by Jill Caplin
“I wanted to know about the laundry, Miss Audra. I didn’t know what you wanted, what was either dry cleaned or washed. Sorry about the intrusion.”
“Your apology is accepted,” Audra said. “You’re to take the basket to the laundry room. Dalia does the washing and dry cleaning. She will place the clean clothes on my bed during the day. If you see clothes on my bed, then you put them away. Are we clear?”
“Yes. I am again, sorry,” Tessa said, holding back tears.
“You frightened me. That’s why I reacted that way. Just answer your pager. Take care of your chores. We’ll get along fine. Do you understand?” Audra said in a quieter tone.
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. That’s settled. Now go back to your room. You still have evening chores to do later.”
Once Tessa sat on her bed, she started crying. Tears flowed for a few minutes. She remembered her mother would yell at her for whatever reason, but she never hit her. After a few moments, the humiliation subsided, and she wiped her eyes.
How foolish she felt going back to Audra’s room without hearing the pager. Tessa promised herself she would never let that happen again.
With Audra gone for part of the day, Tessa returned upstairs and finished her chores. After coming back to her room, Tessa rested on her bed. She hoped maybe things would be better working in New City, but sure didn’t know what they were yet.
The buzzing sound of the pager sounded off in her pocket.
Upstairs, Tessa arrived at Audra’s room. After seeing the closed door, she decided to knock.
“Come in,” Audra said.
Entering the room, Tessa watched her sitting cross-legged on the bed. She waited for Audra to speak first.
“You know that if you hadn’t frightened me, I wouldn’t have touched you.”
“I promise it won’t happen again,” Tessa said.
“I would like you to stay. It would be so much fun for you to work the parties of my friends,” Audra said.
“Be happy to do whatever you ask.”
“Let’s start over. If you fetch me some fresh towels, so I can take my shower then you’re done for the evening. Take the old ones out as you go,” Audra said, “Oh, and do clean my bathroom for me.”
“Thanks for a second chance,” Tessa said, as she growled to herself about the word “fetch.” She hoped it would be the last time Audra used the word.
Inside the bathroom, Tessa wiped down the sink and mirror and grabbed the wet towels on the floor. Downstairs, she dumped the dirty ones went in the washer and grabbed fresh ones from the linen closet.
Back upstairs, Tessa knocked on the door of Audra’s room.
“Come in,” she said.
Tessa put fresh towels in Audra’s closet and one on the rack and left.
After arriving in her room, Tessa picked up a towel from the bottom drawer of the dresser. She went to the restroom down the hall to take a short shower. Wrapping the towel around her body, and picking up her clothes from the floor, she returned to her room.
Changing into her nightgown, Tessa sat on her bed, thinking how tired she felt after all the chores. She started to think about how she missed Felicia. Tessa still hoped she would see Aden again in New City.
With little time to think, Tessa heard a knock on her door. She opened the door. Carey stood next to another woman. The other woman stood a head taller than Carey. She had short black hair and tiny crow’s feet near her brown eyes showing her age.
“Come on in and sit down.”
The two women walked inside and sat on her bed. Tessa sat in the chair. They waited in silence for the bells to ring, signaling the Hills were going to bed.
“We wanted to come and introduce ourselves. I’m Carey, as you know. Wanted you to meet Dalia. She works for Mrs. Hill.”
“Nice to meet both of you.” Tessa said, “Guess it’s okay if we talk to each other at night?”
“Yeah, after they go to bed. I appreciate you being so nice to me earlier.” Carey said with a smile.
“Don’t we ever work at night?”
“You might have to get Audra ready for dinner or a party,” Dahlia said.
“The family likes its privacy once they go to bed. There are lighter chores we do on Sundays,” Carey said. “We all have pagers,”
“Oh, I learned all about those,” Tessa said. “Audra used it once today.”
“We hope you can settle in here. Be part of our little family. We so rely on each other,” Dalia said, “We better go. Our day starts early in the morning.”
