by Rose St. Andrews
Danielle raced down the sidewalk; it was crowded, which added to her stress as she was already late - again. Her problem with navigating the streets of New York was a simple one, it was her size. At twenty-four, she could pass for about sixteen given her petite frame. Granted, she had great curves and the men loved her long hair, but at barely five-feet she was not an imposing figure. Finally reaching the office building, she hoped she could slip in unseen if she just ducked down a bit.
No such luck.
Mr. Williams, the office manager was in the lobby, hands on his hips, and he did not look happy.
"Miss Franklin, what do you have to say for yourself?" he snapped.
She squirmed and bit her lip. His tone and manner made her feel all of about twelve. "I... um, well, sir, it's like this, the subway was late, and-"
He held up a large firm hand to cut her off. "Enough! I've heard that excuse eight times this month alone. Danielle, I'm sorry, but I've given you repeated warnings about your punctuality, and this is the last straw."
She gasped as her eyes grew large. "What? Wait, no, sir, you don't mean-"
"I do. Danielle, you're fired. Clean out your desk and go, we'll pay you through the end of the week."
Knowing that arguing with him was pointless, she sadly sighed and nodded, and headed up to her office. It didn't take long to gather her personal items, pictures of her parents, and carry the small cardboard box out of the building. It broke her heart; she'd kind of liked her admin job. Actually, once more sitting on the subway, she had to admit, no, she didn't like it, which was why she was so bad at it and was perpetually late. She should have listened to her dad and found something she truly loved. It was one of his old sayings: "Find something you enjoy and can get paid doing, and you'll never live a day in your life."
Help was something she needed. She was also way behind on her rent, and because she'd been so irresponsible with money in the past, there was no way her parents would help her. There were also her bills - rent, utilities and credit cards - she was late on all of them, and the bank wasn't about to lend her another dime.
As she made her way into her dilapidated SoHo apartment building, she checked her phone and did a search for jobs. Swiping through the various pages, there wasn't much out there that she could do.
And then she saw the ad.
The job description wasn't anything she'd normally consider as it was for a live-in housekeeper and cook, but the details looked pretty sweet: private island, big mansion with lots of amenities, and (best of all) a nice chunk of money for a six month contract.
She was sold on the idea, even though Maine wasn't her favorite place. Anyway, she would have six months to get her life back together, and then return to the city with money in the bank. What could go wrong?
So she booted up her laptop and went to the job's website. It was very high-tech, the company clearly knew what they were doing; she filled out the application. What amazed her was that she got a reply within the hour, a request for a video interview, and thus she got to meet her future boss. Professor Harvey Waterford, he looked to be in his mid 60's, came across as kind and caring, and his salt and pepper hair reminded her of her dear grandfather. She missed him! The Prof was also clearly a genius, but a bit muddled. Danielle almost lost out on the job due to her giggling at his absent-mindedness, but she covered by saying her TV was on in the background and she'd seen something funny on the screen.
"My dear, you really should turn it off while we're talking," he scolded. "After all, this is an important matter. Now, where were we?"
"Ah, you were giving me directions to the place."
He shuffled some papers on his deck. "Oh, yes-yes, of course. Now, where is that map? Wait, what am I saying? I know where I am! Sorry, my dear, I was thinking about an upcoming trip and how I needed those directions. So, where were we?"
It took a bit of doing, but she finally got the information. She jumped for joy after signing off. A New job in a cool place, and she'd done it on her own, no help from Mom and Dad. So, packing before the landlord could throw her out or ask for the back rent, she left town and headed north. She had just enough for the plane ticket to Bangor, then it was a bus to the coast, and finally a small ferry over to Grant Island. To say it was a small town was being generous, the island's one taxi took her to the far end of the island where the professor had his house, and along the way she pretty much saw the entire population - maybe fifty people!
"Man, this place is very remote," she said. "What you people do for fun around here?"
Ben, the driver, smiled over his shoulder at her. "It's early spring, sweetie, there's not much in the way of entertainment here, we don't have any night clubs. The island is strictly a summer resort."
She groaned. Nothing to do, she hated cleaning and wasn't a very good cook either, which didn't bode well for her future, but the job was the best she could get and she was desperate. So, what choice did she have?
"I see. Um, okay, well... thanks for the ride."
"Thank you for the company," he said as she got out. "It's not often we get a hot little cutie like you around here. Good luck with the job, you'll need it!"
