Where the River Ends

by Jacqui Penn

  Sophia smiled, screwed up her nose, and looked at Lawrence affectionately. ‘I don’t mind.’

  Angela frowned. ‘You will. Don’t be fooled for one moment. They might look angelic, but monsters lurk. You’ll be glad of the opportunity to shut the door and have some peace.’

  Lawrence raised his arms in the air and growled, screwing his face into a monstrous pose.

  Sophia feigned shock and brought her hand up to cover her mouth. ‘Oh no! Where’s Lawrence gone? The monster has arrived.’ Lawrence and Olivia raced around the room making monstrous sounds, followed by Mutley and Blue not prepared to be left out of the fun.

  ‘Right, come on, downstairs monsters.’ Angela turned to Sophia. ‘We’ll see you when you’re ready to face the battle zone.’ She ushered the children out of the room and the dogs followed. The door shut and the voices disappeared along the landing.

  Sophia linked her hands together and squeezed them for a moment. She already knew she would love being here. The room was modern and airy, with beautiful pictures on the pale pink walls. She couldn’t decide if she preferred the ballerina or the cute kittens peering out from a wicker basket. She dropped her bag onto the bed, opened the wardrobe’s double doors and glanced at the abundance of hangers. I’ll feel like a queen if I ever have enough clothes to fill them. She hung her coat and a couple of other items, before closing the doors. She loved the little click the catch gave as it met its resting place. A set of six drawers stood on the adjoining wall opposite the bed. Photos. Another door was hidden by a curtain at the far end of the room. She opened it, and felt as though she were prying. My own bathroom. She let out a small appreciative sigh. A soft scratching sound on the door caught her attention. Lawrence. She opened it a fraction, not to encourage him, and Mutley squeezed past wagging his tail.

  ‘I don’t know if you’ll be allowed in here. We are so lucky. Two lost souls have found a home. They seem to love you already; now it’s my turn to show what I’m made of. Do you reckon I can do it?’ The little tail wagged furiously. ‘So do I and I intend to give it my best shot. And little dog, you made my day coming back up here to find me.’

  She walked over to the window, draped either side with subtle pink floral, expensive looking curtains, and took in the view. To the left, a large oak tree had a swing swaying gently from a hefty branch. Flower beds bordered the lawn which had neat rows of grass in two shades of green spanning across it. How did they do that? Beyond the garden, a field housed a shed with its door open. Hopefully, that was one shed she wouldn’t be sleeping in. A movement in the field caught her eye and a donkey raised its head for a moment before going back down to graze.

  ‘We’re going to like it here, little Mutley.’ She quickly unpacked her meagre belongings into the drawers, positioned the photos of her sister and Bounder, and headed down the stairs with Mutley at her heels.

  Angela looked up from her magazine. ‘All unpacked and raring to go, are you? It’s half-term holidays this week. Normally Lawrence would be at school every day and Olivia would be at the nursery on a Monday and Thursday morning, so you’ve been dropped in at the deep end I’m afraid.’

  ‘It’ll be good to get to know them properly.’

  ‘I’ll be around most of the week and then I go back to work full time on Monday, but I might go in for a few hours beforehand to look at the backlog and sort things out.’

  ‘What do you do?’ Olivia stood shyly at her mother’s knees peering at Sophia with her large, hazel brown eyes.

  ‘I’m in marketing, so most of the time I’m hunched over a computer.’

  Sophia looked at Olivia. ‘Would you like to come in the garden with me, Olivia? I’d like to see your swing.’ Olivia nodded and left the room. ‘Okay, I guess that means I’m following.’

  Angela chortled. ‘Make the most of the lull before the storm, I’ve never seen her this quiet.’

  Lawrence joined Sophia and Mutley in the hallway and they found Olivia hovering at the swing. Lawrence ran towards his sister and promptly pushed her over.

  ‘You aren’t big enough to go on the swing.’

  ‘Lawrence, that’s unkind. Look, you made poor Olivia cry.’ Sophia scooped up the crying toddler. ‘You’d better say sorry to make her feel better.’ A stubborn frown came across the four-year-old’s face and he climbed onto the swing. Olivia snivelled loudly to make sure Lawrence wouldn’t get away with anything. ‘Lawrence, you will have to get off the swing until you’ve apologised.’