“Thanks for coming,” Tessa said. The two women smiled as they left, and she shut the door.
At first, Tessa liked how they came to visit her in her room. The words “part of a family” crept into her bones.
No way Tessa wrapped her head around the concept of being part of a family in a household. They weren’t sisters, and none of them lived as a family.
Worried how the word “family” would give her nightmares, Tessa decided to think of Aden instead, hoping to see him one day. Her memories drifted to her parents, causing her to cry again. Rubbing her eyes, she concluded how all the thinking on her part meant closing her eyes and going to bed.
11
Paged
The next morning, Tessa dressed and checked over her list of morning chores. Closing the door to her room, she felt ready to start a new day. Before her morning meal, Tessa went upstairs to clean Audra’s bathroom.
The electronic schedule showed Audra out for the morning. Upstairs, with the door to her room left open, Tessa cleaned her bathroom, replaced the towels with dry ones, and left the room.
Downstairs, she placed the wet towels in the washer and headed to the kitchen. Carey sat cutting up vegetables on the center island. A burnt smell of coffee lingered in the air. Sitting down at the table, Carey brought Tessa a tray with a bowl of sticky oatmeal, a slice of wheat bread, a glass of soymilk.
After breakfast and the dishes done, Tessa left the kitchen and returned upstairs. Someone placed Audra’s laundry on top of her bedcovers. She straightened the linens and organized the pile of clothing back in her closet. Tessa gaped at how many different outfits Audra owned.
A huge walk-in closet had places for several, different types of shoes for casual and formal wear. A single section designed just for her jewelry. Putting the various items back, Tessa noticed the clothes organized not only by type but also by the different materials. She hesitated, touching one piece of clothing to feel its textures. She worried there were cameras inside the closet. Tessa shook her head, not understanding why one person needed an abundance of clothing.
After lunch, she removed the linens on the bed. Tessa carried them down to the washer. Then she brought fresh linens back to her room and made up the bed. She couldn’t in her right mind, figure out why one person needed five pillows to be comfortable.
After mopping the bathroom floor and cleaning the shower, Tessa finished her other chores in Audra’s room. She walked back to her room to check her schedule. Tessa noticed an hour gap in time before Audra needed her to assist her in getting ready for dinner at one of New City’s restaurants.
Tessa felt the buzzing of the pager in her pocket as it interrupted a nice rest on her bed. Scanning her eye, Tessa left. Upstairs, she noticed the door closed. From the outside, Tessa heard the shower running inside, so she waited until the water had stopped and knocked.
“Come in,” Audra called.
Inside, Tessa saw her standing in the middle of the room, wearing a plush purple robe. Not wanting to stare at Audra, she lowered her eyes.
“Thanks for waiting outside while I finished my shower,” Audra said, “In my closet, you’ll see a purple dress made out of satin. It’ll be the first of the dresses on your right and then get the matching purple jacket. Go get those and my purple pumps and place them on the bed.”
The “thank you” surprised her, but Tessa knew better than to scare her twice. In the closet, were several short purple dre
sses. With Audra’s specific, Tessa managed to figure out which one she wanted. After carrying out all of the items, she placed them on the bed.
“Wait here just a minute,” she said, going into her closet and shutting the door.
After Audra came out, she still wore her robe. Tessa watched Audra drop it to the ground, wearing a matching purple lace, bra and panty set.
She didn’t hear Audra say anything. Tessa handed the dress to her. Audra lifted her arms in the air. Shocked Audra even expected her help, Tessa managed to put the dress over Audra’s head and then zip her up in the back. Tessa watched as Audra manage to put on her jacket.
“There’s a friend’s celebration I want you to work for me in two weeks. You will need to do your best job so that I can show you off at mine next month.” Audra said. “Make sure I have a clean room when I come home.”
Finally, she dismissed her. While walking to the kitchen, Tessa realized the celebrations were probably her only hope of ever running into Aden again. She only hoped he got himself exchanged in the meantime.
