THE MANNY

Greg was standing on the front porch with the kids as his wife’s black Volkswagen Passat pulled up the long, gravelly driveway. Mason, five, was beside himself. Wriggling free of dad’s hand, he run down to meet mommy and the manny. Flora, although piqued with curiosity, was shyly hiding behind her curly brunette locks and holding on to dad’s right thigh. At three, she was the sweetest if most timid little girl at her play school. They needed a very fun, brilliant child carer to bring her out of her shell.

Lifting her up, Greg walked down the steps as Madison got out of the car, quickly followed by the manny.
“Hey there,” he leaned in for a kiss.
“Hi honey,” she kissed both he and Flora while ruffling Mason’s hair. At five, he could now hug her waist.
“Guys, I’d like you to meet Ricky. He’s very excited about being with us.”

They had fought over whether to get a nanny or a manny. Madison was adamant that they should have a manny. A few of her friends had had trouble keeping their husbands away from the young nannies they hired. Greg, even though he could be described as very liberal and a new man, did not entirely trust a man taking care of his kids. Needless to say, she had won. They had interviewed six before deciding on Ricky. He had good references, was smart and funny. He was bilingual and learning a few words of Spanish might be fun for the household.

“I’m saving for college. I want to study Business and Marketing but don’t want to borrow the money.”
“Well, that’s great Ricky. You really won’t have any expenses,” Madison had added.
From the detailed form he had filled in, they knew just about everything about him. He was second generation Puerto Rican. His family had moved to New Haven from New York. He didn’t do drugs. It didn’t hurt that he enjoyed cooking.

“Wicky, look!” Flora was calling out. She could never get the “r” right.
She was playing with her Wordwhammer, an educational toy which teaches letter names and sounds and had fun songs that she loved.
“Come, Mason. Let’s see what Flora’s made.”
Madison watched quietly through the partly open door, a smile slightly creasing up the skin around her eyes.
They had made the right choice.

One night, many months later, when they had a dinner party and Ricky had offered to help with the preparations after putting the kids to bed, Madison walked into the kitchen to grab some glasses. Greg and Ricky were chopping and dicing vegetables for the salad, joking and working smoothly. She thought she had seen Greg’s hand linger over Ricky’s as he reached for a bowl.
“Stop it silly,” she admonished herself. “You are overreacting.”
When the guests arrived, she insisted on Ricky joining them and he accepted.
Jenny and Wil were their friends from way back at college. Jackson worked at Greg’s accountancy firm and Samantha his wife was Madison’s best pal.

Ricky was the star guest though. He was witty and well informed and had them laughing throughout.
“Just let us know when you want a change of scenery Ricky. And Sam here is just dying to quiz you about what to wear this fall for her magazine piece.”
“Now wait a minute,” Madison cut in. “We won’t have you headhunt Ricky right in front of us.”
“I’d miss the kids I’m afraid. But Sam, feel free to stop by for a chat about your article.”

Later that night, after Madison was already in bed, Greg went down to get some milk. On the landing, he bumped into Ricky who had just looked in on the kids. He somehow couldn’t get why he felt flustered. Was it Ricky’s taught, tanned body? Could it be his easy smile or the easy way he’d settled into their home?
“Sweet dreams,” Ricky said, as he opened the door to his room.
“You too,” Greg replied, knowing it was going to take a while for him to fall asleep.