by Palessa
Joan stood with her arms crossed. “You were late this morning and now you’re leaving without fulfilling your full day’s work. I don’t see why you should be paid for today.”
Virgilia trained her sight on her boss, not blinking and walked closer to her. “Who do you think got your husband’s breakfast ready before eight-thirty this morning? Milly was busy and Mr. Baxter was just about to come downstairs at eight-twenty-five, which is five minutes before I was supposed to be here.”
Joan scoffed.
“If you don’t believe me, feel free to check with him as I met him in his library, handed him his morning paper, which I picked up from the lawn and commented on a story I read on the way here.”
Joan unfolded her arms and clenched her jaw.
“So by my calculation, I should be paid for the extra time I worked today. Shouldn’t I?”
Joan angrily grabbed her purse and handed the money to Virgilia. Virgilia counted it and looked at Joan steadily, unblinking. After a moment, Mrs. Baxter opened her purse and gave her the rest. She then turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen. In her triumph, Virgilia turned to Milly, who looked shocked, grabbed her own purse and left.
***
Not two weeks after starting, the Baxters had their first formal party. It was going to be a small get-together of some of the influential Gables elite, such as politicians and other local business owners. It was also a welcome home for the son, Newton, who had just finished his second year at Cornell. From the little pieces of conversation she overheard, Newton was the heir apparent to Baxter Chemicals. His father, Julian, who was rarely home, was looking forward to seeing his favorite son. Newton was the second born behind Grayson, who was more interested in spending the family fortune than helping to build it.
Gray, as his friends called him, was more of a playboy who loved his place in society, like his mother, who constantly coddled him and made excuses for him to his father. Anything that wasn’t the right shade of blue blood wasn’t worth Gray’s attention or care. Virgilia had a few encounters with him and his veiled attempt to condescend to her was glaringly apparent. She found him less than charming and ignored him more than the others.
Quinn was their only girl, and at the age of thirteen, she was used to being ignored by everyone. Virgilia would often find her in the library with her nose stuck in some book. Despite herself, she smiled at this forgotten Baxter child who loved the world of her imagination more than her real life.
She first saw Quinn in the library, nose-deep in Tolstoy.
“Quinn, I need to vacuum here, so you may want to go into the other room for a while.”
“Happy families are all alike,” the teenager mused.
Virgilia smiled. “And each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Quinn slowly lowered the book, revealing narrowed eyes. “You know Tolstoy?”
“Yes, I have read Anna Karenina as well as another short story of his. I like him better than Dostoyevsky. He seems to get to the point in a more fun way.”
Virgilia grinned at the expression in Quinn’s eyes. “I’ll stay,” she muttered.
“Suit yourself,” Virgilia said.
She vacuumed the carpet and dusted while fielding clandestine questions from Quinn, who tested her on the story and other works of literature. Eventually, Virgilia learned that Quinn wanted to be an actress on Broadway. She was already heavily involved in the drama club at school, but no one had really seen her act except for her older brother, Newton. He would come to her plays whenever he could and then take her out for ice cream afterward.
In spite of Virgilia’s best efforts, she liked the girl. Quinn reminded her of herself when she was her age. She would sometimes take a little longer cleaning the library.
One day, Milly overheard the two talking and laughing. She decided to take matters into her own hands later that evening in the kitchen.
“I hear you talkin’ all familiar with Quinn. Like you’re her equal.” Milly’s hand was on her hip and she leaned against the counter.
“She is a smart young girl and we talk. So what?”
“All you young people want all that history to go flyin’ out the window because some people stayed on the bus too long or marched with their fists in the air. It ain’t that easy to forget what it was like when a mere look meant some poor Negro was hanging from a tree. This may be a new decade, but the same rules apply. That girl is a Baxter. She is your boss, not your friend.”
“She’s thirteen, Milly. All she wanted to do was talk about literature and acting.”
Milly snorted, “So you figure that because you’re educated, you’re qualified to talk to her any which way?”
Virgilia turned to Milly, mirroring her stance. “Milly, you and I live in two different worlds, and I can’t help that. But what I do know is that this is a job to me, nothing more. I read, I write, I have my own thoughts and I don’t know if you hate that I can think or just that I refuse to think like you.”
The older woman seemed taken aback by Virgilia’s summation and felt a bit contrite. “I don’t hate you, Virgilia,” she said, “but I feel like you need to remember your place.”
“You mean at the back of the bus?” Virgilia said, as she softly laughed. “Milly, at some point, we just have to give ourselves permission to own the bus.”
Milly shook her head and sighed heavily. There was no getting through to this girl, she thought and just said, “Your uniform is ready for the party on Sunday. Be here at nine A.M. and we’ll get everything started.”
With that Virgilia left. She had a full day of classes tomorrow and two days to get her projects done before Sunday.
