The dream

They were hiring a new nanny. The day started as a series of interviews and turned a into a day long marathon of endurance: unforeseen antics and distractions meant there was only a position for the last competent man-or-woman standing. Dangerous challenges included a tree falling on their house, their crafty toddler darting away and getting lost in a crowd, and the children—there were more of them by then—starving in an apocalyptic desert. This bizarre casting call for a new childcare provider began to to unfold much like an episode of Survivor, replete with a love interest (her handsome neighbor) revealing his distrust for certain characters, confessional style, in a gesture of strategy and solidarity. To which she got to repay him with white hot looks of gratitude, and the promise of a potential future make-out, in the off camera of her mind.