MELISSA
I rung out the mop and sighed heavily, looking back across
the damp hall floor. I hated this house.
It was too big by far – too big for one woman living by
herself. What was it with rich people that they had to flaunt it? She could
have managed fine with a little cottage in the country, doing her own sodding
cleaning. This kind of splendour was obscene when there were children starving
in the world. The entranceway alone was bigger than the living room in my flat
in Barton. It might have been double the size.
And like many of these fancy houses there was no soul to it.
The decor was minimalistic and pretentious, the furniture arty and preposterously
luxurious. Her TV set was almost the size of my bed at home. It was disgusting.
I slapped the damp mop down and ran it over the tiles, picking
up the bulk of the remaining moisture. I’d only been here forty five minutes
but my arms were already getting tired and an itching line of sweat was
emerging between my shoulder blades. It was because of all the weight I was
carrying, I knew that, and I’d put on the better part of a stone since before
Christmas.
I hated how obese I was now but there was nothing I could do
about it. Nothing worked to get rid of it and I wasn’t about to give up the
only thing that made life bearable; my snacks.
I sighed again and worked harder. There was no point
dwelling on it.
Instead I thought about that dishy agent of my boss’s and
smirked a little. That woman was blind if she didn’t see the doe-eyes he made
at her, but she was too busy living her life of luxury. She didn’t deserve him.
I wouldn’t kick him out of bed if I got the chance. Not that he’d have me. I
wasn’t much older than “Her” but I wasn’t the type men went for.
Too fat. Too plain. Glasses. Poor.
That was all it was. The money. That was all she had going
for her really. He wouldn’t have looked twice if she had my income.
I stopped, resting on the end of my mop handle.
Who was I trying to fool? She was gorgeous. She would always
be gorgeous.
Some people had more luck than they deserved, that was the problem.
When God was dolling luck out he kept getting it wrong and Dahlia had obviously
been given all of mine.
I looked down the corridor to the pool room (another
preposterous extravagance that she’d had added herself apparently). Dahlia was
sitting on her sun lounger and she was looking right at me. I hadn’t known I
was being watched and I felt my cheeks flush, checking myself and what I was
doing. Nothing basically. I had to look busy. I couldn’t risk losing this job.
But before I could turn away and get mopping, Dahlia looked
away herself with an odd expression on her face, almost as if she were the one
feeling caught out.
Strange. But then, she was rich. They’re all kooks.
I finished off the hall tiles and carried the mop and bucket
back to my cleaning cupboard. It was more room than cupboard, a windowless
cavity under the staircase with room for a little chair and table where I could
eat my lunch. The rest of the space was crammed with the accoutrements of my
position: vacuum, dusters, detergent, drain cleaner, furniture polish,
different brooms for inside and out. The list went on. Between the shelves a
clock hung on the wall. There were hours left to go. I wondered if it was too
early for a coffee break. Probably.
Instead I got a dust cloth and a can of furniture polish and set
out to get going.
The lounge was near the back of the house, sharing a wall
with the pool room. That was as good a place to start as any. The house was so
big that it was like painting the Fourth Bridge. By the time I got finished I
had to start all over again. It was never fully “clean.”
Dahlia was flicking through a magazine as I moved up the
corridor. There was still something off about her look; something intangible
but still noticeable. I wasn’t renowned for my observational skills, but still,
I had the sense that she wasn’t really reading.
She looked my way when I still had a dozen yards to go and
this time there was no break in eye contact. She just watched me as I came
closer, approaching the lounge door. It was weird. I didn’t like it. She never
looked at me and now she was staring like she fancied me or something. I turned
my eyes away; flicked them back – still looking – turned them away; flicked
them back. She was still watching me so I gave her a slight nod and smile.
Then just as I reached the door she sat forward and said,
“Melissa?”
I stopped, feeling awkward, waiting for her to tell me what
a terrible job I was doing.
“I was just wondering if...” She stopped, leaving the
question incomplete.
“Yes?”
She looked down at my feet and then up my body to my face
then I swore she blushed. “Actually never mind. Forget it.”
I waited, unsure whether to go on into the lounge or stay.
She smiled her aloof “I’m
better than you” smile. “Sorry to have interrupted you. It doesn’t matter,”
she said.
I frowned, perplexed by the odd way she was acting, then I
gave her another little curt smile and went through to get on with the dusting.
Love how this story is setting up. The idea that Dahlia's home is so huge it's like the forth bridge yet Melissa eats her lunch in the cupboard really illustrates their opposite status. Can't wait to find out how the swap will take effect... What was was Dahlia going to say, like 'will you come over here and trade lives with me a second?' will be awesome when it happens.
ReplyDeleteWow, hey! I didn't know you were following! That's fantastic!
DeleteYeah, thanks. I really like this story. You probably picked up that it's an expansion of a story I wrote tend years ago so it's really interesting to delve into the detail and the character's backstories ( wouldn't recommend finding and reading that now you're looking at this as it will reveal too much of what may come).
Melissa and Dahlia's statuses are indeed worlds apart but at some level I'm not sure Dahlia sees it in the same way that Melissa seems to.
Dahlia was certainly going to ask something momentous of her cleaner but I guess the time wasn't quite right. It would surely have been a very odd request.
I just started following in the last couple of days and now caught up, only problem is now I'm hooked and not sure about the concept of waiting 2 days to read the next bit!? Might take a while to adjust to the principle of deferred gratification.
ReplyDeletere: reading the original story, the thought had crossed my mind and would definitely like to sometime. But I'll take your advice for now so thanks for that.
Cool. I hope to release episodes every day eventually but I can't quite fit it in at the moment.
DeleteYou'll be able to read Lady Ann's Folly as it comes out too!
Loving it. Even better than the original. Love the way you are filling Mellissa with anger and resentment! Bodes well for the future treatment of her boss!
ReplyDeleteFinnFan
We'll you get a prize for such a great name! I'm really glad you're liking it. With any kind of reboot there's the risk it won't recapture the magic. Melissa does indeed somewhat bitter, and that bitterness will have to go somewhere...
DeleteHaving read the original years ago I'm looking forward to reading this greatly expanded story with anticipation as it goes into much more detail
ReplyDeleteRobbie
Detail is what Emmas do best!
DeleteNo, what Emmas do best is write kinky but clever stories. The cleverer the girl, the kinkier her mind is!
DeleteFinnFan
Heh heh. I like it.
Delete"she would always be gorgeous." envy wrapped in a side order of self loathing. I wonder where that could lead?
ReplyDeleteNowhere good...
DeletePoor woman. If I had a cleaner I would at least let her drink her coffee in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteLoving this story. It's Finntastic.
Finntasia
Thanks Finntasia!
DeleteI should give out prizes for comments like these!
Ooooh, the anticipation! Can I resist reading another episode???
ReplyDeleteNo you can't. Keep going.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a dark temptress Ms Finn. How can I resist?
DeleteYou said it sister!
Delete