Perfect Pitch

Renee looked forward to looking out for Melanie over the next week and felt confident that the doctor would feel things went well enough to have her move in. Renee also looked forward to doing this because she was getting tired of sharing a place with her friend Leslie, although she appreciated that she offered to store some of her belongings for a while. Leslie was a great friend, but they didn't exactly make great roommates. They may have had similar interests, but they had different ways of living. Leslie liked to have a lot more company than Renee preferred. Renee preferred to keep her social circle small, while Leslie felt she could never have enough friends. Renee felt uncomfortable with so many visitors around that she was compelled to remain confined to her room if she wanted any privacy. But it was Leslie's place, and she couldn't tell her what to do. Renee enjoyed taking care of Melanie, but for the most part, she treated the situation as just another job that she was hired to do. The doctor had been right about Melanie being an ordinary child. There really wasn't anything she found to be special about Melanie or anything troublesome. Melanie was boringly ordinary in both personality and appearance. She found herself more interested in spending time with Deanne than with her child. It wasn't so much that Deanne was interesting but that she noticed Deanne seemed to really like her, and she was curious as to the depth of it. She could have been reading her wrong, although she doubted it. She was usually pretty intuitive and good at picking up on those things. There was something there. But it wasn't mutual. Deanne was just as ordinary as her daughter. Yet Renee was the curious type, and she liked to flirt and see how far she could take things and how far the other person would be willing to go. So she mostly stuck around because not only did she need a job, but she was that curious by nature. She wasn't about to lead the doctor on, though, should she come out and actually tell her she was interested in her. Another reason Renee was looking forward to the job was that she really liked the idea of living in the beautiful and luxurious high-rise apartment. The view was stunning during the daytime and even at night. She only stayed late once after dark and was mesmerized by all the city lights twinkling for miles and miles all around her. When it wasn't too chilly, she would stand outside on the balcony. The lights were almost hypnotizing. When Melanie was busy entertaining herself with coloring or some task like that, she would find herself gazing through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows at life going on below. She could get lost in the scene forever. She would guess which way a certain car was going to turn or how far a person would walk up a street. The distant boats and yachts sailing across the waterscape were serene and relaxing. As she was picking Melanie up one afternoon and bringing her home, she ran into a woman in the elevator. She was absolutely stunning. Tall, dark, and totally gorgeous. She had straight shiny brown-black hair, dark eyes, perfect teeth, and nice full lips. “Hi,” said the beautiful woman with a wide smile and cheerful tone as she gazed at her. “Hi,” Renee said in return. And then her attention turned to Melanie. “Hello there,” she said. “Hi Aisha,” said Melanie. “You know each other?” asked Renee. “We sure do,” said Aisha. “We're neighbors.” “Oh, wow. So we're going to the same floor.” “That we are,” said Aisha, pressing the proper button on the panel in the elevator. “You must be Renee.” “I am.” “Well, it's ever my pleasure to meet you,” Aisha said, extending a hand. “Likewise.” “You're the nanny that's to move in with the doctor and Miss Melanie here, correct?” “It's not official yet that I'll be moving in, but it's looking likely.” “Well, good for you. I'm right next door if you ever need anything. I'm in and out all day, so there's a good chance we’ll run into each other again.” “Good to know and nice to meet you.” With that, the elevator doors parted, and the beautiful woman headed to her place while she guided Melanie to hers. After the doctor got home and greeted Melanie with a hug, and Melanie showed her a picture she drew of the three of them sitting at the kitchen table eating together, Deanne said, “Okay, off to your room you go while I chat with Renee for a bit.” Melanie skipped into her room. “How was your day, Doc?” Renee asked Deanne. Deanne shrugged. “The usual.” “Everything okay today?” Renee nodded. “We even got to meet your neighbor, Aisha.” “Oh, good for you.” Renee began to gather her things and said, “Anything else before I go? “You've got the job if you want it.”