Page 5 of Longing for Liberty
“Good. As you know, those who serve the top administrators do more than clean. You’ll also prepare meals as needed and do any other odd jobs he asks of you. I assume you can cook?”
I wet my dry throat with a swallow. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. I have your new ID that will get you into the Penthouse elevators. Give me your old one.” We exchanged IDs on red, white, and blue lanyards. “And be warned that top administrators have access to luxuries we don’t…so don’t get sticky fingers.” She raised her eyebrows, and I shook my head to assure her I wouldn’t. She pushed the basket forward and went on. “His pantry and cleaning closet are fully stocked, and should you need anything, run back down and I’ll get it for you right away. Here is your code for the elevator, and one for his door. Memorize them right now.”
“Oh…um, yes, okay.” I took the card with trembling fingers and forced myself to focus on the two four-digit codes.Focus. Focus!The moment I was done, Kathy took the card back and tore it to shreds as she continued.
“Secretary Fitzhugh is a busy man, so he’s in and out of the building constantly and often travels. Sometimes he works at home. On those days, be as quiet as a mouse and mind your business. Understood?”
He works from home?Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.
I nodded, and she motioned to the basket. I realized the room had gone quiet enough to hear whispers from the corner where four younger maids were huddled around the spray bottles. I could have sworn I heard the wordpregnant.
“Get to work, girls!” Kathy yelled, making me jump, and some of the maids scrambled. I noticed that two of them had different-sized baby bumps. That had to be what they were talking about, not anything to do with my conversation. I was being paranoid.
I started to take the basket, but I had so many questions. “What about his wife? Will she and the kids need dinner?” He had five children, and last week the couple was seen smiling on the news, announcing they were working on a sixth.
Kathy gave her head a shake. “Their primary residence is down on the Gulf, and the older children are away at academy. You’ll get instructions on days when his wife visits.”
I swallowed and nodded. Before I could turn to go, Kathy put her hand on mine, something she’d never done in the nearly six years I’d worked for her. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “You’ll be fine.” No response seemed right, because her words had been heavily laden with unspoken thoughts that I couldn’t decipher. And then she lifted her hand and gave a shooing motion before putting her glasses back on and checking off my name.
“Oh, and Libby?” I peered back over my shoulder. “Put this on. Keep it.” She handed me a silver tube of lipstick.
Pulling the basket against my torso with one arm, I turned to find the line of maids with their arms full of buckets and brooms, all gaping wide-eyed at me. I dropped my eyes and moved to the side, opening the tube of lipstick. I stared at it: burgundy wine. Was she serious? I never wore makeup this dark and heavy. One glance found her giving me a meaningful glare, so I gritted my teeth and put it to my lips.
My hands were shaking so badly during the first swipe that I had to wipe under my lip and start again. I wanted to remain there in the cleaning supply room until I calmed down, but I was getting jostled and knew I was in people’s way. I couldn’t avoid my fate forever.
This could not be happening. How in the world had I been chosen to clean and cook for the man once deemed the playboy of Arizona? The man now in charge of our whole State Force! Our three leaders were celebrities of the highest order. People were known to cry when they met them. To so many citizens, those men were heroes.
To me, they were the villains. And the last thing I wanted to do was to be near one of them in real life.
Stop it, Liberty, I warned myself. Thoughts were dangerous. I couldn’t think like that.
Over the din of noise, I heard Kathy yell, “Libby, why are you still here?”
“Sorry!” I moved for the door, holding the basket with both hands.
To my surprise, as I pushed the door open with my hip, one of the younger maids was standing outside the door as if waiting for me.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Macey. Can I walk with you?”
“Oh, hi,” I said. “I’m Libby. Of course.” None of the maids had ever said more than a polite phrase to me before. I was torn between feeling happy and suspicious.
We walked together toward the nearby entrance of the higher government housing, Eagle Tower, thirty stories high and glinting in the sunlight, me with my basket and Macey with a bucket filled with spray bottles and rags. Two surveillance drones buzzed past us, going in opposite directions. We both slightly froze until they were gone.
“When are you due?” I asked her.
She beamed. “October fourteenth. My first baby.”
“That’s wonderful,” I said. “Congratulations.”
We were getting closer to the entrance where other workers came in and out, and ten State Force lined the opening with machine guns in their hands.
Macey slowed, glancing around before looking down at the sidewalk. “Did I hear that you’re serving the Secretary now?”
“Yes,” I said, matching her lowered voice and pace, my heart picking up speed all over again.
“My best friend was his last maid.” She stopped and looked at me now, a smile on her face that was at direct odds with something dark in her eyes. Now my heart was tripping over itself, hurdling.
