SPARKS 4

Jason is reading his newspaper, a cup of herbal tea on the table, when Howard enters in the kitchen scratching his head.
“There’s something wrong with the bed I’m sleeping in”
“Good morning to you too! There’s nothing wrong with it, it is you. Your attitude disturbs your sleep and limits the Yin ability to re-charge your body and mind while you are asleep.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, a coffee; that would re-charge me alright”
“Caffeine is not good for your body, besides I don’t have any. You can find the energy you need in other things beside coffee. You should learn to stay positive and constantly filled with good, flowing energy. If you do so, your life and all the things you are surrounded by will help you embrace health, happiness, prosperity, love and contentment.”
“Let me see” he breathes deep, closes his eyes and says “I can feel it. I’m positive, I can feel the vibe… let me express it … ‘fuck you Jason’ … there you go, I feel better already”.
Jason smiles and shakes his head. Howard opens the fridge, takes out a small package and analyses it with a disappointed look on his face “and what about that old daub I see first thing every morning. Gives me the creeps. I can’t wait for my apartment to be ready”
“You’re very welcome. As I said, you can stay here as long as you need. And FYI I bought that mountain landscape at a Feng-Shui fair, it took me forever to find the perfect image that is tranquil, uplifting and still epitomizes our journey in life. Remember, every morning we wake up to new possibilities. Don’t you feel better already?”
He throws the package in the garbage bin and looks at Jason “You need a woman to fuck your brain out! Then we’ll talk about Feng-Shui. I better take a shower. Call Gaz, tell him we’ll be there in 10 and I expect a real breakfast!”

It’s already my third day on the job. The kids are just fantastic. And Dawn and I are becoming a true team. I’m determined to keep my life simple.
“Rise and shine little people! Breakfast time” I open the door to their rooms and open the curtains too. It’s a beautiful day outside and we’re going to the Tate today.
“I’ll wait for you downstairs! And the last one to come down will have to listen to a boring lecture on how punctuality saved the world!”
They giggle and scream while rushing to the bathroom “Me first!”, “No, me!”, “Daniel! Lady’s first”, “I don’t care!”
I smile and dance my way down the stairs. I enter the kitchen humming who knows what tune when I freeze. Two strangers are sitting at the table. I look at them, the look back at me. The two tall guys from the picture. *Who’s who? Damn it!*
“It’s a good thing you’re not too particular about clothing” the one with light brown curly hair says. *eyes like those should be considered weapons of mass destruction – threat level raised to maximum* My heart is pounding so fast I fear it might jump out of my chest.
I try to smile and remember what PJ am wearing. *If there is a God it is not my Winnie the Pooh one* I move my hand over the shorts, light cotton, it’s the white one with a little devil saying ‘I hate Mondays’ – catch 22 at his best - *DOH!*
“Morning, strangers in my kitchen. I was not expecting visits so early in the morning. Who are you?” *need to play extra cool ice-queen who doesn’t care about having 4 blue/greenish eyes staring at her*
One walk to me while the other is resting his head on the table “I’m Jason, and this jolly lad is Howard. You must be Beatrice”
“Nice to meet you at last! I only have one more to go! You can call me Bea. Have you seen Gary?”
“He’s on the phone, he was supposed to cook us breakfast”
“Would you like some coffee in the meantime?”
“Yes please” Howard says.
*Stop staring at my breasts, please, oh gosh, I’m begging already, get a grip woman, it’ just sex deprived mind talking*
“Great. The coffee machine is on the stove, coffee on the counter, mine without sugar and a drop of milk. Thanks” I tell him and open the newspaper trying to concentrate on Gordon Brown’s foreign policy.
“Oh” he scratches his head and looks at Jason. “I’ll take care of it Doug. My dear Bea you need to know he can’t even think straight until he has his daily dose of caffeine, even though he knows it’s bad for you. Do you think they have any herbal tea?”
“I bought some yesterday, help yourself”
He looks at the package “Do you go shopping at the new Whole Food Market on High Street Ken too?”
“I could live inside that place”
“Another bird food eater. Brilliant” mumbles Howard
“Don’t worry about him; he’s grumpy because he feels lonely. Believe it or not he can be very charming, last time it happened was October 1999. The ladies who witnessed the event were really impressed”
Howard grunts when Gary comes back to the kitchen, “sorry guys. I see you met our new, very much Italian nanny” and kisses me on the cheek, I bow “the kids are already in love with her … speaking of the devil”
Emily runs through his father’s legs and jumps on Howard’s laps. He smiles at her and I melt. *this is sooooo bad*. Daniel sits at the table. I give them their cereal and milk.
“Where are you going today?” Gary asks his son.
“We’re going to the Tate Modern. A friend of Bea’s works there.”
“You take them to a museum? Sounds great” Jason says.
“If all you do in life is watching cars driving by” Howard adds.
“Little people, tell them what today’s drill is”
Daniel finishes his cereals “we’re going there and while Bea talks to Julie we have permission to mess with all the installations on display”
“and why is that?” I ask
“Because it’s modern art and nobody will notice anyway” they both answer laughing. I kiss both their heads, “My babies!”
I turn towards the counter to get some coffee mugs when I hear them giggling and counting “3-2-1 …
Dashing through the snowIn a one horse open sleighO'er the fields we goLaughing all the way” and giggle some more.
I drop the spoon on the sink pretending to be upset. “You are just mean. Not a Christmas song in July. That is beyond cruelty! What am I supposed to now?” I put my hand on my hips making a very scary face.
They hide behind their father who’s looking at me mouthing “I have nothing to do with it”.
“What’s going on? What do you put in your milk?” Jason asks.
“I like to think it is something that comes with genius. I have this thing, the first song I hear in the morning get stuck in my head all day long. I find myself singing it without realizing it. I was once in a board meeting and in the middle of a presentation I started humming ‘Wake me up before you go-go’. Have you ever had 9 people look at you like you lost your mind? And of course it is never a good song, it is never The Clash, or The Police, Eric Clapton” they all look at me like I am supposed to say something else *my brain comes to my help* “or Take That of course! The two little rascals there” and I point at them “found out the first day and it has become a daily routine”
“Boy, do you ever shut up?” grunts Howard while Jason laughs, “Ignore him. I could have a couple of songs you might find interesting kids. Come with me”
“I met you 4 minutes ago and I am not your nanny, but I forbid you to do it!”
He laughs, waves goodbye and quickly moves to the garden with the kids. “You can run but you can’t hide”. Go back looking for mugs but even with my back to him I am aware Howard hasn’t stopped a minute staring at me. My eyes close involuntarily and I try to catch my breath as I feel shivers down my spine.
I feel a male presence behind me, *keep eyes closed, do not move* and I hear Gary’s voice “let me pour the coffee, Howard is going to faint if he doesn’t drink some” and takes the cups from my hand “bacon and eggs on the way mate!”