This one took me a bit longer to write and the characters had a different idea how the story should develop, but I think it is overall a good one. Enjoy the drama!
Samantha Flanagan and Stephanie Hatch were the queens of the play ground. They were by far the wealthiest mothers in the area and enjoyed to hold court together. Sam and Stevie were best friends since their school days, had the same conservative taste, married in the same year and managed to have children the same age. Both were faked blonds, medium height and brown eyed.
Everyday routine dictated that they went in the late afternoon to the play ground with the kids. They took their favorite seat on a bench, from where they could supervise their offspring. There was a new arrival.
Sam and Stevie came to the conclusion the adult accompanying the small blond boy was his nanny. She was Hispanic, so it was impossible she was the mother. Sam and Stevie looked down at the woman. They were too fine to talk with a simple employee.
The nanny let her charge off and after watching him closely for a few minutes, she took out a book. Neither of the two ladies could make out what it was the nanny was reading, but they assumed it was trash.
Stevie talked for a bit with one of her cronies, while Sam looked out for her two daughters and Stevie's kids.
Cassie, Stevie's daughter, was climbing on the same net as the new boy was. He was too young to get up further than a few steps. Sam thought it was irresponsible of the nanny to let him do that alone. She was too far away to prevent an accident should he loose his balance and fall off. After a while the nanny put away her book and went over to the boy. They walked together to the swings. The baby sitter pushed, but not too hard. The kid giggled with delight.
Following their schedule it was time for the Flanagan's and Hatch's to go home.
The next afternoon the nanny and boy were back. They played in the sand pit and used the slide. It was unbelievable the woman was sliding as well. They also climbed together and had fun on the swings.
She was still ignored by the other mothers. Stevie and Sam hadn't made any signs the nanny was welcome in their circle, so the others followed Sam's and Stevie's example. Offending one of them could mean exclusion from dinner parties and the loss of opportunities to network for the respective husband(s).
The same happened over the next days. Once the boy and the nanny were playing catch around the bench, where Mrs. Flanagan and Mrs. Hatch were sitting. They realized the woman spoke Spanish with the boy. It made Mrs. Hatch frown. She didn't approve of kids being influenced and brainwashed by foreign subjects.
What were the toddler's parents thinking?!
A week or so later the Hispanic had arrived earlier and broke an unknown law - she and the little boy were sitting on the bench reserved for Stevie and Sam. They drank iced tea from plastic cups and read a picture book.
"Hey, taco, that's our space." Mrs. Hatch said. The woman looked up. She said something in Spanish. Neither Sam nor Stevie spoke a foreign language. Oh, that nanny was an illegal immigrant, who was uneducated and didn't speak a word English! Sam gesticulated to another bench. When the Mexican didn't move, Stevie tried to make clear they wanted her to get going by pulling the nanny's sleeve and indicated with her finger the other seating space. The lady shook her head. She was going to stay. Since Stevie and Sam were too dignified to use force, they gave in and moved. The round was lost for them. Only later did they realize they had made themselves laughing stocks among the other parents. They didn't see they had been racist and their childish behavior of wanting "their" bench had lost them points. They thought they had lost ground, because they were beaten by a stupid Latina.
Stevie and Sam were glad when the nanny and her charge didn't show up for a while.
Naturally the little boy was back sooner than Sam and Stevie appreciated. Maeve, Sam's youngest daughter, and he were playing peaceful in the sandbox. Since Sam and Stevie didn't know who the boy's parents were, they let them go ahead. You never knew how influential the boy's parents were...
On the way back Sam asked Maeve about the boy. "His name is Sol. He's nice." Maeve, who was four, explained. Stevie estimated Sol was maybe two to three. In Sam's opinion the family must be Jewish based Sol's name. She guessed it was short for Solomon. She also combined Jewish meant wealthy, so if Stevie and she were on their best behavior towards Sol, maybe they could gain influence for their husbands.
The next day Sol was so nice and shared a kind of cheese stick and apple slices with Maeve and Henry, Stevie's son, who was also four, when they were hungry.
