about the way Mimi had said “work fast” that bothered Charlotte. It was her tone of voice, she decided, almost as if she equated “work fast” with a sloppy job, and it was hard to tell if the woman was being snide or truly paying her a compliment.
Mimi smiled a tight little smile that could have meant anything. “Now, don’t let us interrupt you,” she said. “June is more like family than company, and mostly drops by to save me from having heatstroke since she knows that I’m usually working in the greenhouse.”
“Someone has to make you behave,” June teased her friend. “I swear,” June said to Charlotte, “the woman just doesn’t know when to quit. It must be close to a hundred degrees, and just look at how she’s dressed. If I didn’t come by once in a while and drag her out of that greenhouse, she’d make herself sick.”
“Shall I get you ladies something to drink before I get back to work?” Charlotte offered. “Maybe a nice glass of iced tea?”
Mimi shook her head. “Goodness no. You’ve got enough to do. But thanks for offering.” She motioned at the ladder. “Just leave that, and I’ll put it away for you.”
“That’s not necessary,” said Charlotte. “I need to get the sheets out of the dryer anyway, so I’ll put it away.”
As Charlotte took the sheets out of the dryer and folded them, she could hear the clink of ice being dropped into glasses, and then the scrape of chairs. The last thing that Charlotte wanted was to eavesdrop, but the house was quiet and sound carried.
“What am I going to do?” she heard June ask Mimi. “I thought that age would mellow him, but instead of better, he seems to be getting worse.”
“What’s Fred done this time?”
“Humph!” June grunted. “‘This time’ is certainly the right way to put it. But that’s my point. There always seems to be a ‘this time’ where Fred’s concerned. Ever since Johnny got into that trouble, Fred’s been determined to send him away to military school. He’s already enrolled him and made arrangements for him to leave next week. Bad enough Fred went back on his promise to buy Johnny a car, and who knows, if he hadn’t broken his promise, maybe Johnny wouldn’t have made that little mistake—”
“Now, June, writing five bad checks to the tune of five thousand dollars and forging his father’s signature is not just a ‘little mistake,’ and you know it.”
In the laundry room Charlotte folded the last pillowcase, and though she really dreaded getting back down on her knees, she dreaded having to walk back through the kitchen where the two women were even more. She didn’t want to appear to be eavesdropping, but surely they had to realize that she could hear every word they were saying. But what if they didn’t? Maybe if she walked fast and didn’t look at them….
Charlotte picked up the stack of sheets and pillowcases, took a deep breath, and headed for the kitchen, just in time to hear June say, “But, Mimi, I’m sure Johnny didn’t realize—”
As she hurried past the women, she felt foolish for worrying in the first place. She might as well have been a piece of furniture, she decided, since neither of the women paid the least bit of attention to her.
“Aw, come on, now, June,” Mimi chided. “Who are you trying to kid? Remember, this is your old friend Mimi you’re talking to. Johnny is what now? Fifteen? Believe me, Johnny knew exactly what he was doing. Why, if that had been Justin or even Emma, Gordon would have reacted in the same way.”
Justin and Emma. In the entrance hall, Charlotte placed the stack of bed linens on a table near the staircase. Justin and Emma had to be the names of the Adams’s son and daughter, she decided.
“But, Mimi,” June argued, “if Gordon had promised them a car, he would never have gone back on his promise.”
“Well, duh.” Mimi laughed. “Gordon is in the car business.”
A brief moment of complete silence passed; then June burst into laughter. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” she told Mimi. “A promise is a promise.”
In the parlor, Charlotte grinned. She could still hear the women, but just barely, and her grin quickly turned into a frown as she lowered herself onto her knees. Wincing, she began rubbing the wax into the hardwood floor as she made a mental note that the next time she had to wax Mimi’s floors, she’d make sure she brought her knee pads.
“Yes, I know what you meant,” was Mimi’s reply. “But all I’m saying is that you’ve always had a blind spot when it comes to Johnny. And, after all, Fred has had experience with raising boys and maybe military school will be good for him.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s got experience alright. He’s always throwing up his other kids in my face. He’s forever comparing them to Johnny, and poor Johnny always comes out second best. But it’s not just the way he treats Johnny. It’s how he treats me, too. You just don’t know how lucky you are. Unlike that tightwad husband of mine, your Gordon has always been generous with Justin and Emma. And with you,” she added. “Why, do you realize that I have to account for every penny I spend. I have to show Fred receipts for everything.”
“Maybe it’s his age,” Mimi offered. “He’s what, sixty-five or so?”
“Sixty-four,” June grumbled.
“Then maybe it’s the money. Maybe his law firm isn’t doing as well as it used to.”
“That’s not it, not with the client load he’s had lately.”
Mimi cleared her throat. “Ah, I don’t know quite how to say this, but do you think it’s possible that he’s having an affair?”
“I don’t think so,” June answered.
There was a brief moment of silence as Charlotte finished the last few feet of the hardwood floor near the doorway to the hall.
“But I suppose anything’s possible,” June continued. “Hmm, maybe I should have listened to my mother when she warned me about marrying him. She said that he was too old for me and had too much baggage. She also told me that any man who would cheat on one wife would cheat on another one too. But, silly me, I thought love would conquer all.”
In the entrance hall, Charlotte put the lid on the wax and placed it and the cloth she’d used inside her supply carrier. She glanced in the direction of the kitchen. She’d intended on taking her lunch break after waxing the parlor. Normally, when she worked she preferred to eat her lunch outside when the weather was nice, but if it was hot, she always sat in the client’s kitchen and read a bit while she ate.
“Not silly,” Charlotte heard Mimi say. “And stop being so hard on yourself. Do what I do. Go get a massage, and then treat yourself to a facial and a new hair style.”
Since Charlotte had no desire to brave the heat, she decided to just keep working for the time being and hope that June didn’t stay too much longer. She picked up the stack of sheets and her supply carrier and trudged up the stairs.
“Try out that new place that just opened on Magazine,” she heard Mimi tell June. The women’s voices faded, and June’s reply was inaudible once Charlotte reached the second floor.
A few minutes later, Charlotte was smoothing down the comforter on the bed in the master bedroom when Mimi walked into the room. “I was beginning to think that June was never going to leave, poor thing. I hated to do it, but I finally had to tell her that I had plans for lunch.”
The only thing that Charlotte could think to say was, “She seems like a nice lady.”
“Oh, she is, and I love her dearly—we’ve been friends for almost ten years now—but June is one of those women who are never satisfied no matter what they have.” Mimi waved a dismissing hand. “But never mind all that. I’m sure you must be starving by now. I know I am. Why don’t you go ahead and take your lunch break? I need to get a quick shower, and then I have a luncheon date.