I chuckle to myself.Screw it.The rules don’t apply now, since I’ve marked my territory.Scrubbing the baseboards means this mansion is mine.Once I deep clean the second story, Finn should hand over the deed to me.By next week, I’ll even start moving the furniture around.And using the tomato grinder and the pasta maker as much as I like.
Emma Clark with a house and family.Who’d have thunk it?
It’s a big upgrade from sleeping on the floor in a foster house with seven kids to a room.A family of my own instead of a temporary situation in a hostile environment.
I drop the hose in horror, realizing where my thoughts have wandered.
No.
What is wrong with me?
This is a job.Maybe not even a permanent one.The baseboards aren’t mine, and neither are the kitchen gadgets or the furniture I’m thinking about moving.And this beautiful family isn’tmyfamily, no more than any family I’ve ever stayed with.
Not Finn.Not Jasmine.Not any of the MacLaine sharks or anyone who lives on Yosemite Ranch.
In my mind, I drum up every motto and inspirational saying I’ve ever seen in Walmart’s home and stationery departments.Every word of advice about staying in the present, enjoying the now, attuning to the positive energy, and all of that stupid crap I can’t believe people pay good money on to remind themselves of.
Turning off the hose, I take a deep breath.
This may be temporary, but for right now, I live in a beautiful place surrounded by wonderful people.For this short moment, I’m safe and happy.
Andthatisdefinitelyan upgrade.
I dig the soapy sponge out of the bucket and start washing the screen door.Dirty water trails onto the wood porch.It’s dirtier than I anticipated, but getting the screen as clean as possible gives me a sense of accomplishment.Maybe Finn will notice how I’ve improved his house.How I’ve made his life a bit easier.
And how he can’t live without me.
Forget it.I’m pathetic.It’s like I’m a ninth grader back in Mrs.Chesney’s class, hoping the JV quarterback might ask me to the homecoming dance.Blech.I’m cringy-cheesy, and maybe even a little bit crazy.
I give the porch a once-over, refill the bucket, and do it all over again.Yosemite Ranch might have magnificent homes and huge barns and land as far as the eye can see, but it’s still out in the wilderness, and that means a lot of dust and grime carried by the winds.
Eventually, I finish with the door and the large bay window that takes up much of the living room’s south-facing wall.I refill and start on the deck when Phyllis comes toward me waving her hand enthusiastically.
“Hello!Good morning!”she sings.“Beautiful day!”
“Beautiful day!”I sing back, waving with my soapy sponge.“And thank you so much for putting food in the house last night.What a wonderful surprise that was.”
She stops at the bottom of the porch steps.“Of course.I figured it would at least get you started.”She scans my work.“Looking good.I think you’re just what this house needed—the houseandits inhabitants, even if they didn’t know it.”
“Is that why you hired me without telling Finn?”
Phyllis smiles, apparently proud of sneaking me onto the ranch.“Listen, I’ve been around MacLaine men a long, long time.You think Finn is stubborn?All the boys are, but they arenothingcompared to my late husband, Murray, Jamie’s brother.That man was so hard-headed you could split firewood on his skull.”
I feel my eyes widen.
She stands on the bottom step.“And of course, there’s Jamie himself, and I don’t even want to get started on that.But what I’m saying is the MacLaine boys come by it honestly—they’re from a long line of men who never gave up, no matter what.”
She climbs two more steps.“I guess that’s what it takes to carve out a big chunk of the American West.Now, that being said…”
Phyllis has reached the top step.She makes a clicking sound with her tongue and gives me a sympathetic smile.“Sometimes, we women have to distract them and then rip the wheel out of their hands.”
I laugh.“The old ‘it’s better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission’ trick.”
She points at me.“Exactly!You’ve figured it out already, and you arrived just days ago!I’m impressed.”
I make a deep curtsy, spreading my imaginary skirts to my sides, which makes Phyllis giggle.
“Come on, girl.Drop your sponge.I’m making you lunch.”