Kelly O'Rear had been interested from the start in the newcomers, but hadn't dared disobeying Stevie and Sam. When they weren't there, she cautiously approached the lady. Kelly wasn't sure, if she was disturbing her. The woman was reading a book. "Hola." Kelly said. The Hispanic looked up and replied the greeting with an encouraging smile. Kelly introduced herself in broken Spanish and asked if she could sit down. "I'm Frieda Noose. Of course you can take a seat." Kelly was surprised Frieda spoke fluently English without an accent. Frieda seemed to be from the Northern part of the US or maybe Canada. "What are you reading?" asked Kelly. Frieda showed her the title. It was a book about Bear Sterns. In fact Frieda was reading two other books as well. One was about the New York Yankees, her favorite baseball team, and one called "The Help". "And you understand what you're reading?" Kelly blurted out. It wasn't because she believed Frieda was stupid. It had been always difficult for Kelly to understand business terms. She was glad her husband took care of anything to do with finances.
Kelly realized what she just said could be interpreted differently than she intended. "I mean... I mean..." Kelly stammered. Frieda grinned. "Yes, I do." "So you're studying business and to support yourself you are working during the day as a nanny?" Frieda burst out laughing. Kelly looked hurt, so Frieda apologized. "Sorry. No, Sol is my son, and I've got a degree in Electrical Engineering." "But are you working?" "No, I'm a stay at home mom. Besides Sol I also have a six year old daughter called Casey. Sol has turned two a couple of months ago. What about you?" "Well, I've got Alexander, Matthew and David. They are nine, seven and five. I was good at languages, so I studied that for a couple of years before I met my husband, got married and soon Alexander was under way..." Sometimes Kelly was sorry she hadn't kept up with Spanish and Arabic. She had forgotten most of it. The two women talked for a while until it was time for David and Kelly to go home.
Frieda changed the times when she arrived with Sol at the playground. She wanted to avoid Sam and Stevie. Frieda couldn't say she liked them very much.
Instead she developed a close friendship with Kelly, who managed also to come earlier. They started to refresh Kelly's Spanish. It improved dramatically.
Sometimes they went out together or invited each others families for dinner. Kelly was very proud, when she received a compliment about her lasagna. It was her family's favorite dish. Frieda's husband Fin was mostly absent. When Kelly met him the first time, she was amazed how strong genes could be. Sol was the spitting image of his father. Casey looked very much like her mother. Kelly thought Sol had inherited Frieda's calm and pleasant character. Casey was livelier and could hold her own against Alexander and Matthew, who sometimes teased her. It was good for the boys to have contact with a girl. They had to learn that they had to treat the opposite sex a bit different than themselves.
When Kelly least expected it, she received a visit. "Hello, Kelly." Stevie said. Her smile didn't reach her eyes. Of course she hadn't come alone. Sam was with her. Kelly really didn't have time. She had to collect Alexander from school and drop off a few garments at the dry cleaners. "We haven't seen you for a longer time, Kelly..." Sam said. "We just wanted to check if you are okay." Stevie added with faked concern. "Sure, I'm okay." "Honey, we've heard rumors that you have gone to the dark side." Sam suggested. "Dark side? I don't know what you are talking about." "Well, you've been seen hanging out with a lowly employee..." Sam said. "Didn't we make it clear you should avoid the Mexican nanny?" Stevie questioned. Kelly snorted. She knew by now that Frieda was Colombian. "What is so funny?" Stevie shot at Kelly. She didn't think it was funny at all and if she had anything to say Sam and she were going to make sure Kelly would be shunned, if she didn't stop her disgraceful behavior. "Nothing." Kelly said, still grinning, because she was looking forward to when Sam and Stevie found out their prejudices were unfounded. "So have you befriended the nanny?" Stevie asked. "If you need to know, yes, and I must say I enjoy her company much more than yours." Stevie and Sam were astounded. Normally Kelly had been always very pliable and followed what Sam and Stevie ordered. They didn't know what had happened there. "If you aren't careful, Kelly, we aren't going to invite you to our next dinner party, and you know what it might mean for Laszlo. Didn't he want a promotion?" Sam implied. Laszlo was Kelly's husband. Dyllan, Sam's husband, was in a position to give a huge building contract. Laszlo worked for a construction company and was after that contract. Laszlo had been promised a promotion to vice president, if he managed to get it. Kelly had enough of being offered the carrot or the stick for years, so she lost her temper and said: "You know what? Stick it up your rear end! I've enough of your dominating, prejudiced and racist behavior! Out!" "Okay, I'll drop a word to Dyllan." Sam seethed. "And you are an outcast from now on!" Stevie threatened. "Alright, out!" Kelly shouted. Sam and Stevie were worried Kelly would get hands on and remove them forcefully, so they left. The door crashed close behind them.