She worked her way through those two days, surviving on little sleep and managed to get her projects done early. As a reward, she decided to treat herself to a matinee movie on Saturday. She’d heard of a movie about a shark from some friends. They said it was scary, but good. She decided to check it out.
At the theater, the line was a bit long and everybody was gearing up to see the shark movie. Must be good, she thought.
When she finally got her ticket, she stood at the door, digging through her purse. Just as she reached for the handle, her hand touched someone else’s. She looked up at him and a sudden jolt flashed through her body. Their eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity.
Virgilia was suddenly lost in his warm emerald green eyes. He looked at her brown eyes and caught his breath.
“After you,” he said, as she suddenly remembered where she was and why.
“Thank you,” she managed to get out as she walked through the door he held open.
Neither of them had ever felt that way before and didn’t know what to make of it. Was it a case of static? It was a little too good to be just a random shock.
Virgilia tried to shake it off as she made her way into the theater. It was packed and she craned her head to find a possible seat. There were a couple of vacancies close to the front. Virgilia hated being that close to the screen, but as the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers. She found a seat and relaxed a bit. Not long after, her green-eyed doorman sat next to her.
“I’m not following you,” he said, grinning at the look of surprise on her face. “This is just the only seat which seems to be left.”
“Don’t worry. I didn’t think you were following me.”
“Why not? Aren’t you worth following?” He flashed Virgilia a devastating smile which made her blush. Before she could even think of an answer, the lights dimmed.
He leaned into her. “We will continue this discussion later.” Her stomach shivered as she cleared her throat and focused on the screen.
Throughout the movie, the audience’s reaction just heightened the tension of the scenes. Virgilia had no idea how big this shark was, but she knew the next time she dec
ided to go to the beach, she would definitely rethink it.
A couple of times, the movie made her jump, much to the amusement of her doorman.
“Don’t worry, Precious,” he whispered. “I’ll protect you.”
The pit of Virgilia’s stomach fluttered when he called her “precious.” If it were any other man, she would have been offended, even threatened. With him, it felt natural to hear him call her that and she didn’t even know his name.
When the movie ended, she stared at the screen, reading the credits. When she turned to glance at him, he was gone. Virgilia experienced a pang of disappointment.
As she exited the theater, she sensed a presence behind her. She turned to see him smiling at her.
“You never did answer my question. Don’t you think you’re worth following?”
“I will only answer questions from men whose names I know.”
“Fair enough,” he said, extending his hand. “My friends call me Cass.”
“I’m Virgilia,” she replied, shaking his hand.
“That’s quite a name. I think I’ll call you ‘Lila’ for short.”
Normally, she hated it when people called her by some modification of her name, but this one seemed different. “Do you often change the name of the people you meet to suit yourself?”
“Only the special ones.”
Virgilia’s cheeks got hot and her stomach did backflips. No stranger had ever made her feel so at ease.
For his part, Cass was fascinated by this vision he saw before him. There was something about this woman, a light, a fire which drew him in and made him want to lose himself in those gorgeous brown eyes. He’d never felt anything like it before and was not going to let this opportunity pass him by.
“Yes,” Virgilia said, suddenly.
“Yes, to Lila?”
“That too, but I meant the answer to your question.” Cass looked a little lost and then she said, “I am worth following.”
Cass heart flipped as he grinned. “Shall we?” he said, offering his arm.
They walked around and talked for what seemed like minutes, but turned out to be hours as evening turned to dusk. Virgilia’s face hurt from smiling so much; she couldn’t recall the last time she’d had so much fun by herself or with anyone.
Cass found her smart and witty and even more beautiful than when he’d opened the door for her. He had met some stunning women in his life, but tonight, they seemed merely passable compared to Lila.
“It’s getting late,” she said. “I had better get home.”
“I’ll walk you,” he announced.
“No, I don’t live too far from here.”
He held his hand up. “I’m not letting any woman walk alone at night anywhere, no matter how close she lives.”
They’d only just met, but the look on his face said he wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer. She thought better of starting an argument as they slowly made it to the gate of her house.
“Well, this is me,” she said.
He nodded and looked at the house. It was small, modest, and held a bit of charm with the low white fence separating it from the house next door.
“Cass, I had a wonderful time.”
“So did I,” Cass said as his gaze moved from her eyes to her lips. “I want to do it again.”
Virgilia wanted the same, but she had to be practical. “Maybe we should leave it at tonight.”
Cass looked Virgilia straight in the eyes with a determination that came from deep within. He was not used to hearing the word ‘no’ from a woman. But from this woman, the thought of not seeing her after tonight was completely unacceptable. “I don’t believe you believe that. I can see it in your eyes.”
Virgilia looked down for a moment and he gently lifted her chin and guided her gaze back to his. “Look, I don’t care if you’re purple with green polka dots. I know what I’m feeling and I know you feel it too.”
She couldn’t lie to him and nodded slowly in agreement.
Emboldened by her subtle ‘yes’, Cass declared, “I want to kiss you so badly right now, but I’m afraid the prying eyes would just bore right through me.”