  ‘You’re not my mummy.’

  ‘I know that, but you do have to do as I ask you. Now, please get off the swing and say sorry.’ Sophia already knew she had started a losing battle and wished she’d only told him off without asking for an apology. Lawrence was one stubborn four-year-old. ‘You stand there a minute, Olivia,’ she said, placing the child on the ground. She tried to lift Lawrence from the swing, but he gripped the rope so tightly, Sophia worried she might hurt his fingers if she tried to prise them off. ‘Right, I’ll go and tell Mummy. This is your last chance.’ Lawrence defiantly swung his legs and begun to rock the swing back and forth gradually making a steady pace. Olivia stood bawling at the side of the swing still expecting Sophia to deal with the situation. Oh no! First day… wrong! First hour, and she had a dilemma on her hands. She couldn’t go running to Angela over such a trivial matter. Why had she threatened it? She had to wise up a bit to be in charge of these two terrors. ‘Well, if you’re not going to say sorry, I’m going to have to find something special to do with Olivia to cheer her up.’

  Lawrence stopped pushing his legs. ‘What are you going to do?’

  Sophia took hold of Olivia’s hand and walked back towards the house. ‘Never you mind. We’re going to have a lovely time. You can stay on the swing.’

  Sophia and Olivia hurried into the house and into the playroom. With a quick glance around, Sophia spotted a doll’s pram with a doll sitting naked on the hood.

  ‘Shall we find some clothes for your doll?’ Olivia nodded, and together they delved into a toy box looking for clothes. The door burst open and Lawrence stood, out of breath, glaring at them. ‘Oh Lawrence, hello. I wanted to play with the car racing set, but Olivia is still upset, so we had to play with the doll. Such a shame.’

  ‘We can play with the cars.’

  ‘No, Olivia isn’t happy.’

  ‘She can play too.’

  ‘No, I think you need to make her feel better by saying sorry, and then we’ll see if she wants to play cars.’

  Lawrence scowled for a moment and then his face brightened. ‘Olivia, do you want to play with my cars? You can hold the pink one.’

  Olivia looked at Sophia with pursed lips and defiance in her eyes. She shook her head. Sophia hid a smile with her hand. ‘Olivia, might you change your mind if Lawrence says sorry?’ Olivia nodded. Lawrence stood motionless. ‘Here we are a lovely pink dress. Shall we see if it fits? Do you have a name for your dolly?’

  ‘Dolly.’

  ‘That’s a nice name.’

  Lawrence shuffled his feet noisily. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Pardon, Lawrence. Did you say something? We couldn’t quite hear you.’

  ‘I said, sorry.’

  ‘Oh, that’s good. Do you feel better now, Olivia?’ Olivia nodded obligingly. Sophia finished dressing Dolly and sat her in the pram. ‘Okay. Shall we play car racing now?’ Sophia almost held her breath for a moment waiting for the response. A nod eventually appeared. This job wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d thought.

  The afternoon passed without further commotion. She had already begun to think through what she intended to say before engaging her mouth and therefore hadn’t encouraged any more confrontations.

  Sophia would normally be eating her meals with the children, but as this was the first day they all ate together around the large table. The house had more rooms than Sophia had imagined. So far, apart from the dining room, she’d only seen the kitchen, playroom, and lounge. Each one seemed to hold a different a
mbience. The dining room walls were adorned with dated portraits while antique furniture and ornaments filled the room with warmth and character.

  Dinner was prepared and served by the cook, Sarah. Throughout the meal, Sophia had an opportunity to take a proper look at her employers. Angela had a smooth complexion, her dark hair sat prettily on her shoulders, while her deep-set, hazel eyes brought beauty to her slim facial features.

  Ru was probably in his mid to late thirties and a bit older than Angela. He had a strange, deep, penetrating stare with dark eyes which made Sophia feel a little uncomfortable. His skin had a tanned tone and his black hair almost shimmered when the light caught it. Handsome and sexy were two words that came to mind as Sophia studied him.

  Angela broke into her thoughts. ‘Are you okay, Sophia?’ Sophia could feel her cheeks redden.