They started their attack immediately.
Kelly realized what she had done, when her anger had dissipated. What was she going to do? Oh god! She had ruined her life! On the other side it felt good to get her resentment off her chest. Kelly decided to go to the park to have a think about how to deal with the situation. On the way she met Frieda's husband. He looked tired, but recognized her and asked if she was okay. At first she wanted to say everything was okay, but for some reason she blurted out the truth. "Start a counter offensive." Thinking about it Kelly came to the conclusion she had nothing to loose. Kelly found out Dyllan's phone number and called him, explaining what had transpired between Sam and herself and begged Dyllan to stay open minded, and not let his judgment be clouded by anything Sam might say to him. Dyllan promised to keep business and private separate. Kelly could now only hope for the best.
Sam's and Stevie's plan worked only partly. Dyllan told Sam off for behaving stupid and acting like she was a kindergartener and not a mother.
The neighborhood was split into two fractions. Around half fell into line and ignored Kelly, the other half started to rebel and didn't obey. It frustrated the friends at no end. They were upset they were loosing their power and didn't know how to stem the tide.
Stevie and Sam were excited, when they both received an invitation to a garden party of Sol's parents. They were looking forward to meet the Nooses and wanted to shine in their best light. Both went to great length to look beautiful. They had a facial, manicure and pedicure, a wrap that made the skin glow and bought new dresses. Their make up was impeccable.
The big afternoon arrived. Stevie and Sam were getting both nervous and excited. What should they bring as a gift? Dyllan suggested a cigar, which made Sam giggle. Her husband loved them and thought all men wanted the same. In the end they went for flowers and a bottle of wine. Stevie and Michael had the same idea. Mr. Noose opened the door and welcomed his guests. He was tall and blond with blue grey eyes. He was cold towards the ladies, but warm to the husbands. Maybe he was a men's man.
Mr. Noose introduced his wife, Frieda. Sam and Stevie recognized her immediately. They were shocked the nanny wasn't a nanny after all. Frieda greeted them, but wasn't very friendly. When Stevie and Sam realized their mistake they felt very embarrassed and naturally changed their tack. They apologized and claimed the incident about the bench had been a joke. The penetrating stares from their respective husbands and the Nooses made them squirm. Frieda didn't accept their apology and said: "Ha-ha, very funny! I found your behavior very upsetting and discriminating. Maybe I should talk to a lawyer..." "Please don't! Tell us what we can do to make it right!" Sam begged. "I expect you apologize to Kelly for your horrible behavior and stop the campaign against her immediately. Don't meddle in other people's affairs and treat them with respect. If you manage that, we can talk again." Stevie promised to change her attitude and Sam followed suit. "Alright, I'll keep a close eye on you and should I hear you threaten anyone, I'm going to my lawyer, who would be more than happy to drag you to court."
Frieda's husband seemed amused, which the rest couldn't understand. What they didn't know was, that he normally used such tactics to get people back in line or do his biding. Frieda had learned from the master.
"Kelly is in the garden." Frieda told them. Kelly wasn't alone - all the neighbors were also there. Kelly didn't make apologizing easier for Sam and Stevie and didn't want to go inside, so they had no choice and were forced to say sorry in public. It was really humiliating for them. They wished the earth would open up and swallow them. Unfortunately nothing like this happened. When it was decent, the Flanagan's and Hatch's left the party. The standing of Stevie and Sam within the community had changed forever.
