he confessed, quietly, ruffling through his curls.
“Don’t worry, Tom. I won’t leave anytime soon,” she grinned, happily.