“Why don’t you take a minute to unpack what you’ve already brought,” Maria suggested. “And then I can give you the whole tour.”
“That sounds great,” Veronica nodded. Maria gave her a smile and then made her way out of the room.
Veronica sat down on the long bench at the foot of her bed and released a soft whoosh of air that had built up in her lungs. She was struggling to accept the fact that soon, this was going to become familiar to her, and it would be as natural as breathing to live here.
In a haze, Veronica unpacked her few belongings into the large walk-in closet. Her small quantity of clothes seemed even smaller compared to the size of the closet. Once the rest of her clothes were there, it wouldn’t seem quite so large, but there was no way they would fill it up either.
She put her suitcase in a corner of the closet and looked around, making sure she liked the way she had placed her clothes. She stepped out of the closet and took in the sight of her extravagant room once more, then she left and went downstairs to meet up with Maria.
Once there, Maria went through the house with great detail. She left no stone unturned, letting Veronica know what each and every room was, and which ones she was responsible for. By and large, the household staff took care of most of the things, but she was still responsible for the small maintenance items, and of course anything that the girls impacted.
“Speaking of the girls,” Veronica spoke up as they came up in conversation. “Where are they right now?”
“They’re out with the interim nanny,” Maria explained. “We just wanted to give you the chance to get the lay of the land and then meet them. They should be in at about noon; they went to see a movie.”
“Okay,” Veronica nodded. She appreciated the time she had been given to get to know the house, but her main job would be interacting with the girls, so she was eager to meet them.
“Well, that’s about all I’ve got for you,” Maria said, clapping her hands together. “Make yourself at home! Unless of course you have any questions.”
“Actually,” Veronica said, and Maria raised an eyebrow. “I do have some concerns about my moving situation.”
“Oh that,” Maria waved a hand. “Not even complicated. We have the best movers. We would just need your permission to enter the premises and we will take care of breaking the lease and everything. You don’t have to worry about any of that. And any furniture you have can either be sold or put into storage at Mr. Davenport’s expense at your discretion.”
“Actually, that’s just the issue,” Veronica spoke up. “I live with my boyfriend, so our things are kind of mixed up together.”
“Oh,” Maria blinked, as though that possibility hadn’t even crossed her mind. “Well that does complicate things a bit.”
Veronica waited as Maria seemed to think the situation over in her head.
“Well,” Maria frowned a little. “I’ll have to call Mr. Davenport and work out the situation with him. Do you mind if I
step out for a moment?”
“Of course not,” Veronica smile pleasantly.
“The house is as good as yours,” Maria gestured around as she turned and pulled her phone out. “Make yourself at home.”
Veronica watched as Maria went out the kitchen door onto the porch in front of the pool. She couldn’t help but feel a little awkward, but she figured she may as well try to normalize all this as soon as possible. So, she moved into the kitchen and took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the sink.
She moved over to the breakfast bar and sat down on one of the cushioned stools. She sipped at her water as she went through a mental list of the things she was responsible for. She assumed she would likely do her set of chores while Davenport was at work so that she wouldn’t be disturbing him in the evenings when he was home. That certainly wouldn’t be hard, and she could do it all while keeping a close eye on the girls.
As Veronica was thinking of these things, Maria came back into the room, and she turned to look over at her.
“Mr. Davenport says not to worry,” Maria said with a calm smile. “He is going to take care of absolutely everything.”
Veronica frowned a little, and she opened her mouth as if to speak, but Maria held her hand up to stop her.
“Miss Lawrence,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “I have worked for Mr. Davenport for a few years now. When he says he’ll take care of something, he means it.”
Veronica blinked in a bit of surprise. She was used to fending for herself and being the stereotypical strong, independent black woman. Now, it seemed like someone was intent on making sure she was absolutely taken care of.
“Thank you for calling him,” Veronica said, at a loss for what else to say. “I really appreciate it.”
“You’re really going to like it here Veronica,” Maria said softly and genuinely. “Mr. Davenport makes sure that everyone on his staff wants for nothing. We’re like a family here.”
Veronica smiled. She wondered vaguely if it was because he hadn’t had a family of his own growing up that he spread his wealth to so many people.
“Well I’ll leave you to yourself,” Maria said. “If you need anything I’m sure you can find me. I’ll meet you in the foyer a little before noon so I can introduce you to the girls.”