Samantha Flanagan and Stephanie Hatch were the queens of the play ground. They were by far the wealthiest mothers in the area and enjoyed to hold court together. Sam and Stevie were best friends since their school days, had the same conservative taste, married in the same year and managed to have children the same age. Both were faked blonds, medium height and brown eyed.
Everyday routine dictated that they went in the late afternoon to the play ground with the kids. They took their favorite seat on a bench, from where they could supervise their offspring. There was a new arrival.
Sam and Stevie came to the conclusion the adult accompanying the small blond boy was his nanny. She was Hispanic, so it was impossible she was the mother. Sam and Stevie looked down at the woman. They were too fine to talk with a simple employee.
The nanny let her charge off and after watching him closely for a few minutes, she took out a book. Neither of the two ladies could make out what it was the nanny was reading, but they assumed it was trash.
Stevie talked for a bit with one of her cronies, while Sam looked out for her two daughters and Stevie's kids.
Cassie, Stevie's daughter, was climbing on the same net as the new boy was. He was too young to get up further than a few steps. Sam thought it was irresponsible of the nanny to let him do that alone. She was too far away to prevent an accident should he loose his balance and fall off. After a while the nanny put away her book and went over to the boy. They walked together to the swings. The baby sitter pushed, but not too hard. The kid giggled with delight.
Following their schedule it was time for the Flanagan's and Hatch's to go home.
The next afternoon the nanny and boy were back. They played in the sand pit and used the slide. It was unbelievable the woman was sliding as well. They also climbed together and had fun on the swings.
She was still ignored by the other mothers. Stevie and Sam hadn't made any signs the nanny was welcome in their circle, so the others followed Sam's and Stevie's example. Offending one of them could mean exclusion from dinner parties and the loss of opportunities to network for the respective husband(s).
The same happened over the next days. Once the boy and the nanny were playing catch around the bench, where Mrs. Flanagan and Mrs. Hatch were sitting. They realized the woman spoke Spanish with the boy. It made Mrs. Hatch frown. She didn't approve of kids being influenced and brainwashed by foreign subjects.
What were the toddler's parents thinking?!
A week or so later the Hispanic had arrived earlier and broke an unknown law - she and the little boy were sitting on the bench reserved for Stevie and Sam. They drank iced tea from plastic cups and read a picture book.
"Hey, taco, that's our space." Mrs. Hatch said. The woman looked up. She said something in Spanish. Neither Sam nor Stevie spoke a foreign language. Oh, that nanny was an illegal immigrant, who was uneducated and didn't speak a word English! Sam gesticulated to another bench. When the Mexican didn't move, Stevie tried to make clear they wanted her to get going by pulling the nanny's sleeve and indicated with her finger the other seating space. The lady shook her head. She was going to stay. Since Stevie and Sam were too dignified to use force, they gave in and moved. The round was lost for them. Only later did they realize they had made themselves laughing stocks among the other parents. They didn't see they had been racist and their childish behavior of wanting "their" bench had lost them points. They thought they had lost ground, because they were beaten by a stupid Latina.
Stevie and Sam were glad when the nanny and her charge didn't show up for a while.
Naturally the little boy was back sooner than Sam and Stevie appreciated. Maeve, Sam's youngest daughter, and he were playing peaceful in the sandbox. Since Sam and Stevie didn't know who the boy's parents were, they let them go ahead. You never knew how influential the boy's parents were...
On the way back Sam asked Maeve about the boy. "His name is Sol. He's nice." Maeve, who was four, explained. Stevie estimated Sol was maybe two to three. In Sam's opinion the family must be Jewish based Sol's name. She guessed it was short for Solomon. She also combined Jewish meant wealthy, so if Stevie and she were on their best behavior towards Sol, maybe they could gain influence for their husbands.
The next day Sol was so nice and shared a kind of cheese stick and apple slices with Maeve and Henry, Stevie's son, who was also four, when they were hungry.
