With a Little Help From My Friends

"Relax, the kids are going to behave with their nanny", said Karim reassuringly as he led her towards the black Audi parked in the driveway.

"I have never left them with a nanny before, us Russians usually have Baba minding the kids, not strangers", she said.

Karim nodded as he opened the doors to the Audi and she got in the passenger's side. "We have a sponsorship with Audi, just go to the dealership and show your ID and pick out what you like", he said.

Karim started the engine and backed out of the driveway as French rap music blared from the speakers. "Pardon", he said, lowering the volume.

"It's your car, listen to what you like", she said.

"I listen to a lot of rap, I grew up listening to this", he said, hooking up his player and hitting play as loud French rap echoed throughout the car.

Ausra just shrugged and made a mental note to get her own car ASAP as Karim drove towards practice. She watched as his long fingers tapped a rhythm on the steering wheel, nodding his head in time to the beat. "Just follow me, it's easy to get lost", he said as he parked the car.

Ausra nodded and got out of the car. Karim nodded to the burly security guard and led her inside, the numerous corridors and doors like a maze. "Those are the offices of the PR staff, Mr. Perez is going to meet you later. Au revoir", he said, kissing her cheek.

Ausra went inside and made a mental note to decorate it, seeing the bare walls and plain desk. The only decoration was a Real Madrid crest stenciled on the wall behind the desk, dark purple curtains parted to reveal a view of the practice field below. On the desk was a white Mac Book which she plugged in and logged into as the screen appeared.

The door opened and team president Florentino Perez entered her office. "Hola y bienvenidos, Senora Moore. I hope you like your office, you may decorate it to your taste. Follow me, I will show you around", he said.

"Gracias, Senor Perez", she replied.

"I want you to get used to being around the team, when we do the preseason games in England you will be around them a lot", he said.

"I'm a big Beatles fan and my cousin lives in Manchester, this is going to be a fun trip. Luckily I found a nanny for my children, I don't want to worry about them", she said.

"Verdad, Senora Moore. You will meet the players after practice, I assure you they will be on their best behavior", said Perez.

"So Karim, what is the new PR lady like?", asked Sergio.

Karim gave the defender a look, a towel around his waist as she walked over to his stall. "Ausra is my neighbor and une madame, she is also a widow with two kids. Plus she speaks all these languages and can cuss you out in all of them, mon ami", he quipped.

"Aye, que interesante. Sounds like you like her, Benz", teased Sergio.

"Oui, I like her. She is a beautiful, intelligent, fascinating woman. But she is also a widow with two kids and and is still mourning her husband, we can only be friends", he replied.

"Entiendo, Benz. And where is she from, Ausra is an unusual name", said Sergio.

"She is Russian and Lithuanian, her husband was American. Her sister is a Canadian citizen and is married to a French Canadian man, her son's father is Swedish and her daughter's father is her American husband", he replied.

"That sounds like a very interesting family there, at least she sounds like a cool person to have with us when we go to England", said Sergio.

"Does she speak Portuguese?", asked Cristiano.

"Oui, her French is better than mine, she speaks it like une dame de Paris. I thought she was a Spanish lady at first so I spoke to her in Spanish, she answered me back in French when she heard my accent. I bet her Portuguese is better than yours, Cris", he laughed.

"I bet she can't speak Welsh", said Gareth with a laugh.

"Nobody speaks Welsh, Gar. But she could probably learn it in a week", joked Karim.

"Senor Perez wants us to meet the new PR lady", said Iker.

"Okay, capitan", said Iker.

Senor Perez stood at the podium with Ausra as the players entered the media room. The dapper middle-aged man looked dignified in his charcoal pinstriped suit while she wore a dark gray business sui with her red hair hidden under the black widow's kerchief. "Hola, cada uno. I am here to introduce to ou our new foreign PR person, Ausra Moore. She will be in charge of handling the foreign press and will travel with us for the preseason friendlies and the Champions League games and some of our domestic games", he said.

"Gracias, Senor Perez. Estoy muy orgulloso de haber sido contratado para trabajar para Real Madrid y esperamos con interés trabajar para una organización tan prestigiosa, si tiene alguna duda, consulte a", she said.

The Spaniards in the crowd were impressed by her flawless Spanish, sounding like a Madrileno with no accent at all. "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?", asked Toni.

"Ja, es ist einfach, wenn Sie Deutsch sprechen Englisch, Herr Kroos", she quipped.

"Što mislite o Srpskom ili Hrvatskom?", asked Luka.

"Da, ako govorite ruski, srpski je jednostavno", she chuckled.

The group was awed, none of them knowing anyone who spoke that many languages. "Senora Moore, bienvenidos a Real Madrid. Va hacer un bueno addicion a nuestra familia", said Iker, shaking her hand.

"Gracias, Senor Casillas", she replied.

"You totally awed them, Ausra. The guys looked completely awed, they were speechless", said Karim as he led her towards the car.

"Oui, that's the usual reaction", she quipped.

"We'll pick up the kids and I'll take you to the Audi lot so I can help you find a car", he said.

"Merci", she replied.

Karim parked the car in the driveway and immediately went to help her, giving her a wink. "Je suis un gentleman", he drawled.

The children ran over and hugged her as she laughed, their nanny Anna rushing over. "Sorry, Senora Moore", she said apologetically.

"No worries, Anna", she replied.

"Hi Karim. Mom, did you get to meet the other players?", asked Alexey eagerly.

"Oui, Alexey. They think your mom is a genius", said Karim with a laugh.

"She is, she knows everything. Are we going out?", he asked.

"Da, we are going to buy a new car", said Ausra.

"New car? Big car, Mama", giggled Zaria.

"Da, we are going to get a big black car", laughed Ausra.

"There's this place I take my nieces and nephews when they're visiting, it's a tapas place and they cater to families", said Karim.

"Neither of them has a food allergy, do they have high chairs?", she asked.

Karim modded as he ducked inside his house and reemerged with a car seat, strapping it into the backseat. Ausra watched as he took Zaria and strapped her into the seat, the little girl looking up at him with big blue eyes. "Vous êtes aussi belle que votre mère", he murmured softly.