With the two of us working together, it doesn’t take long to get everything assembled, and I’m pretty freaking impressed with how amazing it looks. Definitely way fancier than any sort of snack tray I’ve ever put together for a casual meeting.
But that’s Deidre’s brand. Her tagline is literally “A little bit of fancy never hurt anyone.”
I’m interested to see if her son shares that opinion. I could probably get used to making fancy charcuterie boards and cooking gourmet meals. I loved my job at the inn, but meals were kept pretty simple. Something that most members of the general public would enjoy. The opportunity to stretch my culinary muscles is appealing.
Almost as appealing as the opportunity to do it in an amazingkitchen. I’m sure Titus’s won’t be as ridiculously fantastic as his mother’s, but it’s gotta be pretty freaking decent, and I’m getting more and more excited about seeing it.
As promised, Deidre’s husband Ted joins us. He must have a sixth sense for when there’s food available, because he appears out of nowhere right as we finish. Like Deidre, he’s kind and personable, and seems happy to have me here.
He also eats enough of the snacks that no one seems to notice I’m not taking a whole lot in. And what I do manage to get down is mostly crackers.
God, I can’t wait for morning sickness to be over.
Once we’re done with our snack, Deidre packs everything up and loads it into a bag, explaining it will give me a head start on feeding her son tonight.
So I guess I’m just jumping in with both feet.
She explains his house is on the same property, but not walking distance away, so I load back into my car and follow behind her side-by-side as she and her dog Gunnar lead the way. As we go, I see a number of cleared pathways the side-by-side could easily traverse, but Deidre sticks to the gravel lanes, winding me through the three hundred-acre property at a slow enough pace I can take a little of the scenery in as I attempt to memorize the way.
When a house comes into sight, I expect her to pull into its driveway, but Deidre’s side-by-side continues on. We pass another house, and once again she doesn’t slow down. When a third house goes by, I start to wonder how many freaking houses there are on this place.
And who the heck lives in all of them.
By the fourth house, I’m starting to get worried. Concerned I’m never going to find my way back to the paved part of the lane leading to the road. It hasn’t been the most complex of drives, but so much of the property is similar, I could easily get turned around. At least all the houses look somewhat different, so the chances of me showing up on the wrong front porch areslim.
Not none, though.
At least I didn’t think they were none until I get a look at the house Deidre finally stops at, and decide it will be pretty freaking easy to identify.
Like all the rest, it’s gorgeous. Large and sprawling, with an insane number of windows.Unlikethe others, every window is covered. Not a single one offers even the tiniest peek at the interior of the home. There’s no landscaping. No outdoor furniture. No signs that anyone actually resides in it.
Despite the warm wood and rich tones of the siding and eaves, the dwelling itself seems almost cold. Clinical.
I pull up beside the UTV, shifting into park as Deidre and Gunnar jump out. She seems just as happy as before, so maybe I’m overthinking this. Looking for problems where there aren’t any.
That would be a freaking first.
Squaring my shoulders, I climb out, shoving away the unease trying to get a foothold in my gut. I walk beside Deidre as she goes to the easily identifiable front door, chatting away about I don’t even know what as she punches a set of numbers into the keypad and lets us in.
Without knocking.
Which is… weird. But maybe Titus isn’t home. Maybe he’s at work and told his mom it was fine to bring me in. He did let her choose who was hired to be his chef, so that could make sense.
I step in behind her, blinking a few times as my eyes try to adjust to the darkness of the space.
“I’ve got a few interviews set up for a housekeeper, so hopefully all this will be taken care of soon.” For the first time since I’ve arrived, Deidre sounds uncertain. Maybe even a little nervous. But I don’t think it’s about her decision to hire me. It’s about my decision to take the job.
Because what in the hell am I looking at right now?
Squalor. That’s what.
The place is a freaking mess. There’s a pile of shoes and bootsinside the door with mud crusting off the soles onto the hardwood beneath them. What I’m guessing is the formal living room to my right is filled with nothing but empty boxes someone has thrown in the general direction of the stack. On the other side is… an office maybe? It’s got beautiful dark paneling and a coffered ceiling I’d drool over if the rest of the room wasn’t a jumble of random electronic looking stuff.
Deidre moves deeper into the cavernous house and I follow behind, feeling less and less certain of my life choices with every step I take. How can her son live like this? Deidre’s house is so pretty and well-kept and comfortable and this is…
Just depressing.
“I know it’s chaotic in here. Titus is very focused on his work and he tends to forget about other things, so I’m trying to help him get a little more…” Her eyes fuse to the kitchen and I swear one starts to twitch as she stares at the mess piled across the counters and stacked in the sink. “Organized.”