Kelly O'Rear had been interested from the start in the newcomers, but hadn't dared disobeying Stevie and Sam. When they weren't there, she cautiously approached the lady. Kelly wasn't sure, if she was disturbing her. The woman was reading a book. "Hola." Kelly said. The Hispanic looked up and replied the greeting with an encouraging smile. Kelly introduced herself in broken Spanish and asked if she could sit down. "I'm Frieda Noose. Of course you can take a seat." Kelly was surprised Frieda spoke fluently English without an accent. Frieda seemed to be from the Northern part of the US or maybe Canada. "What are you reading?" asked Kelly. Frieda showed her the title. It was a book about Bear Sterns. In fact Frieda was reading two other books as well. One was about the New York Yankees, her favorite baseball team, and one called "The Help". "And you understand what you're reading?" Kelly blurted out. It wasn't because she believed Frieda was stupid. It had been always difficult for Kelly to understand business terms. She was glad her husband took care of anything to do with finances.
Kelly realized what she just said could be interpreted differently than she intended. "I mean... I mean..." Kelly stammered. Frieda grinned. "Yes, I do." "So you're studying business and to support yourself you are working during the day as a nanny?" Frieda burst out laughing. Kelly looked hurt, so Frieda apologized. "Sorry. No, Sol is my son, and I've got a degree in Electrical Engineering." "But are you working?" "No, I'm a stay at home mom. Besides Sol I also have a six year old daughter called Casey. Sol has turned two a couple of months ago. What about you?" "Well, I've got Alexander, Matthew and David. They are nine, seven and five. I was good at languages, so I studied that for a couple of years before I met my husband, got married and soon Alexander was under way..." Sometimes Kelly was sorry she hadn't kept up with Spanish and Arabic. She had forgotten most of it. The two women talked for a while until it was time for David and Kelly to go home.
Frieda changed the times when she arrived with Sol at the playground. She wanted to avoid Sam and Stevie. Frieda couldn't say she liked them very much.
Instead she developed a close friendship with Kelly, who managed also to come earlier. They started to refresh Kelly's Spanish. It improved dramatically.
Sometimes they went out together or invited each others families for dinner. Kelly was very proud, when she received a compliment about her lasagna. It was her family's favorite dish. Frieda's husband Fin was mostly absent. When Kelly met him the first time, she was amazed how strong genes could be. Sol was the spitting image of his father. Casey looked very much like her mother. Kelly thought Sol had inherited Frieda's calm and pleasant character. Casey was livelier and could hold her own against Alexander and Matthew, who sometimes teased her. It was good for the boys to have contact with a girl. They had to learn that they had to treat the opposite sex a bit different than themselves.
When Kelly least expected it, she received a visit. "Hello, Kelly." Stevie said. Her smile didn't reach her eyes. Of course she hadn't come alone. Sam was with her. Kelly really didn't have time. She had to collect Alexander from school and drop off a few garments at the dry cleaners. "We haven't seen you for a longer time, Kelly..." Sam said. "We just wanted to check if you are okay." Stevie added with faked concern. "Sure, I'm okay." "Honey, we've heard rumors that you have gone to the dark side." Sam suggested. "Dark side? I don't know what you are talking about." "Well, you've been seen hanging out with a lowly employee..." Sam said. "Didn't we make it clear you should avoid the Mexican nanny?" Stevie questioned. Kelly snorted. She knew by now that Frieda was Colombian. "What is so funny?" Stevie shot at Kelly. She didn't think it was funny at all and if she had anything to say Sam and she were going to make sure Kelly would be shunned, if she didn't stop her disgraceful behavior. "Nothing." Kelly said, still grinning, because she was looking forward to when Sam and Stevie found out their prejudices were unfounded. "So have you befriended the nanny?" Stevie asked. "If you need to know, yes, and I must say I enjoy her company much more than yours." Stevie and Sam were astounded. Normally Kelly had been always very pliable and followed what Sam and Stevie ordered. They didn't know what had happened there. "If you aren't careful, Kelly, we aren't going to invite you to our next dinner party, and you know what it might mean for Laszlo. Didn't he want a promotion?" Sam implied. Laszlo was Kelly's husband. Dyllan, Sam's husband, was in a position to give a huge building contract. Laszlo worked for a construction company and was after that contract. Laszlo had been promised a promotion to vice president, if he managed to get it. Kelly had enough of being offered the carrot or the stick for years, so she lost her temper and said: "You know what? Stick it up your rear end! I've enough of your dominating, prejudiced and racist behavior! Out!" "Okay, I'll drop a word to Dyllan." Sam seethed. "And you are an outcast from now on!" Stevie threatened. "Alright, out!" Kelly shouted. Sam and Stevie were worried Kelly would get hands on and remove them forcefully, so they left. The door crashed close behind them.
