The twin minder

The day was warm and dry thankfully no rain or snow the sun was out thought didn't give out much heat and Addison dressed for that weather. She wore slacks with a light jumper and ankle boots to stop water or snow making her feet cold, her long black jacket was warm and tied around her wast as her green backpack was slung over her shoulder, it was enchanted so she could bring the things she needed with her bit not have to carry a ton of things. She stood out side a cottage like house and raised an eye brow. " Interesting." She said glancing at the main door as a young woman chewing bubble gum flounced out and stormed off up the pathway.

Now she hoped she would be the one chosen, she knew he needed a child minder, but not how many children were involved nor there ages. Making sure she was presentable she brushed a strand of hair  back off her face the then walked up to the door and knocked hearing a man's voice talking loudly inside. She was not however surprised to find a coat rack  answering the door.

" I'm here to see a Mr Tremaine."She said and glanced at her watch " I am on time." she told it. a foot stood ran up and she sighed but smiled reaching into her bag she took out an old sock she kept in there. Placing it down she watched as it ran off some place as she stood waiting. as she did she noted the flower around the door and she sight of diapers and baby bottles but the lack of toys and play pens with stimulating toys made her realize he must be a first time father.

"Relax, would you?" Robert said to Michael, putting his hand on Michael's shoulder for a moment. They'd been through four of the five initial candidates already, and Michael hadn't liked any of them. One was flighty and Michael hadn't been able to want a dingbat with his boys. The second was immature and chewed bubblegum so loudly that it had gotten on Michael's nerves in the first two minutes of her interview. The third was a battleaxe and was talking of whipping the house into shape and whipping the boys into shape. His boys were babies. They didn't need whipping into anything. The fourth was terrified of the enchanted furniture and had spent much too much time noticing all the fine art and rare books Michael had. It seemed to Michael that she was much more likely to be casing his place for a break in.

He was frustrated. They'd had time in between Candidate Four and Candidate Five. Michael had made tea, and Robert had seated him in the kitchen with it. He decided that when Barlow arrived he'd start without Michael for at least a few minutes. Robert was used to hiring staff. It wasn't something Michael had ever needed to do.

He had just come into the living room with his tea mug when the knock had come at the door. Snidely had answered the door. "Let her in, Snidely," Robert called. He set down his tea mug on the end table near the chair where he'd been sitting. He went over to the door.

"Ms. Barlow, I presume," Robert said. "I'm Robert Lupin. Mr. Tremaine is a friend of mine, and I'm joining him for the interviews. He'll be joining us in just a moment. Won't you come in? Mr. Tremaine just made tea. Would you like some before we get started?"

Addison heard a voice and smiled a she was invited in she moved passed the foot stool and smelt the aroma of the tea. "what an unusual tea."She thought just from its smell alone. " Yes I am" when asked if she would like some she nodded. "And please just Addison, Minister Lupin, Thank you, I would love some, may I ask if that is Ban Tian Yao tea, it is a very rare, with a light smokey taste, I've only ever had it once." She said softly. She quickly looked round the room then back to the man as she took a see setting the bag down by her legs.

She saw the foot stool walk over and sniff at her bag and she chuckled "Sorry, I only brought the one sock." She told it gently then looked back to the imposing man in front of her. " before we go any further I should inform you all my qualifications are up to date and if you wish references I can provide them." She sat looking at him her hand gently brushing over the footstools back as she had spoken .

"Close," Robert said. "He has some of the Ban Tian Yao, but that's not what he brewed. It is oolong, though. You were right about that part. I asked him to try a new, flavored oolong. Its blended with some smoked candied almonds and a touch of some toasted spices. The flavors aren't heavy, but that might be what you're smelling. Snidely, send to the kitchen for a cup for our guest, please." The hat rack headed off to the kitchen.

"Thank you," he said when she mentioned that her references and qualifications were up to date. It hadn't been lost on him that she'd happened to have a sock with her and had known to give it to the dogs. The accidental magic that had caused the furniture to become sentient wasn't one that was very common. Until Otto and Faline had begun having puppies, Robert had heard of precious few footstool dogs, and they'd all been accidental conjurings as well.

"That's Otto," Robert said. "I think, at the time, he was named Otto as short for ottoman. There's another around here somewhere. A pink chintz footstool name Faline. Anyway, aside from a paycheck, what's behind your interest in caring for children? Tell me a bit about yourself."

Addison smiled and scratched the ottoman that now happily lay down next to her as the minister had spoken. "It smells divine and I'm sure I'll meet Faline in time." She said and listened as he spoke again asking what was behind her interest in caring for children. Now she looked up at him and spoke.

"It's being able to support new parents. I was recently pleased when one of the new mums I had minded for about two months sent me an owl saying how grateful she was for the support I had given her in that time and how much it had helped with outdoor play, be it in the mud, kitchen, at a playground, going to the market or supermarket, the post office, on a bus. I find children always respond well to these activities and all seven areas of learning and development." She smiled as she saw Snidely or so she thought returning with the tea.

Snidely was actually just following the tea mug to make sure it didn't spill. Michael had set the charm in place to send the cup out from the kitchen. Once he'd done that, he poured his own mug of tea. In the meantime, the mug was safely delivered to Barlow.

"Well, Mr. Tremaine's situation is a bit unusual," Robert said. "He's certainly beyond the age that most men want to be parents at all. He was abiding by the marriage law, and his wife got pregnant and then disappeared. We don't know where she is, but somehow the babies were safely delivered as newborns to their father. He didn't know they were expecting twins. The babies were just sprung on him. Michael is divorced from his wife, based on abandonment and has full custody of both boys. They're just 15 months now, but now that they're mobile, they're a handful.

