piercing.
Meri jerked her head up.
“Explain yourself. Are you stealing from our clients? Having an affair with one of the staff? I am no fool. I know all the antics staff will engage in to get what they can from a job they think is not giving them enough.”
Meri shook her head “no” both in denial of her supervisor’s accusations and because of the incredulity of the situation. Being more pleasant to get a better job and wages is going to get me fired…or, Mon Dieu, arrested! She had to think of something convincing. Quickly.
“Monsieur Monville. You misunderstand. Or perhaps I’ve been the one to misunderstand.” She paused, her mouth as dry as the dust on her feather duster. Her breathes were as shallow as a dying bird’s.
“Go on.” He leaned forward, staring into her gray eyes.
Meri blushed as she continued. “I’ve noticed you smiling at me as you make your rounds. I assumed that you…you…fancied me. I know it’s wrong to get close to my employer, so I tried to ignore your smiles.” Mon Dieu, such a lie! I’ll burn in Hell!
“Go on.” Monsieur Monville’s voice had returned to lilting. He mopped his upper lip.
“Ah…recently I decided that I would return your smiles…to see if…if you felt about me the way I…I feel about you.” Hell will not wait for me to die. I’m already there!
“Meri, my dear, this puts an entirely different perspective on the matter.” He smiled with both his thin lips and his beady eyes, which had a devious look in them.
Meri shivered. “I don’t want to lose my job. Please don’t fire me for being so bold.”
“ Au contraire , Meri. You are one of the best maids I have under me.” He snickered, his lame attempt at sexual innuendo lost on Meri. “But you know that we have a strict policy against employees consorting with one another.” Drumming his fingers on his desk, Meri wondered, is he thinking about a way around this “strict policy.”
“I assumed as much.”
“The maids are too busy and too interested in each other’s business for any ‘special favors’ between you and me…” He winked at her.
Mon Dieu! What have I done? I’m twenty-one years old and a virgin. I don’t even know what happens between a man and a woman. Siri, some friend you are!
“Monsieur, I understand—”
“Call me Claude. But only in private.” He winked. “I think I will promote you from maid to kitchen help. I will speak to the kitchen supervisor, Monsieur Touchet. I believe I can get your schedule changed to work nine hours a day and have every Sunday off. A raise, of course, too, because cooking duties require more skill. How does that sound? Good?”
Meri nodded. She wanted to ask what she would have to do in return for the promotion. The probable answer frightened her.
She did not have to ask. “Of course, I will be doing all of this as a personal favor to you, my dear. In the beginning, we must be discrete and keep our distance. I will inform my superiors I discovered your exceptional talents with food preparation after an informal discussion. Will I be lying when I tell them you know your way around a kitchen?”
Meri shook her head. “ Non, Mons…Claude .” She swallowed only air. All her saliva vanished. “I’ve been cooking since I was a little girl in Finland. I love to cook and want to learn everything about French cooking.”
“Excellent! In a few weeks, after any suspicions about personal favors die down, we can make arrangements to meet after work. Then we can do more than smile at each other. Alas, we must wait. Can you wait?”
“I can wait.” Meri hoped her gulp was not too obvious.
§
Later, at the apartment, Meri had a long talk with Tuula. Meri had sent Elina off on a “spy mission” for some secret (and non-existent) coded message in the neighborhood.
“You’re the only one I can ask—the only one who knows of these…intimate things.”
Tuula chopped vegetables as Meri sat at the kitchen table
Meri jerked her head up.
“Explain yourself. Are you stealing from our clients? Having an affair with one of the staff? I am no fool. I know all the antics staff will engage in to get what they can from a job they think is not giving them enough.”
Meri shook her head “no” both in denial of her supervisor’s accusations and because of the incredulity of the situation. Being more pleasant to get a better job and wages is going to get me fired…or, Mon Dieu, arrested! She had to think of something convincing. Quickly.
“Monsieur Monville. You misunderstand. Or perhaps I’ve been the one to misunderstand.” She paused, her mouth as dry as the dust on her feather duster. Her breathes were as shallow as a dying bird’s.
“Go on.” He leaned forward, staring into her gray eyes.
Meri blushed as she continued. “I’ve noticed you smiling at me as you make your rounds. I assumed that you…you…fancied me. I know it’s wrong to get close to my employer, so I tried to ignore your smiles.” Mon Dieu, such a lie! I’ll burn in Hell!
“Go on.” Monsieur Monville’s voice had returned to lilting. He mopped his upper lip.
“Ah…recently I decided that I would return your smiles…to see if…if you felt about me the way I…I feel about you.” Hell will not wait for me to die. I’m already there!
“Meri, my dear, this puts an entirely different perspective on the matter.” He smiled with both his thin lips and his beady eyes, which had a devious look in them.
Meri shivered. “I don’t want to lose my job. Please don’t fire me for being so bold.”
“ Au contraire , Meri. You are one of the best maids I have under me.” He snickered, his lame attempt at sexual innuendo lost on Meri. “But you know that we have a strict policy against employees consorting with one another.” Drumming his fingers on his desk, Meri wondered, is he thinking about a way around this “strict policy.”
“I assumed as much.”
“The maids are too busy and too interested in each other’s business for any ‘special favors’ between you and me…” He winked at her.
Mon Dieu! What have I done? I’m twenty-one years old and a virgin. I don’t even know what happens between a man and a woman. Siri, some friend you are!
“Monsieur, I understand—”
“Call me Claude. But only in private.” He winked. “I think I will promote you from maid to kitchen help. I will speak to the kitchen supervisor, Monsieur Touchet. I believe I can get your schedule changed to work nine hours a day and have every Sunday off. A raise, of course, too, because cooking duties require more skill. How does that sound? Good?”
Meri nodded. She wanted to ask what she would have to do in return for the promotion. The probable answer frightened her.
She did not have to ask. “Of course, I will be doing all of this as a personal favor to you, my dear. In the beginning, we must be discrete and keep our distance. I will inform my superiors I discovered your exceptional talents with food preparation after an informal discussion. Will I be lying when I tell them you know your way around a kitchen?”
Meri shook her head. “ Non, Mons…Claude .” She swallowed only air. All her saliva vanished. “I’ve been cooking since I was a little girl in Finland. I love to cook and want to learn everything about French cooking.”
“Excellent! In a few weeks, after any suspicions about personal favors die down, we can make arrangements to meet after work. Then we can do more than smile at each other. Alas, we must wait. Can you wait?”
“I can wait.” Meri hoped her gulp was not too obvious.
§
Later, at the apartment, Meri had a long talk with Tuula. Meri had sent Elina off on a “spy mission” for some secret (and non-existent) coded message in the neighborhood.
“You’re the only one I can ask—the only one who knows of these…intimate things.”
Tuula chopped vegetables as Meri sat at the kitchen table
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