“So, what’s a girl like you really doing here? I know your parents are some big shot business people and you guys have a nice house here in the city; which means you definitely aren’t just visiting here. What’s the real deal with that?” Skinner, turning towards Moira, folded his arms across his chest as Moira helped him prepare dinner a few days after the tour of the mansion.“You mean you actually don’t know why I’m here?” Moira turned and faced Skinner, her face wore a slight frown; highlighting her surprise.“The boss doesn’t talk much, in case you haven’t noticed. Everything is on a need to know basis; I don’t know a lot of things that happen in his life, believe me.” Skinner shrugged; then returned to rolling beef meatballs on a wooden board.Moira found it hard to believe that Skinner was completely clueless about why she was at the
The day after Moira toured Angelo’s mansion was a Friday; and Skinner’s schedule said he had to do the weekly shopping for groceries. His conversation with Angelo, right after another silent breakfast, confirmed the butler was going to be out for at least two hours. Hearing this, Moira knew she was going to be alone in the mansion.Judging from the butler’s demeanour that morning, she was still getting the silent treatment from Skinner; and Moira realised that she might have underestimated the respect that the butler had for Angelo. Though she had been looking forward to the shopping day and expecting to finally be allowed to accompany Skinner on the excursion; the vibe between them told her that it was not going to happen. It was going to be yet another lonely day alone in the most luxurious house she had ever set foot in; albeit the loneliest place she had to endure living in.An hour after Angelo left, Skinner also did.
From a very young age, Moira’s parents could pick up that one of their daughter’s most obvious traits was her inability to suppress her thoughts. If she had something nagging her mind, she’d do everything possible to resolve it. Sometimes, even at the risk of getting herself in trouble. As she grew older, this trait defined who Moira Viscoli became as a young lady; an outspoken, independent go-getter.Moira only managed to keep the secret of her snooping for the rest of the day; exactly how long she needed to get back to talking terms with Skinner. Saturdays were more relaxed for Skinner; mainly because Angelo always ate out… somewhere… and practically spent most of the weekends wherever it was that he ate his meals.So Moira invited herself in Skinner’s room for a chat just after breakfast.“I have a confession to make. But promise me that you will hear me out and not be
After yet another week of nothing but helping Skinner with the same repetitive house chores, Moira could not stand the boredom inducing routine anymore. She sorely missed her friends, mum and dad and even Tony, whom she hoped might still be waiting for her- by some remote chance.It was Thursday; and the next day, was going to be Skinner’s shopping day, as usual. So she just walked up to him early in the morning and asked him to speak to Angelo on her behalf; about allowing her to tag along on the shopping trip.“Why don’t you just ask him yourself?” Skinner continued gathering ingredients from the pantry onto his tray.“Come on, Skinner. You know that he will listen to you; he probably trusts you more.” Moira reasoned.“And what gives you that idea? Why would he listen to anything I say about you? I hardly know you and the boss knows it as well as you do.&rd
“Boss, can I have a few minutes of your time; I would like to chat with you?” Skinner approached Angelo while he was in his study later that evening, well after dinner; when he was certain Moira was out of the way.Angelo waved Skinner in but kept his eyes on the pile of papers he was perusing. “What’s on your mind?”“It’s the lady, boss; she’s been nagging me about accompanying me when I go out shopping. I wanted to run it by you first.” Skinner only took a few steps into the room; stopping a good distance away from the desk so that he’d not be tempted to peep at Angelo’s papers.“Shut the door and take a seat, will you.” Angelo kept reading; only neatening the pile of papers and shoving it into the top drawer of his desk as Skinner settled in the chair on the other side of the desk.“I thought I should run it by you
For a girl who had literally been imprisoned for over a month, being out in the free world- walking freely in the crowded streets and breathing the polluted city air- was like heaven on earth. Right from the moment when Skinner gave her the good news, Moira felt like she was floating on a cloud; nothing could put her spirits down. Not only had Angelo given her the green light to go on the shopping trip, he also gave her his personal Platinum VISA card so that she could buy some new clothes and personal supplies. The rest of the day out at the market and the mall was, for Moira, like a child’s first visit to Disneyland.“Thanks for talking to Angelo for me. You really made my day today; I needed this treat.” Moira said as she placed her shopping bags in the trunk of the car.“You really didn’t give me much of a choice, remember.” Skinner winked at Moira and forced a smile. “Let’s go, the boss said he’ll be waiting for us back at the house. I don’t want to keep him waiting for too long.
Angelo stood and watched Moira and Skinner move all the shopping bags from the car to the kitchen; all the while, holding the young boy’s hand. As they took the last of the bags, Angelo led the boy back into the house and waited for Skinner and Moira in the kitchen. “This is my good friend, Kevin He’ll be staying with us for a few days.” Angelo let go of the little boy’s hand but the boy immediately clutched onto Angelo’s jacket. Moira looked at Kevin and estimated his age at about six or seven years. A price label hung on the side of his red hoodie; giving away the fact that even his blue jeans and a pair of red sneakers were straight off a shop shelf. His eyes moved quickly; and the way he constantly sought Angelo’s protection clearly suggested that the little boy had been through stuff too ghastly for his tender conscience to handle. “Hello Kevin. My name is Skinner. Would you like something to eat?” Skinner crouched in front of the boy and extended his hand but Ben retreated and
Skinner didn’t need to stay too long in Angelo’s private ‘shrine’ room before coming to a conclusion. From the entry hall, he signalled Moira to come closer so he could whisper the feedback to her, “There is no way that boy is the same one in those pictures. I knew he couldn’t be the boss’ son, I knew it.” “How can you be so sure? He was just a baby in the pictures. I still think it makes perfect sense that it’s his boy.” Moira waved and smiled at Kevin to reassure him that she wasn’t going to leave him alone. With that, Kevin relaxed and shifted his focus back to the TV. “But you’re forgetting one key factor, those baby pictures are at least ten years old; the kid would have been much older than Kevin. It’s not his son, I’m telling you.” Skinner, who had raised his voice a little for emphasis, quickly checked on Kevin who was still glued to the TV. “How can you tell when the pictures were taken?” Moira asked.