At five-thirty, I went back to Rebecca’s house and knocked on the door. There was still no answer and I debated using the spare key, but thought better of it.
I waited until Leo had eaten at seven-thirty before I told him about Rebecca not collecting Olivia from school and how she’d not answered her door or returned my call.
“I’ll get the spare key. Let’s hope for the girl’s sake that she’s not lying unwell in bed in need of a doctor. You really should have told me this as soon as I got home, Alicia.” He said, clearly annoyed that I had waited.
“Sorry. I did think about going into her flat but I felt as if I would be intruding.”
Leo knocked on her door before unlocking it and walking in. We turned the light on and apart from there being a few clothes on the bed, everything looked fine.
“She’s probably taken herself off on one of those stupid flower-collecting days and got held up. Is she taking Olivia to school tomorrow?”
“Yes, so I’m sure she’ll be should be back soon. Maybe it was just an oversight on her part, I’ll have a chat with her in the morning.”
The following morning, I woke Olivia at seven am as usual and I started to prepare her breakfast. Rebecca was due to collect her at eight am to drive her to school but as I’d not heard from her, I decided to go and see her. I knocked on the door and, again, there was no answer, I let myself straight in and everything was exactly the same as it had been the previous evening, so I rang Leo who had not long left for work.
“Leo, I’ve been back into the flat and Rebecca still hasn’t returned. I don’t know what to do. It’s obvious that she hasn’t been back there since we checked on her last night. I’ve had a quick look around and she doesn’t seem to have left a purse or her mobile phone behind. There’s actually not a lot in there apart from a few clothes. What should I do?”
“She’s probably done a bunk like the other nanny’s, Alicia, stop worrying. I’ll call her now and if we’ve not had any response by tomorrow, we’ll contact the police.”
“Do you think I should ring the police now? I’m worried about her, Leo, it seems out of character for her.”
“Well, the bottom line is we don’t really know her at all do we. She’s only worked with us for a short time and while she seemed reliable, she’s also young and like the rest before her, they only hang around a short time before something else grabs their attention.”
“Mmm. OK, well please call me if she gets in touch with you.”
“I will and stop worrying. I’ll be home at the usual time.”
One hour later, I receive a text message from Rebecca saying Hi Alicia, it’s Bex, I am so, so sorry to do this to you but I have met a group of people my age and I have been offered a chance to go backpacking with them, and I have accepted. Please forgive me. I am happy for you to forward any belongings on to my mum’s address – and I will cover the cost. Alternatively, you have my permission to bin what there is left. Please send my apologies to Olivia. Regards, Bex.
I was shocked that she had left so suddenly, even though it wasn’t the first time a nanny had left us in rush, but Bex had seemed different and I had grown quite fond of her. I thought it was a little cheeky of her asking me to post her belongings on, especially when she hadn’t provided a forwarding address, although I would most likely have one on her CV.
Now to break the news to Leo!
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