He laughed and roared off. She jumped at the speed and dust kicked up as she stood in front of the huge house. Looking around, she could see that it was a sprawling place with, if she remembered what he'd said, a pool around back, and several acres of land.
Picking up her small bag, she marched up the broad stone steps toward the massive and tall front doors. Wow, what a place it was. She felt as though she was moving into Buckingham Palace.
The door opened just as she reached the top step, and there stood Prof. Waterford. He seemed even more kindly and grandfatherly in person.
"Welcome, my dear, please come in," he said, gesturing at the door. "You're late, but I kept some lunch items out for you, if you're hungry."
"Oh yes, I'm famished, thanks."
He led her inside, through the main foyer, down the massive and wide hallway, off which she saw more rooms than she could keep track of (sitting room, music room, living room, dining room, library, and so on), and finally they came to the kitchen, which was yet another sprawling room. As he got some sandwich fixings set out, she stood and slowly turned around as she tried to take it all in.
"I'm supposed to take care of all this?" she squeaked.
He chuckled as he got milk out of the fridge. "Feeling overwhelmed? No need to worry, my dear. It's big, but it's still merely a kitchen, and to be honest, you won't have to bother with most of these things."
"No?"
"No, they're merely a holdover from when this was a true family mansion where large dinner parties were held, and before that it was... let me see, what? Ah, an orphanage. Today, it's just me and you now. So, the menu will be quite simple. Ah, and here it is," he said, snatching a clipboard off a hook.
He handed it to her and she saw that he'd drawn up a full menu of every meal for the next month. It seemed he was nothing if not thorough. Yet Danielle cringed; she didn't know how to make half of the dishes!
"Um, I... see."
"Very good. Beyond meals, there's cleaning and laundry, but do not worry, most of the rooms have been closed up for years and aren't needed, so you won't have to bother with them. Although, I would appreciate if you aired them out once in a while. Other than your tasks, your time is your own, and you may fully enjoy the numerous amenities of my home."
She managed a small smile. "Thanks, Professor."
He nodded. "You are most welcome, it gives my old heart pleasure to see them used. As you can see, I'm not a sprightly young man anymore, not for a great many years, and so the pool and other such things have sat unused for quite a while. Now, eat up, clean up, and I'll get your room ready. After that, I'd say you should settle in and get acquainted with the kitchen. I do like my meals to be prompt so as to not interfere with my work."
"Oh, ah... sure, I'll get right on that."
"Splendid," he said, and moved to leave. He stopped and turned to her. "One final point, my dear, you are free to go anywhere in the house or grounds that you wish, with one exception. You are to never go into the cellar, is that clear?"
She felt a distinct chill run down her spine. His tone was beyond scolding, it was quite firm and commanding.
"I... yes, sir," she squeaked.
He smiled. "Very good."
Again she shivered. He looked like a wolf preparing to devour its prey. She wondered fleetingly what she had gotten herself in to.
As it turned out, the professor was not some sort of evil vile monster, he was an eccentric English scientist. Over the course of the next month, they truly bonded; Harvey acted in a grandfatherly manner toward her, he was really quite sweet. He watched over her, helped her, and also scolded her daily as she almost continuously screwed up! She burned food, overcooked it, undercooked it, ruined his cotton shirts by washing them in hot water, destroyed his silk robe by trying to wash it period rather than sending it out for dry cleaning, and was often late in her tasks. The only thing that saved her from almost unending scolding was that he spent most of his time in the basement working on his experiments. Danielle was forbidden from going down there at all.
She settled in to living in the mansion, and although she got lonely at times, she enjoyed swimming in the pool as the weather got warmer, playing pool in the billiard parlor, and even playing in the old fashioned playroom. She'd never seen such old toys, but she still enjoyed them, and found herself truly liking the professor.
Then, just as summer was starting and the weather was becoming truly awesome (perfect swimming weather), the professor called her to his messy and disorganized office that overlooked the pool and backyard. She stepped in and scanned the room, and actually felt sorry that he didn't let her clean the place. Her cleaning skills were sub par at best, but she genuinely loved the old guy, in a mentor sort of way, almost as a second father, and she truly wished she could help him get this one place straightened up. However, it was another of the rooms she was forbidden to touch.
Taking a chair, she smiled as the old guy looked across his desk. "So, Prof, what's up?"
"Just a minute, my dear, I'm trying to find something," he said, shuffling papers.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. Her time with him hadn't been very long, but she'd learned a lot of his idiosyncrasies, and this was one of them, so she knew what to do.
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