Story: Daphne and the White Apron. Part 5.

by Monica Graz

During the next few hours, Lita realized the hard way what serious housework means. She also realized how easy her job was in the Arnellos family house where she had to practically take care of an empty place. They started their cleaning from the bedrooms in the 1st floor. She instantly understood that cleaning the four occupied and heavily used bedrooms was a different story altogether. After they finished the master bedroom and its adjoining luxurious bathroom they had to tackle the children’s bedrooms. As expected they were very messy. Clothes thrown on the carpeted floor, wet towels on the bed, dirty knickers and bras hanging at the back of a chair. Lita was surprised and appalled. She could never believe that people can be that messy.

As they were working together Rosie started explaining about the family. “This is Akilah’s room, her name means ‘clever’ in Arabic. She is their oldest child; she has just turned 16 some weeks ago. She is really clever and very good at school but very arrogant and messy as you can see from her room,” she started saying as they were stripping the bed to change the sheets.

“Wow Rosie,” Lita answered, “I never saw such a messy room.” And immediately smiled secretly thinking that really and truly that was her first real maid’s job outside the Arnellos residence, but she couldn’t really reveal that to Rosie, could she!

Rosie who was quite clever picked something because she said, “Probably you never worked before in a house with teenage children. Believe me they are usually that messy.”

Lita blushed and answered immediately with another white lie, “You are right Rosie, I worked for older people and in one occasion for a family with very young children,” thinking simultaneously that she had to remember what she was saying because she could be easily trapped in her own lies.

When they moved to the next bedroom Rosie continued, “This is Zahra’s room, the name means ‘radiant’ and it is true, Zahra who is now 14 is a very pretty girl and very coquettish.”

Lita had to ask this because she was thinking it all along, “Are they required to be covered those girls when they go out? Are their parents strict like that? I saw the mother before, Mrs. Ahmad I mean, who was very smartly dressed and quite heavily made up.”

Rosie chuckled and said, “Not here in London but when they go to Qatar they have to be covered. I spent a few weeks with them there about a year ago and I even had to wear a scarf when I was out shopping or doing errands.”  

Lita was singularly excited hearing that but tried not to show it. Being a maid in an Arab country would have been quite a challenge she thought.

When they finally reached the last bedroom, which was much tidier than the previous ones she said, “And this is the boy’s room. He is 12 and his name is Asim meaning ‘protector’. She smirked when she said that and added, “He is a very sweet boy and not at all the protector type. I would say he is the one who needs protection, he is very shy and vulnerable and both his sisters tease him mercilessly. He is his mother’s darling boy and she is the one who protects him. The father is not happy with his son’s softness and he simply ignores him. Mr. Ahmad is very traditional and would like his boy to be more assertive or even aggressive like all Arab boys should be.”

She chuckled as she remembered something because she added, “And Asim is the only one of the three who occasionally offers to help me with the housework. The other day he helped me with the washing up wearing one of my aprons. The girls teased him mercilessly but the mother was there to protect him as usually.”

Lita admired Rosie’s clever assessment of the family and their characters, she was quite an astute woman. She had the singing accent of a Filipina but her English was correct and quite educated.

Rosie understood that and said, “You know Lita, I wasn’t born to be a maid; that happened from mere necessity. I studied to be a school teacher back home but the needs of my family pushed me to go abroad and look for a job so I can send back the invaluable foreign currency, quite a standard practice for us Filipinas.”

Lita felt guilty when she heard that. Here is Rosie becoming a maid out of necessity and she (Lita) pretending to be a maid for what? Some deeply rooted erotic feeling? A submissive streak? Some unfulfilled desire to serve the others? A guild feeling because she was born into the world of the rich? A mixture of all? She still was trying to explain it.

But then she had a glimpse of her image in the bathroom mirror and seeing her Lita persona in her slightly disheveled uniform and soiled apron she thought, ‘No, this is me, I belong to these clothes now and I want to continue belonging to them!’

And then she heard Rosie’s voice again, “And thinking of that, you sound quite educated yourself. I saw you before when you talked to Mme Ahmad and you were trying to speak in bad English with an accent, but all that time we work together your English is very posh and upmarket, so to speak.”

She gave Lita a quizzical look and added, “And of course I can see that your experience in cleaning is limited. The way you hold the vacuum cleaner, the way you dust or clean bathrooms is much slower than the average cleaner. I don’t want to be critical here and I can see that you try very hard and that you are eager to do an excellent job but you are not what you appear to be.”

Lita blushed all over when she heard that. She was so relaxed and pleased working next to Rosie that she forgot completely about her pretend uneducated persona. It never occurred to her that a Filipina maid would pick that. She felt even more uncomfortable when she realized that she was herself a victim of the stereotypical approach of all the so called ‘civilized Westerners’, that a Filipina is there to be a domestic servant and that’s about it.

Her mind was working fast, she had to answer to Rosie’s remarks. Should she reveal the truth to her adding probably some pretend reasons why she was doing it?

