Page 7 of Spare Heir
I’m sitting at the table in the sunny breakfast room overlooking the terrace and flicking through the business section of today’s newspaper as I sip my morning coffee. Daisy’s little feet hammer the stairs, and she flies into the room with Nathalie on her heels. I hear her caution Daisy to slow down. Her tone is kind but firm as Daisy clambers onto her favourite chair next to me.
‘Good morning, my sweetie,’ I say, pulling my eyes away from the article I was immersed in to give her my full attention. I ask her how she slept, and Mrs Johnson serves breakfast as Daisy tells me all about her dream.
‘You and Nathalie were in it, Daddy. We went away on holiday together,’ she says.
‘Well, that sounds like fun. Where did we go?’ I ask as I spread a generous layer of strawberry jam on my wholemeal toast, and my eyes meet Nathalie’s across the table. I notice she seems a little embarrassed by Daisy’s dream and looks away quickly.
Daisy takes a bite of her toast and continues talking about the amazing holiday we took together, oblivious to the embarrassment she’s causing poor Nathalie.
I can’t help smiling at the scenario.
‘We were at the beach, and it was a hot, sunny day and we were all swimming in the sea,’ she gabbles on relentlessly.
‘Don’t talk with your mouth full,’ I remind her.
‘Sorry Daddy,’ she says, pausing for a second before she crunches through the rest of her toast and guzzles her glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
‘I like your new dress, but what about your normal school uniform?’ I ask.
Nathalie raises her head and meets my eyes. Eating breakfast together every day is something I look forward to. It’s remarkable how quickly we’ve fallen into our breakfast routine, and it almost feels like we’re a family.
‘This is the summer uniform,’ Nathalie explains. Her eyes are a dazzling blue, like this morning’s summer sky, and I have to pull myself back from drinking her in. She’s even more attractive than the first day we met when it was all I could do to drag my eyes away from her body.
‘The kids don’t wear school uniforms in France,’ she continues.
‘Can we move to France?’ Daisy asks. ‘I’d like to not wear a school uniform, too. This dress is itchy, and I love wearing shorts.’
I snort with laughter. ‘We’re not moving to France just so you can wear shorts, pumpkin.’
‘You can change into your favourite shorts when you get home,’ Nathalie promises Daisy, her tone soothing.
Life is much calmer since Nathalie arrived. She’s so good with Daisy that I feel confident she’s in excellent hands when I leave for the office most mornings, and no longer suffer from the nagging guilt I felt before. Our previous nanny was great, but there’s something special about the way Nathalie handles Daisy, who responds to her effortlessly.
Not for the first time, I thank my lucky stars for bringing Nathalie to us. She’s only been here a short while, but already I can’t imagine how we’d get along without her now.
The thought that she won’t be with us forever floats into my mind like an ugly cloud, but I push it away. No point worrying about that now. Besides, perhaps she’ll agree to extend her contract when the year is over. I’m doing my best to make sure she has a good time, and her duties aren’t too arduous.
Daisy resumes her holiday talk in between mouthfuls of boiled egg.
‘Maybe a holiday would do us all good,’ I say, getting carried away before I consider the wisdom of my suggestion.
Daisy jumps up from her chair and flings her arms around me, shuffling onto my lap as I help her up. ‘Yes! May we really go on holiday together, Daddy? Can we go to the beach and stay in a house overlooking the sea like in my dream?’
I kick myself. What the hell am I thinking? Everyone knows it’s parenting rule number one not to make promises to kids that you probably won’t keep.
I muss Daisy’s hair. ‘Come on, kiddo. You’d better finish getting ready for school. It’s time to leave soon.’
She turns her big brown eyes on me like search lamps and beseeches me again. ‘But you said we can go on holiday together. Can we go in the summer holidays? My friend at school says she goes on a family holiday every summer. Can we do it too? Pleeeeease—’
Nathalie glances at me and then quickly looks away. I notice she does that a lot. For a second, I swear she looks as disappointed as Daisy when I don’t immediately respond. Me and my big foot. I must be more careful not to get Daisy’s hopes up—or Nathalie’s—or mine. Although I’m probably imagining Nathalie’s disappointment. I’m sure the last thing she’d want to do is take a family holiday with her boss!
‘Have you any plans for this summer?’ I ask as she stands to help Mrs Johnson clear the plates.
She looks at me with her cornflower blue eyes and my heart twists.
She shakes her head. ‘No, I don’t have any plans. I’m available for whatever you need. I would like to explore London when I get a chance, though,’ she adds.
‘Of course, forgive me for not asking about your holiday plans before. Please reach out to my assistant and she will let you know when you can take time off.’