03

He went back downstairs, and decided to call Harlow to see how she was doing. When she didn’t answer her cell phone, he called the hospital and spoke to her nurse. The nurse explained to him that she was in a lot of pain, and had given her medication, which helped put her to sleep. The nurse also informed him that she had been hiding all of her symptoms from him for months, how much pain she had been in, and also letting him know about Harlow mentioning that she didn’t want him to worry about her, and that she didn’t want her girls to see her in pain.

Hearing what the nurse was telling him, and how he really wanted to be there for her, not being able to talk to her and to hear her voice before she fell asleep, he felt hurt. After hanging up with the nurse, he got on his laptop, and searched nationwide for the best doctors that specialized with her condition. At this point, he was willing to spend any amount of money on her, not caring what the cost would be.

He got out a notepad, and started writing down doctor’s names, and their phone numbers. He figured he would start calling each one of them in the morning. He stayed up for hours searching the internet, that he ended up falling asleep on the couch, with his laptop still on his lap. The next morning, he awoke to Isabella shaking him « Daddy, wake up. »

« I’m awake. » he says yawning. He set the laptop on the couch and stood up. « I suppose you’re both hungry ? » he asked, while stretching.

« Yes. » said Gabriella.

He walked into the kitchen looking in the cupboards, then inside the fridge wondering what to make them for breakfast. « I want scrambled eggs. » says Gabriella.

He looked at them tiredly. « OK, that’s what we’re having then. » he smiled, running his fingers through Gabriella’s hair. The girls left the kitchen and grabbed their coloring books and crayons, and sat at the dining room table coloring while waiting for their food to be done.

While Antonio was cooking his phone rang, Isabella got up off the chair and ran to his phone, answering it. « Hello. » she says happily in her little voice, while smiling. « OK, I’ll get him???who is this ? » she asked the person on the other end of the phone, she sat down at the table and began having a conversation with the person on the phone.

Antonio couldn’t help but laugh while watching Isabella talk on the phone, acting like she was a grown up. « Who is it honey ? » he asked her.

She looked over at Antonio grinning. « She says her name is Sadie. »

Antonio walked over to her holding out his hand. « I’ll take the phone, please. »

« Bye. » Isabella said to her, then handed him the phone.

« Hello, sorry about that. » he laughed, as he walked back into the kitchen. « So???are you calling to tell me that you have made your decision ? » he asked her, crossing his fingers. « Uh huh, that will be fine, I’ll text you my address, it’s pretty easy to find. » he tells her.

An hour later the doorbell rang, as Antonio was opening the door, the girls ran over to him to see who was there at the door. There stood Sadie, he let out a slight gasp when he looked at her, she was dressed in blue skinny jeans, a white draped halter top with her long brown hair loosely hanging down with big bouncy curls. He thought she looked gorgeous, and had to shake what he was thinking out of his mind. He felt upset with himself for looking at her in a way, that he shouldn’t have been.

« Come in. » he says softly, opening the door wider for her to come inside. Isabella grabbed her hand, pulling her into the house. « Why don’t you girls go play, that way I can talk with Sadie for a bit. » Isabella ran off, but Gabriella stayed behind, keeping an eye on Sadie.

« Are you here to play with us too ? » Gabriella asked her, spinning in a circle on her heels. Sadie leaned down to her level, smiling. « I can play with you later, I have to talk with your dad right now. » she says to her, kissing her cheek. She stood back up and giggled, while looking at Gabriella.

« Go by your sister, so I can talk with Sadie please. » Antonio says, lightly pushing her to leave. She ran off to go find Isabella. « Curious little girl. » he laughed. « So, may I ask what your full name is ? » he curiously asked.

« Sadie Marie Hart. » she says, holding her hand out to shake his.

« Antonio Russo, nice to formally meet you. » he says, shaking her hand.

« I wanted to fully go over all the details with you, before making my decision. » she said, looking around, and thinking to herself that they have a very nice place.

« I can show you around, and I’ll also show you where your room would be. Do you own, or rent right now ? »

« I rent ; I actually just signed a new lease a month ago. »

« Well, if you decide to take this job, I’ll pay your lease in full, and if you decide later that this isn’t for you, you’ll still have a place to go. Fully paid until your next lease is due. »

« Wow, it’s a nice gesture, but you don’t have to do that. » she said shocked.

« I don’t mind, I know that this is last minute, and you weren’t expecting this offer to become a nanny, but to be honest, I would rather pay your lease off, just to ease your mind in case it doesn’t work out here for you. But my girls seem to like you so far, and I don’t foresee any problems. » he smiled. « I’m also pretty laid back, you’ll still be able to do what you normally do, and go out whenever you like. »

He began showing her the house starting with the first floor, showing the living room, kitchen, dining room and the patio door to go outside, accessing the pool and back yard. He then showed her the rest of the first floor, showing his den, the playroom, bathroom and music room. He brought her upstairs, showing her the master bedroom, the girls???bedroom, bathroom, as well as two more bedrooms.

« You must have wanted more children ? » she asked curiously, after seeing the extra two bedrooms, already fully furnished.

« Yes, we had tried numerous times to have more children, but she kept miscarrying each time, and decided to quit trying. It took a huge toll on her, amongst other things that were going on. Then we got the devastating news about her having breast cancer, putting a damper on everything. » he says hesitantly, after bringing up Harlow’s breast cancer. She could tell that he was having a hard time speaking about it, as anyone would, and felt sorry for him. Right then and there is when she knew what her decision would be, and changed the subject, waiting to tell him that she would take the job. « How many more levels are there ? » she asked.

« One more. » He brought her downstairs, showing her the game room, wet bar, washroom, bathroom, and then opened another door showing her where her room would be, already fully furnished.

« If you don’t like it, you’re more than welcome to change it the way you would want it to be. » he says to her, hoping she’ll take the job.

« No, it’s perfect just the way it is. » she said in awe. She walked further into the room, looking around. She felt like she was in heaven after seeing that the room had a huge walk in closet, a full-size bathroom with a shower, a nice king-sized bed, along with a couple nice oak dressers.

« So, this is it, what do you think ? » he asked, smiling.

« Your house is very beautiful, and bigger than I thought it would be. » She giggled.

« It is big, Harlow hired people in the past to come over and clean the house whenever she got overwhelmed with work, the kids, and the miscarriages. »

« Harlow ? » she asked, with a curious look.

« I’m sorry, Harlow is my wife. » he chuckled.

« Oh yes, sorry, I should have known. » she said, covering her face in embarrassment.

« It’s OK, I probably should have told you earlier that her name is Harlow. » he says. They walked back upstairs and into the playroom where the girls were playing.

Sadie walked over, and sat with the girls. They were having a tea party with their dolls, she picked a doll up off the ground, and set it on a chair. « Can I play too ? » she asked, with a smile.

Antonio stood inside the doorway watching Sadie with his girls, feeling confident that she will be the best one for them, not caring if she had experience or not. From what he could see already, she was a natural and began to relax. He felt relieved that he finally found someone his girls felt comfortable with, and adored. She seemed like she was good with kids, and acted as if she knew them since birth. He was feeling as if it was fate, that had him stopping at the restaurant the night before, and couldn’t help but smile, thinking about it.