"He's been staying, for the most part, with my family, and we've been helping with the boys. However, Michael's job can take him away at any hour, without any notice, so it hasn't been possible for him to be here with the boys by himself. He does, however, want the boys to have a sense of having a home of their own, and he wants them to know, for certain, that they have a father who loves them. If you get the position, you'll find that he's actually very well equipped with everything he needs, but most of it is still in its original packing because, well, he just hasn't been in this house with them. I presume that wouldn't be an issue for you? To get the house ready for the boys to be here full time? And, you'll also find that most of the furnishings in the house are enchanted and have minds of their own. It can get a bit chaotic from time to time, but most of the time, they respond well to Michael. I don't know of any other house that has this many enchanted objects, so how do you deal with unusual magic like that?"

Michael took a sip of his tea to calm himself to have to deal with yet one more candidate. The boys were here, but they were upstairs with Kate, who definitely had the grandma's touch with babies. The boys hadn't made so much as a peep. She had them upstairs in their room. He knew he needed to turn it into a proper nursery again, but that was something else he hadn't done yet. It had been set up as a nursery for one baby until Maddie left. Then he'd gotten rid of everything. When he had gotten blindsided with both boys, Robert and Kate and Khaat and Brian had stepped in to provide him with everything he needed, much of it being hand-me-downs from Khaat and Brian because their children had outgrown newborn equipment. They were still supplying him now. Michael was always surprised that their things looked brand new, even after being used by seven children. Still, a lot of what the boys needed now was split between Khaat's estate and Michael's cottage. He didn't like the boys being uprooted.

He took his tea mug and went into the living room where Robert was already talking with Ms. Barlow.

"Ms. Barlow," Robert said. "This is Michael Tremaine. He's the father of the boys we're talking about. Oh, I need to mention, I think, that although you'd be taking care of Michael's boys, I have a large personal staff, so you'd actually be working for me and you'd be getting your paycheck through me. Would that be an issue? Its just a matter of the management being easier for me to add you to my payroll than for Michael to have to set up his own."

Addison sat and listened to The minister talking and explaining Mr Tremaine's situation about how he ended up with two boys. " Minister I have seen older parents since the law was passed , it doesn't bother me one bit and in my opinion this is his home I am but the care giver to his children, though they will be looked after as if my own."

She smiled as he told her they were still toddlers " they need stimulation and a watchful eye, but nothing too strict as they need to show their own natures and personality's as for the magical furniture if they want to be what they are then I would treat them as such." she said her voice always kept soft never raising.

On seeing the second man enter holding a tea cup she placed hers down and stood up to greet him. " Mr Tremain, a pleasure to meet you." She said now noting how the room seem to fit around him now as she held out her hand to shake his.

Hearing the minister talk once again she sat back down and looked at him " I have no problems with any arrangements in that regard Minister, my energies are for the caring of any children in my care, be I paid or not." She said then looked at Mr Tremaine as she spoke again. "Please, tell me about the boys, what are their routine's, do they have favorite toys, a blanket or stuffed dog that they sleep with, do they have any allergies I should know of." She asked.

"The pleasure is mine," he said politely, "Please, sit." He sat down in one of the wing chairs and set his tea on one of the end tables.

"We're early risers," he said. "The boys are usually awake by six am, and we try to get them changed and fed by no later than 7:30 or 8. They've both taken their first steps, but they're happier crawling and scooting still. And exploring everything. That's a full time job in the mornings. Snacks at 9:30 or 10, lunch by noon. Naptime after that. Then, there's another snack when they wake, followed by more playtime. Dinner for them is by 4:30 or five, followed by baths and bed by six pm or so. They still wake periodically during the night, but that's roughly their schedule.

"As far as toys, it seems to change a bit. The toy of the moment is a set of blocks. They both have blankets they like. Scott favors a stuffed green dragon, and David likes a purple hippogriff."

"Neither boy has any health issues," Robert said. "They're on task for height, weight, and a bit above average for development. Their parents are both very bright, though, so I'm not surprised at that. They are both completely identical, except that I put a small tattooed dot on the underside of the left wrist of each child. The dots are enchanted so that if you touch them with your fingertip, it will reveal the name of the child. Can't have them going through life with their own names on their wrists. That would be ridiculously embarrassing for them as they get older."

Addison sat sipping her tea as she listened to Mr Tremaine talking about the boys routine. "It sounds like you have a well established routine, I will keep that, so not to be inconsistent with them, consistency with young children is important."She said as she took a sip of her tea again. "If you worry about protection for the boys while you are..at work, please be assure I can handle a wand with moderate skill."

She heard him mention he'd magically names them and she nodded with a smile. "That's actually a good idea, but twins are rarely fully identical there is always some difference in them."

Robert merely smiled and took a sip of his tea. He would allow Michael to make the choice of who he wanted for his children, certainly, but she was starting to rub Robert the wrong way.

She was trying too hard to prove how much she knew or didn't know. Robert was a master healer, and he could certainly tell if a set of twins was fully identical or not. So far as he knew, she didn't have the medical experience he did, and he didn't appreciate her need to constantly correct someone else. Her incessant need to appear smarter than anyone else in the room was a tad annoying.

"Moderate skill should be sufficient," Michael said to her. The house had fierce protection spells, so he doubted anyone would penetrate them to get to her or his children either one. "What sort of schedule did you have in mind?"