They started their attack immediately.
Kelly realized what she had done, when her anger had dissipated. What was she going to do? Oh god! She had ruined her life! On the other side it felt good to get her resentment off her chest. Kelly decided to go to the park to have a think about how to deal with the situation. On the way she met Frieda's husband. He looked tired, but recognized her and asked if she was okay. At first she wanted to say everything was okay, but for some reason she blurted out the truth. "Start a counter offensive." Thinking about it Kelly came to the conclusion she had nothing to loose. Kelly found out Dyllan's phone number and called him, explaining what had transpired between Sam and herself and begged Dyllan to stay open minded, and not let his judgment be clouded by anything Sam might say to him. Dyllan promised to keep business and private separate. Kelly could now only hope for the best.
Sam's and Stevie's plan worked only partly. Dyllan told Sam off for behaving stupid and acting like she was a kindergartener and not a mother.
The neighborhood was split into two fractions. Around half fell into line and ignored Kelly, the other half started to rebel and didn't obey. It frustrated the friends at no end. They were upset they were loosing their power and didn't know how to stem the tide.
Stevie and Sam were excited, when they both received an invitation to a garden party of Sol's parents. They were looking forward to meet the Nooses and wanted to shine in their best light. Both went to great length to look beautiful. They had a facial, manicure and pedicure, a wrap that made the skin glow and bought new dresses. Their make up was impeccable.
The big afternoon arrived. Stevie and Sam were getting both nervous and excited. What should they bring as a gift? Dyllan suggested a cigar, which made Sam giggle. Her husband loved them and thought all men wanted the same. In the end they went for flowers and a bottle of wine. Stevie and Michael had the same idea. Mr. Noose opened the door and welcomed his guests. He was tall and blond with blue grey eyes. He was cold towards the ladies, but warm to the husbands. Maybe he was a men's man.
Mr. Noose introduced his wife, Frieda. Sam and Stevie recognized her immediately. They were shocked the nanny wasn't a nanny after all. Frieda greeted them, but wasn't very friendly. When Stevie and Sam realized their mistake they felt very embarrassed and naturally changed their tack. They apologized and claimed the incident about the bench had been a joke. The penetrating stares from their respective husbands and the Nooses made them squirm. Frieda didn't accept their apology and said: "Ha-ha, very funny! I found your behavior very upsetting and discriminating. Maybe I should talk to a lawyer..." "Please don't! Tell us what we can do to make it right!" Sam begged. "I expect you apologize to Kelly for your horrible behavior and stop the campaign against her immediately. Don't meddle in other people's affairs and treat them with respect. If you manage that, we can talk again." Stevie promised to change her attitude and Sam followed suit. "Alright, I'll keep a close eye on you and should I hear you threaten anyone, I'm going to my lawyer, who would be more than happy to drag you to court."
Frieda's husband seemed amused, which the rest couldn't understand. What they didn't know was, that he normally used such tactics to get people back in line or do his biding. Frieda had learned from the master.
"Kelly is in the garden." Frieda told them. Kelly wasn't alone - all the neighbors were also there. Kelly didn't make apologizing easier for Sam and Stevie and didn't want to go inside, so they had no choice and were forced to say sorry in public. It was really humiliating for them. They wished the earth would open up and swallow them. Unfortunately nothing like this happened. When it was decent, the Flanagan's and Hatch's left the party. The standing of Stevie and Sam within the community had changed forever.
©2013
No comments:
Post a Comment