Minnie the Maid

Part 5

Following his late night chat with Jennifer Minnie carefully planned how
to draw Donna into the game of submission and reprimand he longed for.
As they cleaned one of the guest bedrooms together, Minnie, with a sly
smile, pulled his iPhone from the pocket to play candy crush. He knew
the risk - each morning when she assigned duties to Minnie and Maria,
Donna always finished with, "Don't forget...door wide open while you
clean the room."

Maria continued her work fully aware of low Whoosh, Womp-womp, Ta-da,
Ding-ding from time to time. "Donna will hear, you are asking for
trouble," Maria innocently warned.

Donna paused at the doorway as she made her rounds by clearing her
throat Donna signalled for them to acknowledge her presence. Acting
startled, Minnie quickly slipped his iPhone into the pocket in the folds
of his maid uniform. "Oh, Donna! I was just... um, taking a short
break."

Donna, her gaze shifting between Minnie and Maria, crossed her arms.
"Minnie, we've discussed this before. No unauthorised breaks during
working hours." As the words left her lips she realised there was a
simple way to reign in this aspect of Minnie's unruly behaviour. Donna,
portraying her angriest of faces, couldn't help but smile on the inside.

"I'm sorry, Donna. It won't happen again, I promise," Minnie responded,
his gaze lowered.

"If anything I blame myself," Donna said with a smile. Addressing both
maids she decided to reshape the dynamics. "This incident highlights a
problem, as Minnie has demonstrated, two equal-status maids can't be
trusted when left unsupervised." Donna's smile widened as she paused
briefly for effect. "Starting now Maria, you are senior maid, as such I
hold you responsible for Minnie when I'm absent." Donna smirked,
"Minnie, you have earnt yourself the job title 'junior maid' and I
expect you to behave as such."

"I won't let you down Donna," Maria said and, with a nod of
acknowledgment, resumed her work. Junior maid Minnie seethed inside. His
playful game had both worked and backfired. He loved the way Donna
gently reprimand and humiliated him. He hated the thought of Jennifer
learning he had been demoted to nineteen-year old Maria's junior.

And Maria's way of sweetly saying things like 'would you like to clean
the bathroom while I finish up in here...is that okay?' made him even
angrier...

Cook had been busy since first light, the delicate aroma of bread and
pastries filled the air, Minnie and Maria bustled about the sitting
room, preparing to serve refreshments for Jennifer's book club. Dressed
in their matching lilac maid uniforms embroidered with their names,
lilac heels, and white half pinafores they moved purposely, ensuring
each cup and plate was placed with precision. From time to time Donna
popped her head around the door to check everything was going to plan.

Jennifer once disliked the country gossip-mill that worked like a high
speed instabook or some such. Now she took pride from the way it carried
tales of her well ordered household after bridge mornings, lunch
gatherings, book club, or similar charity events. In fairness, there was
little else for the women of the surrounding villages to do while
successful husbands ran businesses in the city. At times they voiced
envy of Jennifer, passing little comments along the lines of 'she's so
lucky' or 'it will be like another honeymoon when Samuel comes home' if
Samuel's name came up in conversation - usually in the context of
another lunch companion complaining about their own overbearing
husband's unreasonable demands.

'If only they knew' Jennifer mused as she watched a contented looking
Minnie passing around cups of tea and coffee. Seeing him so happy had
Jennifer feeling all warm and fluffy inside.

As the members of the book club settled into the plush chairs, engaged
in lively discussions about the month's literary selection, Maria and
Minnie discreetly moved through the room, anticipating the needs of the
guests. Silently, they observed the animated conversations, the rustle
of pages turning, and the occasional burst of laughter.