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"I know! You could become a doctor and find a cure for Alzheimer's!"
laughed Charlie.
"Oh, much too hard!" smiled Chuck. "Can't you think of anything easier?"
"A janitor?" joked Charlie.
"Now you're talking! Do you think women would still love me then?" he mused.
"This one will," said Charlie, hugging her father. "Always."
Charlie's first day of her new job as Adam's housekeeper was successful, except for
one incident that would occupy her curiosity for some time to come.
The plumber hadn't been at home, so Charlie went to the broom closet and set up the
vacuum as she had been instructed. She cleaned the bottom floors, and had just finished
the top of the stairs, when she came to the first door to the left of the hallway.
It had been the same door she had tried to open the night Chuck had went missing.
She tried the handle and found it was still locked. Under the door, she saw a sliver
of sunlight, as coming from an open window. Knowing Adam wasn't home, she put down
the vacuum cleaner hose and ran downstairs. She went outside and counted windows
until she came to the right one. The green shutters were open, but since it was on
the second story, she couldn't see inside. She thought about climbing the big tree
closest to the window and looking inside. Charlie pictured herself shimmying up the
trunk, only to fall off a limb while to trying to look inside, what was most likely,
the guest bedroom. She laughed in spite of herself.
Charlie resumed her work and was cleaning the master bedroom shower when Adam arrived.
She heard his van pull up outside, and tried to hurry so she could get out of his
way, in case he wanted to use the shower. A few minutes passed. Charlie came out
of the bathroom, passing through Adam's sparsely decorated master bedroom, and headed
down the hall when she noticed that the room with the locked door was slightly ajar.
Thinking he was in the room, she reached for the door handle but quickly pulled it
back when the door suddenly opened. Adam's startled face betrayed the fact he had
forgotten she was in the house.
"Oh, that's right, you start today," he stammered, quickly shutting the
door behind him.
"I heard you drive up," replied Charlie, somehow feeling as though she
were caught in the act of snooping. "I was just coming to let you know that
you're out of detergent."
"Thanks," muttered Adam, perturbed that she might have seen inside the
room.
Charlie wanted to ask, but she refrained herself. It was none of her business.
"There's one more thing I think you should know," said Charlie, in a grave
voice.
"What?" asked Adam, stiffening.
"Your vacuum cleaner needs a new bag," she replied, anticlimactically.
Adam breathed a sigh of relief.
"You really should get a new vacuum," joked Charlie as they went downstairs.
"They make them without bags, nowadays."
"I'll remember that," smiled Adam, still not as relaxed as he usually was.
"I'll get my keys and drive you home."
"Don't bother," replied Charlie, picking up her school backpack. "It's
not far. See you tomorrow," she waved.
Charlie could feel Adam's eyes on the back of her neck as she walked down the street.
What was he hiding? His behavior defied explanation. Just when Charlie thought she
really knew him, Adam showed a side of himself that made her think twice.
Upon returning the next day, the Master Plumber acted as though all were forgotten.
He was his usual self and the mysterious door remained locked.
As Adam had half expected, Shirley disapproved of Charlie's new job as his housekeeper.
However, Shirley had to admit that when Mike explained his relationship with Sandra
Weston, Shirley's perceived danger of Charlie's presence had diminished greatly.
When a prying neighbor would begin to question her about Charlie and her eldest son,
Shirley would reply that Charlie was simply Adam's part-time housekeeper, and that
was all. To Shirley, this was a much better answer than to say nothing.
In light of Charlie's newfound work status, she was invited with Chuck and Vera to
Thomas Garner's homecoming Christmas party. Chuck, who was uneasy with crowds, (because
they disoriented him easily), bowed out of going, leaving Vera and Charlie to represent
the family at the party. Mrs. Jacobs, who had also been invited, offered to drive
Vera and her granddaughter to the party. |
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