The Housekeeper

Chapter 4

   I wake up at 7am on guest checkout day. I'm supposed to arrive shortly after 9, so I get a pot of coffee going and start getting ready for my morning workout. Just as I'm finishing up, Ethan comes downstairs, his hair still wet from the shower. 

  "How was your workout?" He went straight towards the coffee pot. I smile at him as he turns around and takes a loud sip.

 "Difficult, but good." I say as I try and catch my breath. I gaze at my husband, noticing how particularly handsome he looks in the mornings. His complexion is bright, and his eyes are exceptionally emerald as the early sunlight shines through our apartment. We've been married for a little over a year now, and most everyone told us the honeymoon phase would be over by this point. But here we are, drinking coffee and enjoying our slow mornings together. I couldn't be more in love with this man. As difficult as life has treated us up to this point, we have never been happier.

 "Hey, maybe after we're done with work we can go out to dinner?" I offer as I wrap my arms around his neck, close enough to smell his aftershave. He grins.

 "That sounds like a great idea. We are due for a date night, aren't we?" He places a gentle kiss on my forehead. He sets his mug down and holds me tightly in his arms. I always feel so safe with him.

 "Let's plan on leaving the house at 7. Do you think you'll be done by then?" Ethan asks.

  I think for a moment before looking at my watch, "I should be. I can't imagine the job taking more than 4 or 5 hours. I should be done before 3." 

 "Are you sure? Have you even taken a look at the house? What if it's a giant mansion?" He jokes.

 "Peter didn't mention the exact size, but he said it was three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. That's not bad at all. 7 sounds perfect." I kiss him on the cheek, break his embrace, and finish my coffee. I start heading upstairs to go rinse off my sweat when I hear Ethan start to speak again.

 "Wait, so you haven't been to the house yet?"

 "No, but I will be in an hour." I shrug off, wondering why he's lingering on the subject. He moves his coffee cup forward, as if the gesture could help make his point across.

 "Are you sure this is legit? I know you already met this Peter guy, but with the price you told me you'd get paid, and the fact you haven't seen this place makes me worry. What if this is all a scam?" He raises his eyebrows in concern.

 I shake my head, "No, you had to be there. Seriously, this guy is this major businessman from California. He's taking advantage of the fact he has big money in a small town. Please don't worry hon, I'll be fine, I promise. I'll have my phone on me, and if you're that concerned, you can call me every hour to make sure I'm still alive." I joke, but he doesn't laugh along with me like he normally does. 

 "I just don't have a good feeling about this." 

 "Just think of the paycheck, Ethan. This is exactly what we've been needing. I'm surprised you're suddenly so against this. You were ecstatic when I first told you about it." I cross my arms, wondering why he's being so paranoid.  

"I know, you're right. I'm sorry. I hope you have a great first day, Dani. I've got to head into work, I love you." He kisses me on my forehead one last time before he went out the door.

 --

  I'm backing out of my driveway when my phone rings. It's Peter.

 "Hey, what's up?" I answer.

 "Hey Danielle, so there's one problem I want to warn you about. I think there were more guests than they specified in the booking. You might have more work to do today than we initially thought." He says grimly.

 "Well you said there's only three beds, so how can you fit more than six people? It's not like I have extra laundry to do if someone sleeps on the couch." 

 "Oh, was I not clear on that? There are three bedrooms, you see, but we have bunk beds with a third slide out bed in one room, and another set in the basement, even though it's not in a private bedroom. So in total, we have 8 beds. One more thing, as much as I try and defend the male species against stereotypes, we can be quite slobs. It looks like through the camera footage that the guests were all men." 

 I stifle a groan. Why didn't he tell me that initially? I'm still getting paid pretty good, but I feel like I should've been more aware of the details of the house. I suddenly have a wave of anxiety come over me. Not only do I have more laundry to do and more beds to make, but to find out the guests were all guys? I sigh, knowing I'll have a long day ahead of me. 

"Danielle? Will that be a problem?" Peter asks, and that's when I realize I hadn't responded yet.

"That won't be a problem at all, Peter. I'm getting an early start thankfully, and I imagine I'll be done around 3 or 4 this afternoon." I reassure him, even though the anxiety in the pit of my stomach disagrees. Why do I get so nervous about these types of things sometimes?

"Excellent, thank you so much Danielle. Keep me posted on any property damages or evidence of rule breaking so I can handle the guests accordingly. Bye now." Peter says as he hangs up the phone before I could say anything further. 

 What exactly was I about to find at this house?