  ‘Fine, thank you.’ She hoped her last thoughts weren’t etched on her face.

  ‘So Sophia,’ Ru said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. ‘Tell us a bit about yourself. Your family, your parents a bit of background.’

  Sophia shocked herself by the loud intake of breath she took at the request. She’d never been asked about her family before. She cleared her throat and took a sip of water.

  ‘My family all died in a tragic accident on the river. I was the only survivor and spent the rest of my childhood in St Mary’s, a children’s home in Rochester.’

  ‘We have an orphan in our midst. I hope you didn’t learn too many bad habits that you will impose on my children.’ His tone was curt.

  Angela glared at him. ‘Rupert! That’s an awful thing to say. Don’t take any notice of him, Sophia. I’m so sorry, that must have been awful for you.’

  ‘It happened a long time ago.’ She turned to face Ru. ‘Don’t worry I left most of the bad habits behind.’ Red-faced with anger she pushed the remainder of her food around her plate unable to eat another mouthful. First Mrs Jessop and now Ru. As if spending her childhood in the home hadn’t been bad enough, it seemed she had to put up with short-sighted misconceptions held by people who were ignorant.

  Angela quickly changed the subject. ‘Sophia, don’t you like the dinner? I’m sure Sarah will knock you up a quick omelette or something.’

  ‘Thank you. The food was delicious, but I’m not a very big eater.’

  Ru cleared his throat. ‘So Soph, what age were you when that happened?’

  Soph! No one had ever shortened her name. ‘Eleven.’

  ‘Vulnerable age. So what sort of education have you had?’

  Angela tittered. ‘All the information was in the application if you’d bothered to look.’ She turned to the children. ‘Now then, have you two finished? Maybe you’d like to supervise bath time, Sophia. Don’t bother with the hair washing; I couldn’t put you through that on your first day.’

  As Sophia climbed the stairs she could hear Angela’s shrill voice.

  ‘What the hell has got into you? I’ve never known you to be so rude to anyone and the poor girl has only just arrived.’

  Ru was quick to retaliate. ‘I wasn’t rude. You have to keep an eye on these kids from underprivileged backgrounds.’

  ‘Stop it. I don’t want to lose another nanny because of you.’

  ‘The last one didn’t go because of me. The children didn’t get on with her and I didn’t like her attitude.’

  Sophia and the children collected towels from the airing cupboard and went into the bathroom.

  ‘What a lovely bathroom you have,’ Sophia said, trying to curb the humiliation and anger within her. A large kidney shaped bath sat in the far corner. A shower cubicle stood in the opposite corner while a toilet and bidet sat next to each other below some extravagant lights.

  Lawrence pointed to the bidet. ‘That’s for washing our hands and cleaning our teeth. Mummy says it’s children size.’

  Sophia smiled and wondered what he’d think in a few years’ time when he found out the truth. ‘I think Mummy’s right. It’s perfect.’

  A lever on the bath taps lowered the plug into place. Olivia had pressed it while Sophia stood hovering trying to press the metal plug down. Sophia pressed and pulled the taps and bent down on her knees to look underneath.

  Lawrence looked mystified. ‘Aren’t we going to put water in the bath?’

  ‘Yes, we will, when I know how to turn it on.’ He stretched up on tiptoes and turned a lever in the wall. ‘Oh, I see.’ She popped her hand under the running water and then adjusted the lever to control the temperature. ‘Right, we managed that at least. Take your clothes off and in you get.’

  Olivia needed a bit of help while Lawrence whipped his clothes off and climbed into the bath. He pressed a couple of buttons and jets of water flew out from little silver gadgets on the side of the bath which resembled spaceships.

  Sophia helped Olivia into the bath. ‘How wonderful. I’ve never seen a bath like this before.’

  The bathroom door opened and Angela walked in. ‘Daddy insisted they would have great fun with it and I have to agree they do. We haven’t got any such luxuries in ours and I’m afraid you haven’t either.’

  ‘I think I’ll survive without it. I haven’t put any foam in.’

  ‘Don’t worry. You’ll find your way around. It’s here in the cabinet hidden away out of harm’s way, if you get my drift.’ She motioned towards the children. ‘You should keep anything you value, or anything pourable or sprayable, well hidden.’

