Taming the Beast
Matilda stood in the driveway of her mother’s house with a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other. Under her fluffy winter coat, she was wearing the ridiculous cleaning lady uniform that her mother had insisted on. Matilda was sure that if the uniform were any shorter, it would look like a French maid costume. At least her mom had allowed her to wear leggings underneath, and she had on sneakers instead of heels. But Matilda still felt ridiculous.
At her last job, she’d worn a jumpsuit, goggles, and earplugs. Working in her ex-boyfriend’s family’s meatpacking plant hadn’t been that great of an experience. But at least she didn’t have to go to strangers’ houses in a little dress.
“Do I have to wear this? I look like a call girl.”
“Stop being ridiculous, Matilda. That is a standard maid uniform. Even the sixty-year-old maids wear it. Besides, you don’t even look sexy, so don’t worry about it.”
“Well, thanks a lot.”
“I’m just trying to help, honey. You have all of your cleaning supplies, correct?”
“Yes, everything. Window cleaner, squeegees, toilet bowl brush, bleach to drink.”
“This is what I mean, Matilda. You need to learn to be grateful for the opportunities presented to you.”
“Yeah I know mom. I am grateful. I really am. For everything. It’s great of you to let me crash here and to help me get back on my feet.”
“I always knew that boy was trouble.”
“I know. I know. You told me.”
“I’m not going to lecture you here in the driveway. You need to be at your client’s house in an hour and fifteen minutes. If you want to stop to get something to eat on the way, you should probably go now. It’s a little bit of a drive up to his estate.”
“I’ve heard some really weird things about this guy. Not to mention the fact that he lives in the haunted mansion. You do realize that, right mom?”
“That mansion is not haunted.”
“Every kid I knew growing up on Fate Mountain knew that place was haunted. It was vacant for years and now this weird billionaire lives there. I think it’s too much of a coincidence if you ask me.”
“Matilda, you need to be at your appointment in an hour and ten minutes. We don’t have time for this. I know you’re going to get hungry as soon as you start working so please go to the diner and get yourself some lunch.”
“Fine. You’re no fun.”
“Good luck, honey. I know Mr. Hill is a little eccentric, but it’s going to be fine.”
“What happened with the last cleaning lady?”
“He yelled at her and scared her to death. Now no one will clean for him. That good news is that now there’s an opening for you.”
“That isn’t exactly reassuring.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” her mom said, before turning up the walkway.
Matilda shivered in the driveway and hugged herself around the waist over her fluffy winter coat. Her mother hurried back to the front door of the house and went inside. Matilda got in the
car, backed out of the driveway, and turned out onto the street headed into town.
She was grateful to her mother for everything she had done, but if Matilda had had any other options, literally any other options, at all, she would have taken them. But she didn’t. So here she was, going out to work for a notorious weirdo in his notoriously weird house.
At least her mom had given her a few bucks for lunch. Matilda pulled up in front of the diner and parked the car. When she was slipping into the booth next to the window, she noticed Lily walking down the aisle with a coffee pot in hand.
“How goes the job search?” Lily asked.
Matilda opened her jacket and showed Lily her maid uniform with her nose wrinkled in a look not unlike a snarl.
“It’s not so bad. I wear a uniform to work. And I’ve been told it’s rather sexy,” she said, glancing back toward the kitchen where her husband Shane Keenan was plating up an order of a Fate Mountain burger and fries. Matilda could see the long sleeve of his tattooed arm through the window between the kitchen and the dining room.
“I’ll take your word for it,” Matilda said.