Such a Fun Age

Having decided to seek out Emira in person, Alix walks to Emira’s address from the résumé Emira had given when she applied to be Briar’s babysitter. With both children in tow, Alix reaches the apartment building and buzzes the apartment while Briar yells at a man on the sidewalk. Emira invites the group upstairs, and Alix judges how “depressing” (253) it is. Alix and Emira talk casually as Briar explores the small apartment and asks her typical slew of questions.

Alix begins to address the situation with the video, explaining that she’s “so impressed with how [Emira] reacted that evening, and so grateful that [Emira] came into [their] lives” (257). Reaching into her purse, Alix takes out a wrapped gift for Emira: a calendar book for the year 2016 with “EMIRA” (258) written in on every weekday. The offer is for Emira to be their fulltime nanny, with benefits. Emira cries, then takes a breath, and accepts. Alix feels a motherly instinct, wanting to keep helping Emira. Then, Alix offers to “help [her] out” (261) with the video.

The next Monday, Laney Thacker and a full camera crew arrive at the Chamberlain house to begin filming;