She laughed. “You felt them too, huh?”
“Yeah, so that will just make it even sweeter when I plant one on you on our next date.”
She smiled at the thought of kissing this man she’d just met a few hours ago.
“You told me you have to work tomorrow, so maybe tomorrow night?”
“Okay,” she said. “I should be off by three, so how about seven?”
“I will pick you up here.”
They said goodnight as Cass watched Virgilia enter the house.
That night, she barely slept. Her body tingled at the very thought of Cass. No other boy had ever made her feel this way. She was no stranger to sex, having lost her virginity out of curiosity at fifteen. The whole ordeal had been clumsy and over before it began. Eventually, she met someone more experienced when she was sixteen and while he’d made her feel things, she still felt like she was missing something. With Cass, there was a connection she couldn’t deny. Her body just called to him.
Eventually, she was able to get some sleep and woke up in time to get to work. She put on her uniform and helped Milly get ready for the lunch party. The house was buzzing over the return of Newton Baxter. Everyone was happy, except Grayson. He seemed more tolerant than anything else. She’d decided to make sure the settings were ready, when she heard a familiar voice. Quinn was all about delight as she spoke to her brother Newton. When they entered the dining room, Virgilia’s heart stopped as their eyes locked. Her companion from the night before was Newton Baxter, son of Joan and Julian Baxter. He stared at her in her maids outfit and seemed more than a bit surprised. Virgilia’s heart sank. Well, it was fun while it lasted, she thought, as she heard Milly call for her and broke their connection.
Cass got over his initial shock and smiled as he watched her walk back to the kitchen. Before he could go after her, Quinn was chattering about how her play went and her part. He loved his little sister and had no problem letting her chat away. He would talk to Lila later.
At about eleven the guests started trickling in. By about eleven-thirty, almost everyone had arrived and things got busy.
Virgilia did her best to keep her eyes and mind on the tasks before her, ignoring the tingle that came from being in the same room as Cass who regularly stared at her, imploring her to meet his eyes. She chastised herself for letting her fantasy take her away from reality. The truth was, the man she had that incredible connection with was a Baxter. He was not just a Baxter, but the heir Baxter. Even though their time together had been wonderful, it was over. She was just the help; that was as much of the cliché as she wanted to entertain.
Cass could tell that Virgilia was tense and saw how she easily avoided his gaze. It drove him mad when she just walked away before he even got close enough to say something. As soon as this party was over, he had to talk to Lila and make her understand that nothing had changed for him. For the rest of the party, he was only half himself. Cass managed to muddle through the conversations about the industry and his goals after graduation, but his mind was on being with her again. At about two-thirty, there were only a few guests lagging and his father was deep in shop talk. He quickly excused himself and looked for Virgilia.
“Milly, where’s Virgilia?”
“What did that girl do, Mr. Newton? I told her—”
“She didn’t do anything, Milly,” Cass said a bit too sharply as he saw the older woman flinch. “I’m sorry. Really, everything is fine. I just really need to talk to her, that’s all.”
“She’s gone. She said she had some studying to do.”
“Thank you.”
Cass found his mother and gave her a quick kiss. Bid
ding his father a goodbye, he grabbed his keys and ran out of the house. He got in his car and drove to her place. Cass knocked, but there was no answer. A black woman walking slowly by gave him a suspicious look and he waved. She didn’t wave back and never took her eyes off of him. He looked at his watch and thought Virgilia might not have gotten home yet.
Cass sat in his car, and waited. Fifteen minutes later, she walked down the street toward him.
He practically jumped out of the car in front of her, giving her a bit of a start.
“What are you doing here?” Virgilia squealed.
“I’m about three hours early for our date.”
Virgilia sighed. “Look, Cass, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Even though she said the words, her heart was begging her to take them back, but she had to be realistic. “Look, last night was fun and everything. I just don’t think it’s a good idea that we see each other. This has the potential to be a—”
“Wonderful thing that neither of us expected.” Cass looked into Virgilia’s eyes. He knew what she was saying was true, but for the first time in his life he was feeling something he couldn’t describe. His heart was beating stronger than ever and he didn’t want it to stop. He knew that without his Lila, it would. There was no way he was going to let those words come out of her mouth, much less let this go. “Lila, I like you a lot, and I know you like me. I’m still the same guy you were with last night and you are the same woman who practically jumped in my lap during the movie yesterday.”
“I did not practically jump in your lap,” she denied, falling for his bait.
“Well, I wanted you to.” He teased, giving her a wide grin. “Look, I don’t want to stop this, put this on hold, or end this. You work for my family...so what?”
“So what? You’re a Baxter. You’ll be head of the business one day and that comes with expectations, Cass.” Virgilia looked in his eyes, and saw them shining as brightly as ever. She had to make him understand. “Look, I’ve seen this movie before. Your family won’t approve of you dating the help.”