She decided to be more straightforward with Rosie. She already confessed to Magda her fantasies and inclinations. Why not to Rosie? Somehow it was simpler for her to reveal her inner feelings to a domestic worker than to some one of her own class and wealth.

“You are very clever Rosie and you picked well, I am not a maid by necessity, I am a maid because I am in the middle of a project as part of my university studies. It has to do with the influx in the West of domestic workers from 3d world countries and how the developed Western world is coping with that.”

She stopped and looked at Rosie who had a skeptical look then continued, “I thought if I could step in a real maid’s shoes I could get a proper inside feeling of what those people are facing with their employers, their paper work etc.”

Rosie smirked, “Come on Lita, it certainly is something more than that, I saw you looking at yourself in the mirror before, admiring your maid’s uniform and apron. No real maid is doing that, they usually detest to wear a uniform. I think you get a thrill from wearing one.”

Lita froze when she heard Rosie’s quite accurate assessment. She felt that the woman could read her like an open book. What is she going to say now? Just accept the stark reality that she gets a sinister pleasure from being a uniformed servant or find another kind of excuse. Once again, she decided to go for the truth, Rosie was no match for her.  

“You are right Rosie. I get a sinister pleasure from wearing the maid’s uniform and the apron in particular. I feel that I belong to those clothes! Lita exclaimed her voice cracking from emotion.

“Ikaw ay masunurin at mapagpakumbaba,” Rosie said in fast Tagalog and of course Lita couldn’t understand it.

Rosie seeing Lita’s wonder expression said in English, “You are obedient and humble, this is what those words mean in our language. We have people like you in Manila where I come from but they usually are effeminate men who want to work as maids. Are you sure you are not a boy underneath Lita?” Rosie laughed as she asked the question.

Lita became indignant this time, “Of course not, how could you say that! I’m all girl and very proud of that and yes, I am a submissive, this is how we are called at this end of the world.”

“Ok, Miss Submissive,” Rosie answered in a mild tone of voice realizing that she pushed Lita a bit too far. “This is your choice and I respect it. For all I know you can be a maid to your hearts’ content. I only wish I had your money and could play the way you do.”

Lita wasn’t certain how to answer that but Rosie didn’t give her a chance because she looked at her watch and added, “We’ll talk more about that later but now we’re running out of time, Mme Ahmad will be back shortly. Give me a hand and let’s carry all those sheets and towels to the laundry room and then we can tidy up the living and dining rooms downstairs. Nothing much, just a careful dusting and vacuuming. Mme Ahmad is very particular with dust; coming from the dessert she has an aversion for it.”

It was past 2.00pm when they finished their chores and went back to the kitchen. Lita was starving by that stage and Rosie prepared for both two nutritious sandwiches followed by a much-needed coffee.

“Madame Ahmad will be back any minute now and I should find for you a blue uniform dress, remember what she said to us, she wants us to match in our uniforms.”

She went to her room and came back carrying a dress like the one she was wearing. “I think this one will fit you, it used to belong to a larger girl that worked here briefly. They all come from the same shop down the road as we both know, ‘Alexandra workwear’. Hurry up and change, she will be here any minute now, she always is back before the children.”

Lita went to the bathroom by the maid’s room, the only one she and Rosie could use and changed quickly. The dress was slightly big but she didn’t pay much attention. Who cares how a maid looks anyway she thought chuckling silently. She tied her white apron back on paying attention to the symmetrical bow and joined Rosie to the kitchen.

She barely had time to have another sip of her coffee when they both heard the noise of the front door opening and closing.

“Madame is back,” Rosie whispered to her and added, “She wants to be called Madame, the French way, her family has a connection with Lebanon and they were French speakers over there.”

Mme Ahmad came straight to the kitchen and both maids stood up and slightly curtseyed.

She looked at them critically saying in a casual manner, “Ah, there you are girls. And you look properly uniformed now both in blue.”

She scanned the kitchen with her eyes as if she was inspecting the premises and then addressed Rosie, “How did it go with Lita today, is she a good enough cleaner, was she following your instructions Rosie?”

Rosie answered with a little bob, “Very well Mme, Lita is a natural in housework and very eager to follow my instructions. She is a fast learner too. She could be a Filipina for what I know.”

Mme Ahmad turned now to Lita, “I’m glad to hear that Lita, this is a big plus if Rosie tells me that you work like a Filipina, they are the best in housework as we all know.

I asked  Rosie to assess your work and whole demeanor as a cleaner and maid. If Rosie’s comments were negative I wouldn’t have kept you. Of course, they will be other occasions to judge your performance but for the time being you have a job in this house three days a week.”

Lita curtseyed once more and remembering her pidgin English she said in a heavy accent, “Thank you Mme, I try to be good with work in this house and help Rosie as much as I can.”

She noticed with the corner of her eye that Rosie looked amused with her performance in front of Mme, now that she knew the truth.

Mme Ahmad though understood nothing and said, “Good. Carry on girls with your chores, the children will be back soon and you have to organize their meal. They come back very hungry as Rosie knows very well. I’m going upstairs to change.”

“Yes Mme,” they both replied in unison

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