Hardknocks, Hiccups and Headstands by Ali Gardner

Author:Ali Gardner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2018-05-03T16:00:00+00:00

Dad welcomed Miss Field into the house with a warm handshake. “Please, call me Maggie,” she said as she smiled warmly at him. Whether it was the exhaustion of the day or the fact that this lady appeared so normal compared to the other candidates, Dad decided Maggie might just be who he was looking for. As Maggie sat down, Libby came in with a cup of tea and gave it to Maggie. Dad was quite surprised as he had totally missed this conversation, and Libby appeared to be quiet and withdrawn as she gave it to Maggie. Dad asked the girls to go and play for a while, and said that he would call them back in a bit to speak to Maggie again.

Libby panicked; the agreement had been that Dad would make the decision about inviting the girls back in, if and when the interview had gone well. It seemed like Dad had already made his decision, and as they left the room, Libby and Janey gave a

synchronized thumbs down without any conversation. This time, they heard every word of the interview, and Maggie seemed to sail through all the questions and even managed to make Dad laugh twice. At one stage, Dad was talking about how hard life had been and Maggie seemed to be saying ‘all the right things’.

Libby said, “She’s just like the Casserole Brigade. I hate her, and she’s not telling me what to do; that’s for sure.”

At that moment, without any warning, Dad opened the door that Libby and Janey were leaning on, and the two girls with their two glasses fell into the lounge in a heap.

“Girls!” Dad shouted in a very embarrassed tone. “That’s very rude and you should both know better.”

Again ready with the perfect answer, Maggie interjected, “Oh, don’t be too harsh. I understand it must be hard for the girls to trust someone new after losing their mum.”

As Dad’s back was turned to Maggie, Libby swore that she spotted a spiteful grin appear on Maggie’s face, which she quickly changed into a warm smile as Dad turned to face her.

Dad sat the girls on the sofa and announced that Maggie was to be their new childminder. Turning quickly to Maggie, unaware of the aghast look on the girls’ faces, he jovially asked Maggie when she could start.

Maggie broke into a modest laugh and said, “As soon as you need me.” It was agreed that Maggie would start in one week’s time, the first day of the school term. Maggie asked Dad to prepare a timetable of her hours, a list of jobs he would like the girls to carry out and any house rules they should follow.

“Did I just hear that right?” whispered Janey to Libby. “I thought she was the one doing jobs, not us.”

Maggie, who appeared to have super hearing powers, said, “Now, girls; we will work as a team, and everyone will be responsible for their own little bit!”

Dad seemed to like this response and added, “Absolutely, it’s all about teamwork.

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