I disrupted the quiet. “I wanted to thank you all for helping me with Simone. That was amazing. You all worked hard, brought your knowledge to the situation, and basically saved her.”
They turned to me at once, all appearing happy with what I’d said.
“And,” I cleared my throat, “I realized that all this time I’ve been surrounded by these amazing people who spend their days taking care of me, and I don’t know much about them. So, from time to time, we should sort of hang together.”
Judy glanced at David as he stood there with his mouth open.
“Well, I won’t force myself on you all.”
“Of course, sir.” David blinked his eyes several times. “We’re just...not accustomed to the people we serve wanting to get to know us better.”
“I can see that, but let’s change it. We all live here together and from your work last night, I want you all with me for as long as possible.” I pointed to the radio. “Who was listening to Mozart?”
Judy raised her hand. “I’m a fan of classical.”
“Me too. Let’s get back to the music. You can’t have a good day without a beautiful song.”
One of the staff giggled as she turned it on.
“Okay.” I rubbed my hands together. “Let’s play a game. I tell you one thing about me that you may not know and then each person says something too. Jason and I would do this at parties. Are you all game?”
All the women nodded with smiles, while David shrugged.
“Okay. I’ll start,” I said. “When I was a kid, I dreamed of being a train conductor for the Polar Express. I wanted my job to be delivering letters to Santa.”
A few giggled at the confession and told their own stories. The whole time, Judy did her thing in the kitchen, filling the space with lovely aromas—the savory simmer of sausage, the sweet fragrance of freshly squeezed lemonade, and the scent of homemade biscuits baking in the oven.
After an hour, I’d learned a lot and had sampled some of Judy’s yummy treats. I knew that her servants were twins, Tammy and Tina. Both hoped to be private chefs one day but were afraid that their dreams would separate them. To my shock, David had been from a long line of butlers. He couldn’t think of a time where any of the men in his family didn’t serve celebrities and royalty. He’d tracked his family tree and found that his ancestors had served King Louis IV.
All their stories captivated me more than any of the television shows and movies I’d seen in the past months. I made it a point right then that I would go bother them every now and then and talk more.
When Judy finished breakfast, she showed me how to decorate a nice tray for Simone. We worked together—I fumbled around, more in her way, than helping—but the whole staff had a blast, chuckling with each one of my slip-ups.
She’d found this lovely silver tray with flowers carved into the handle and vines outlining it. We took our time finding the right pattern of china. At that point, David sat down and shook his head at us, smiling the whole time as we attempted to do his job.
The twins came up with adding a vase. I’d picked a big bulky one. David shook his head, removed it, and placed a smaller one in the right corner.
“There’s an art to service,” he said as he pulled out a newly ironed linen napkin, folded it, and placed it on the tray as if he was dancing in a ballet. “There’s a beauty to this.” He placed only the finest roses in the vase with the brightest blooms. “And as you put each item on there, you keep positive thoughts. Each item holds your energy. So, think positively.”
He’d created a masterpiece, setting silverware here and there along with condiments. Judy made a spinach quiche with sausage. There was a bowl of fruit on the right, a tiny cup of tea on the left. Homemade biscuits melted under butter and jam.
“Thank you, everybody.” I headed off with the tray.
David followed. “I just want to make sure it makes it there and if I can help with anything else.”
“Sounds good.” I grinned and thought of something. “By the way, I would like you to put some fresh flowers in the studio.”
“Roses?”
“Yes, and any other flower you can find. Call a florist and buy it all.”
“Everything?”
“Yes. Poinsettias. Sunflowers. Daisies. The whole lot.”
“O-kay.”
“Do you think they’d deliver it by tomorrow?”
“Definitely.”
“There we go. Let’s make it happen.” I gave him a wicked grin he didn’t understand.
Ru could bring Simone a fresh set of flowers, but I would give her the whole damn garden—anything—to make her smile.
We made it to my bedroom, although the stairs had been a bit of an obstacle. When I thought of all the times David had carried my food up to me, I felt guilty. His work wasn’t simple at all. He deserved a good bonus to start the new year.