We Found Love

This is it, she told herself, this could be what you’re looking for, what you need. Taking a deep breath, and one last sip of her coffee, Brenna opened the car door, the cold air hitting her face as her long jacket hit the back of her knees. One more deep breath and she was walking along the stone walkway to the front of the house. Stopping halfway, she contemplated turning back and hopping into her car before anyone could notice her. Laughing to herself, she turned back around and finished the walk until she was standing in front of a very large wooden door. Taking one last deep breath, Brenna brought her manicured pointer finger up to the door bell, pressing in, and releasing when she heard the bell sound.

Before she knew it, the door opened and a plump, grandmother-esque woman stood in front of her. “Hello dear,” her cheery voice rang out, “Can I help you with something?”

“Hi, my name is Brenna. I’m here for the in-,” Brenna couldn’t finish because the woman standing in front of her cut her off.

“The interview, of course. Kris did mention something about that.” Pulling open the door even more, she waved for Brenna to come in. Once Brenna entered the house, she couldn’t help but smile at the smell of the cinnamon wafting in the air. “Oh dear, let me get your coat for you so you don’t have to carry it around.”

“Thank you,” Brenna smiled, slipping the long wool coat off before handing it over. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh gosh, I’m so forgetful,” the woman chuckled. “I’m Marta, I’m the housekeeper.”

After she hung the coat up, Marta invited Brenna to join her in the kitchen while the waited for Kris to become available. The two women talked for about ten minutes before the heard heavy footsteps making their way down from the upper level of the house. Not knowing what to expect, Brenna couldn’t help but mentally squeal when she saw the man, who she assumed to be Kris, standing in the entryway. Sliding off the stool, she stood straight before holding her hand out.

“Hi, I’m Brenna. It’s nice to put a voice and name to a face,” she smiled gently, savoring the strong grip he had on her hand.

“Kris, shall we?” he nodded his head toward the stairs before looking at Marta. “Could you maybe make some mac and cheese for the princess?” he asked before kissing her forehead and directing Brenna up the stairs and down the hallway to his study. After allowing Brenna to enter the room first, Kris shut the door and made his way to the chair from behind the desk.

Before Kris could say anything to her, Brenna made sure to pull the manila envelope containing her resume out of her purse and slid it onto his desk.

Kris opened up the envelope and pulled out the four papers from inside and read over them, not once, but twice. Setting them down, he took a sip of the coffee resting on the coaster before addressing her. “Ms. Elroy, I-.”

“Sorry for cutting you off, but please, no formalities. Mrs. Elroy is my mom, even my grandmother, I’m just Brenna.

Kris smiled and nodded his head, “Brenna then. Well, you are certainly qualified. Seven years at a local preschool, fluent in French, with a very flexible schedule. I can see this working out, but I just want to ask a few questions first.

“Okay, shoot.”

“Fluent in French, but you didn’t take it in high school. How’s that work?”

“I was born in France, as were my parents. We moved to the United States when I was seven, but French was always the dominate language in the house.”

“Why’d you leave the preschool?”

“I had been working there while I was in college, and once I graduated I was offered a full time job there. Naturally I took it, but after the last school year, I realized that I wanted something different. I tried getting a job at some of the high schools around here, but nobody is hiring. So when I found your add, I figured why not go for it.”

“Last question, you do know this is a live in position, correct?”

“Yes I do know that. I rent an apartment with two of my good friends from college, and we all had a mutual agreement that if someone needed to leave they could, but they had to pay the rent until a replacement was found.”

“Well that answers just about all of my questions, do you have any?”

“No,” Brenna shook her head, smiling.

“It’s Monday, and after tonight I’m free until Friday. Would you feel comfortable moving in that soon?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well then,” Kris said standing up, watching as Brenna mirrored his action, “Welcome to the family.”