How annoying it felt to Tessa to hear the words “show off.” Tessa sure did not feel like some possession. She frowned, thinking about how she needed to prove herself at one event to even work Audra’s celebration.
After supper, Tessa returned to Audra’s bedroom. Tessa dropped the clothing in the hamper, hung up the robe, and made sure the bathroom looked clean. She grabbed the towel off the floor and dumped it in the washer downstairs.
With everything done, Tessa relaxed before bed. After scanning her eye, she smiled, finally seeing a slight increase in her balance. She earned extra pay for working for Audra in the evening.
Exhausted from a long day, Tessa took a quick shower, changed into her nightgown, and sat on her bed. She heard a knock on the door. Inwardly groaning, she opened the door. Carey stood there with Dalia. She invited them in, sat on the chair in the room, and the two women sat on the bed.
“We heard Audra didn’t need you at the dinner,” Carey said.
“Didn’t have to. Audra did say there’s a celebration I can work at in two weeks. What’s a celebration?”
“It’s when a girl or boy turns nineteen. A Matchmaker tells the parents which boy and which girl will form a Union,” Dalia said.
“The match has to equal their position in society,” Carey added.
“Audra’s celebration is next month?” Tessa asked.
“She’ll be nineteen in less than four weeks,” Dalia said.
“The whole family is excited for her. She’s grown into such a nice young lady,” Carey said, fondly.
“You’ve been here that long, Carey?” Tessa asked her.
“I have to go set up appetizers for when they return. You two talk for a few more minutes,” Carey said and left the room. Tessa scrunched her nose at Dalia.
“Don’t mind her,” Dalia said, “She was exchanged a few years past. Her husband was never picked.”
“He’s not with her? That’s awful,” Tessa said.
“The Hills had a choice. They picked Wilson as the driver for Mr. Hill instead of Carey’s husband. They chose who they wanted”
“Could she ever go back to The Annex?”
“Even if she wanted to, Mrs. Hill won’t release her. You don’t ask to leave,” Dahlia said with a sadness in her voice. “You only leave when they don’t want you anymore.”
“That just all seems so unfair,” Tessa said.
“Life isn’t very fair to us who work in New City,” Dalia said. “We make more money. Once a month we get a day or two off. I’ve said enough tonight.”
“Thanks for coming.”
“Oh, that’s fine. You’re family now. We can visit now and then,” Dalia smiled, left, and shut the door.
In her bed, she realized how miserable Carey must be living separate from her husband. Tessa only hoped her parents were still together.
The Hills reminded Tessa of the old Southerners who used to own slaves hundreds of years in the past. Those people used to select which family members they wanted. Exchange Day seemed like a modern-day version of slave trading.
How Tessa wished she could help change the way people treated others. Learning how none of the servants had any family, and they all lived in the house of their owners felt so unnerving. One aspect of living and working for people in New City she didn’t like at all.
Remembering how her father never liked any New City, Tessa wondered how he would handle working for someone. She wanted so badly to see him again. Tessa opened the top drawer of the dresser, pulled out the carving he gave her and kissed it. She placed it back in the drawer.
In bed, she felt the only reason they provided a thick quilt on the bed would be to keep from freezing at night. The room felt so cold as if the walls were paper-thin. Tessa realized the people of New City didn’t care about where or how their servants lived.
12
Tolerance
During the two weeks, Tessa waited for a celebration to show up, time seemed to drag by. Sometimes Audra paged her after supper to get her ready for dinner either in New City or for a party. Every time, she felt disappointed.
One day after lunch, she walked back to Audra’s room to complete her afternoon chores, Mr. Hill stopped her in the hallway as he stood outside his study.
“I need you to come in and clean my study,” he ordered in his grave, bass voice.
“Mrs. Hill said I was restricted to certain rooms in the house, sir.”
“I was not present during those instructions,” he said, At least come in, pick up my tray, and return it to the kitchen.”
“Could you hand me the tray me, sir, and then I can return it to the kitchen?”
