Mr.Cater's Maid

About a Year Later

The last 10 months were busy ones. Right after Adam left, Chloe sent me a check in the week for the 3 weeks I worked for her. Inside there was a note that called me nothing short of a hoe. I never deposited the check. Natasha and Anna didn't reach out for the job they promised me. Of course, I understood, so I worked on getting my certification while I went back to work at my father's company. Once I gained it, Anna was the first person to reach out. As my luck would have it, Natasha's grandfather had passed away in London, leaving everything to Natasha and her sister. Hence, she had to take a sabbatical to deal with that, and Anna used her absence to bring me in.

"Now, I don't want you to think that I think it was okay what you did, but your personal life shouldn't affect your professional one, in my view." She had said. "And Natasha will come around. She is the most understanding person I know!"

Anna was right. After a few weeks of awkwardness and Natasha not directly talking to me, she came around. She started assigning me weddings and prep work. Even though we were still not friends, she treated me like another employee at Tash and Tosh.

As for Adam and I, well, I had no clue what was going on. The last time I talked to him was Valentine's Day. He was here to pack up his last remaining things before shifting completely to San Francisco. He never told me he was here. I would have never known if it wasn't for Chelsea calling me.

I had rushed to the pool house to see him before he disappeared again, and the only thing he had said to me was, "I still need more time."

I had to respect that. I just didn't know that time meant cutting me off completely. Maybe that was not part of the plan, but maybe he had met some girl with a quirky San Fan personality and big blue eyes, and I was now old news. Someone he barely thought about. Someone he regretted getting close to and losing his family over. Now he had someone he really loved and did weird and fun things like hiking every Saturday barefoot because she believed the dirt of the earth rejuvenated her. She definitely didn't wear a bra because she wanted her boobs to be as free as she was. Her name was sure to be something whimsical like Destiny or Melody or Charity. She was different from his last girlfriend, Chloe, and he would tell her all about the mistake he made with his maid, who he felt sorry for. All of this was going on in my head, and he didn't have a care in the world. The last time I texted him was 6 months ago. "I miss you!" It said, but he never responded back.

So I did what he asked when he left the first time. I learned to live on my own without him. I worked hard at forgetting him. I put all my effort into work. Soon I was heading and managing weddings on my own, and when a few Indian couples wanted to use us, I was in the forefront. Anna, Natasha, and sometimes even the couples had questions only I could answer. This was the effect of growing up a temple kid. I knew more than the kids today about the religious aspects of getting married. I was busy and felt purposeful but still lonely. Every time I did, I touched the lily pendant around my neck. It provided the comfort I needed. Even though it represented my loneliness, it also reminded me that I was loved once.

So that was all that had happened to me last year. Right now, I was heading to Chelsea's house, formerly known as the Carter's mansion, but she got it in the divorce. She had called me last weekend and asked me to come by on Saturday. "The pool house is going down Monday, but I think I found some things that might be yours. Can you stop by and check it out?" She had said.

Chelsea was on the path to renovating the mansion, and it seemed like the pool house was not on her list of things to keep. So she was going to have it demolished. It made sense. It wasn't like Adam was coming back to claim it.

I was on my way, driving my new gray Honda Accord and no longer waiting on buses.

"Hey, ma!" I said as I entered the kitchen and saw my mom making some coffee.