  Sophia laughed. ‘I can’t imagine what you mean.’

  Angela’s face turned serious. ‘Don’t take Ru too seriously. I can’t imagine what’s come over him. He’s usually such an easy going chap. I’ll get some towels; oh, you found them already, well done. Lawrence, let Olivia have a turn with the jets now, please.’ She smiled as she watched her children. ‘Sophia, there is a television in your room, or you can use the family room if you prefer. Ru and I do like our evenings to ourselves, so we’ll be in the lounge. You’re welcome to go out, I always give plenty of advance warning when you need to babysit in the evenings. I’ll get you insured on my car, it’s often here all day as well as the evenings.’

  ‘I can’t drive.’

  ‘Oh! We’ll have to sort that out; Ru has a friend who’s an instructor.

  ‘Wow! Thanks. I’d love to learn.’

  ‘When you get out, show Sophia where your toothbrushes are.’ She turned to Sophia. ‘Bring them down to say goodnight; we like them in bed by seven with lights out. Oh, and they’ll probably want you to read them a story.’

  Sophia sat on the edge of the bath and smiled. This job was made in heaven; how lucky was she?

  Chapter 3

  Ru, walked into the playroom the following afternoon with a look of aversion written across his face.

  ‘These driving lessons Angela’s raving on about, I doubt you’ve got it in you to get through the theory test; it’s not easy you know.’

  Sophia felt her face redden. ‘I’d like to try.’

  ‘The lessons aren’t cheap, my contact can’t teach you for free.’

  ‘I wouldn’t expect him to. I’ll pay.’ A jolt of excitement ran through her body. She’d never been able to say that for anything substantial before. The pocket money at St Mary’s only covered a comic and a few sweets when she had been young, and then only stretched to a magazine and a few items of make-up and a trip to the cinema here and there as she became entitled to an increase due to her age. How much would it be? She’d talk to Angela about it.

  ‘Humph.’ Ru, let out a sigh. ‘Have you had a good day, kids?’

  ‘We went to the park. I went on the big slide,’ Olivia boasted.

  Ru looked harassed, he rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I hope you’re looking after them properly. Olivia’s only two.’

  ‘I didn’t take my eyes off them and Olivia said she’d been on the big slide before.’

  Ru raised his eyebrows and left the playroom. Sophia felt like sticking her fingers up at his back, but held the desire in, as the ch
ildren were present. Was he always so difficult? Why had Angela described him as easy-going; he was anything but. Maybe he just didn’t like her, plain and simple as that. She wouldn’t let him spoil what was otherwise a gem of a job and at least he’d be out at work most of the time.

  That evening, Angela came upstairs to see the children in the bath. She laughed at the bubbly pyramid of shampoo on the top of Olivia’s head. ‘I thought the screeching was tears, not laughter. Looks like you’ve got over the hair washing problem.’

  Sophia looked sceptical. ‘We haven’t tried the rinsing yet; things could change quite drastically.’

  ‘You’re doing a great job, keep it up.’ Angela turned to go.

  Sophia stood. ‘Do you have any idea how much the driving lessons would cost?’

  ‘No, none at all, but don’t worry, we’d pay for them.’

  ‘Ru said I’d be paying for them.’ Sophia immediately regretted her words when Angela’s facial expression changed to one of anger.

  ‘He really said that? I swear I’ll kill him. He’s really not himself, I can’t think what could be wrong with him. We’ll pay for the lessons.’ She heaved a sigh and left the bathroom.

  ‘Bye Mummy,’ Lawrence yelled.

  ‘Bye Mummy,’ Olivia copied.

  ‘See you in a moment. Don’t forget your teeth.’

  Sophia felt uncomfortable. Grassing on Ru wasn’t going to win her any favours and could only make matters worse between them. Oh well. Whoever said life would be perfect, there always had to be something to disrupt the status quo?

  Sophia’s driving lessons began a week later. Her instructor, Ru’s friend, Tristan, picked her up on Saturday morning for a two-hour lesson.

  ‘Sophia, your driving instructor is here,’ Angela called up the stairs. Sophia sat on the toilet for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes sure that she needed another pee before setting off.