Mr. Hill scowled at her. Tessa went into his study. As he handed her his tray with one hand, he then smiled at her. As Tessa walked away, she felt him pinch her. Feeling so disgusted, she just took in a deep breath, turned around and faced him.
“I’ll return the tray now, sir,” Tessa said and rushed back to the kitchen. As frustrated as she felt towards his inappropriate advances, Tessa told herself she would keep the incident to herself and dismiss it. She thought if Mr. Hill ever tried to touch her; she would defend herself. Hopefully, it would be the last.
13
Celebration Times One
One evening Tessa rushed upstairs after feeling the buzzing of the pager in her pocket. She knocked on the door, and after hearing her name, Tessa went inside Audra’s room.
“Go get the purple taffeta skirt, matching blouse and shoes out of my closet. It’s next to the dress I wore to the last dinner party,” Audra said, standing in her bra and panties.
Tessa managed to locate the outfit Audra wanted and place the stuff on the bed for her to examine. On the bed, she noticed tan pleated pants and a white, long-sleeved shirt.
“Take that outfit on my bed,” Audra said, “You’re going with me to this celebration. You’ll be our server. If you do well, Mother will allow you to work at my celebration next month. So, change and come back here. Do it quickly.”
Leaving with the clothing, Tessa hurried back to her room and changed into the pants and shirt. The shirt felt suffocating as she buttoned it up to her neck. As quickly as she could, she rushed back to Audra’s room. Inside, Tessa noticed how not only Audra dressed herself but stood there smiling wearing bright purple eye shadow and lipstick.
“My, don’t you look different out of those other clothes,” Audra said. “If I had a spare brush, I’d run it through your hair. We better get going. Let’s go meet my mother and father in the car.”
Following her to the car, Tessa could not figure out how to take the comment about the clothes. It seemed Audra enjoyed treating Tessa like a servant. Tessa understood even her own annoying opinion about the whole servant thing would not change her life for the time being.
Tessa tried not to smile at the way Audra winced as she limped in her high heeled purple pumps to the car. She opened the car door for Audra and sat beside her a
s they traveled to a small white building.
The driver, a short man with black hair, bushy eyebrows and brown eyes, whom Mr. Hill addressed as Wilson, opened the door for Audra’s parents. Tessa got out of the car and opened the door for Audra, wanting to do her best to impress her. She smiled, and Tessa followed her to the front of the building.
Audra glared at Tessa and pointed to a side door by the building like a separate way inside existed for servants. She lowered her head, upset not being allowed to walk into the building with Audra.
Nodding, Tessa made her way to the side entrance with Wilson. He opened the door for her and waited outside. She ended up inside a huge commercial kitchen. People, dressed in similar uniforms like hers, were running around clattering dishes, clinking silverware, chopping vegetables and busy doing other tasks: from filling and putting glasses of wine on small serving trays to preparing appetizers.
The room smelled of meats searing on a grill, broiled vegetables spiced with fragrant spices and freshly baked pear tarts. Tessa became aware they were foods she would never have a chance or be allowed to taste.
Taking in another deep breath of basil and anise, Tessa noticed a tall, slender woman with red hair and green eyes making appetizers. While the woman stuffed broiled vegetables with cheese and filled small tarts with mixed vegetables, she waved for Tessa to come over to her.
“You must be the new girl. I’m Glenna. You need to get a tray of drinks out to your family right away. Keep them filled. That’s your job tonight.”
Smiling back at her, Tessa carried a tray of drinks through the doors that led to the main room. Several teardrop chandeliers had multi-colored streams of light hanging down from them. The walls painted a bright, swirly gold fluorescent color. At the back of the room, a handful of people gathered at a long buffet table. All the people, dressed in a variety of colors, were wearing lavish apparel. Each couple wore the same color and stood with their only child.
Walking to the side of Audra, she offered the tray of drinks first to Audra’s parents. Audra took her glass as well. Tessa didn’t wait for the wave of her hand. Instead, she walked back to the kitchen.
