SS49:
"Maid In America"
***
March 20th, 12:15 p.m.
Madison Roschfeld rang her bell.
"Miss Magnusson!" she called. "Tea time!"
Recently hired Karin Eva Magnusson hastily put the finishing preparations on the tea for her socialite mistress and her guests. She couldn't afford to keep them waiting. Finally, she placed the saucers on the tray and the cups on the saucers.
"Coming, Madame!" she called back. ...
Just give me a few förbaskade moments, please
, she silently added to herself.
She straightened out her clothing, dried any visible perspiration from her face, and picked up the tray.
Barely thirty seconds later, the bell rang again.
"To
day
, please, Miss Magnusson!" came Madame Roschfeld's impatient voice.
"Yes, Madame! Coming!"
Keep your jäkla cranky-pants on, Your Prada-wearing Highness
...
Balancing haste with care, Karin made her way to the tea room. She took a breath to compose herself and pushed the door open.
"Your tea, Madame, ladies."
"
Well
," commented Madison, as Karin toted the tray and set the cups down. "I see Miss Magnusson has
deigned
to serve us."
Karin blinked a few times and literally swallowed her anger over the way her employer treated her. Sometimes she hated this job, but the compensation and accommodations were amazing. So she put up with the verbal abuse by focusing on the pros.
She finished placing the cups and withdrew the tray.
"Please forgive me for having kept you vaiting. Vill there be anything else then, Madame?" she asked.
Madison turned up her thankless expression to meet Karin's, saying nothing for just a moment.
"...No."
Karin nodded and curtsied. "Very good then, tack ska ni ha. Enjoy, ladies."
She wasn't out the door five seconds before the bell rang again. "Miss Magnusson!"
Sigh
. Back in she came.
"Yes, Madame?" she smiled sweetly.
Madison gestured to one of her friends. "Miss Ashlyn has had a tiny spill."
"Oh, of course, Madame," said Karin, whipping a small dish towel from the waist hem of her outfit. "I'll get that taken care of for you right avay." She cleaned the spill and was again dismissed to continue her duties. She kept on her mask of polite cheeriness in the ladies' company and dropped it as soon as she stepped back out. She swore, sometimes she honestly believed her boss created these "accidents" intentionally, solely to add to her workload. It was all but impossible to put anything past her.
Karin was 22, from Sweden, and had been working for Madison Roschfeld for three and a half months thus far. When she met and originally began working for her, she hadn't gotten such a hostile vibe from her at all, but then again, Madison had not been the person interviewing her for the position; it was one of her assistants. She thought herself astonishingly lucky to have even been considered for this job, let alone hired. She'd won it through simple honesty and merit. She'd always been an extreme stickler for cleanliness and settled for none less. And she'd been performing tasks of maintenance and other upkeep for friends, relatives and neighbors since her teens. She was a qualified choice, so there was obviously no ulterior motive or favoritism going on here.
Upon being hired, she wasn't sure if she caught Madison on a good day or what, but the dame welcomed her with open arms. The open arms were figurative, but warm and receiving. Madison Roschfeld was a wealthy heiress and socialite who traveled through only the upper crust of the status circles. She was famous for keeping stellar company. Her gatherings were lavish and extravagant. Her home was a luxurious villa bordering the countryside and city outskirts. Everything about her radiated
power
. Employment under the governing eye of Madame Roschfeld was quite a step up for a simple middle-class maiden from Stockholms län, Sverige.
Over her first weeks, her experience, expertise and attention to detail served well. After one month, Madison decided Karin was ready to handle a party. It was an evening that made her quite nervous, but she concentrated, kept cool, did her best, and delivered. Guests were very pleased with her tending to them. Madison informed her she'd be rewarded for her competence with an additional week of paid vacation, but only after her first full year of employment. Well, Karin figured, it was something to look forward to.
After the first month, however, Madison's cordiality towards her quickly wore off. It seemed Madison had been welcoming and benevolent to her the first four weeks in order to build Karin's trust and confidence in her before she began treating her like the everyday riffraff commoner she was. No more Miss Nice Madame. Karin was still in employ to cater to Madison's and her guests' needs at the parties, but the more time she invested in this fledgling career, the more it appeared she was carelessly pushed about, shoved aside and walked all over. Figuratively, of course, but her feelings were soon equally battered.
About a month and a half in, Karin was brought abreast of the inside joke amongst the help that what Madame Roschfeld needed most was actually to get laid. The quip went hand in hand with the companion gossip that Madison happened to be a particularly uptight, chaste, prudish woman, with whom they'd practically never seen a gentleman caller. Between the lot of them, they didn't even know for sure if she enjoyed the company of men or of women. She didn't like her employees to do so much as flirt with one another while in her home. But they were certain that if she could just get herself a little action, she'd definitely loosen up and cut everyone a bit of slack here and there. One wouldn't think it such an arduous task, especially for Madison, but perhaps it was just her inalterable choice. Rather unfortunate for the slaves—er,
servants
—Madame Roschfeld held in her employ.
Of course, while on the clock, Karin was expected still to behave and carry on her duties with only the utmost politeness and professionalism. It went without saying that any negative attitude shown towards Madison or her friends would
not
be rewarded. And so Karin was compelled to find other outlets through which to take out her aggression. One of them was sports. On the hobby side of her life, Karin had always been athletic. She enjoyed softball, soccer—o.k.a. football in her beloved native homeland—and especially swimming. Karin
loved
to swim. She absolutely adored the water. Along with the other help, she lived here in Madison's enormous villa, and during her time off while being relieved by her fellow maids and helpers, her perks included complimentary use of the villa's swimming pools, both indoor and outdoor—weather permitting, of course. So although resentment lingered over the way she'd been regarded lately, Karin was able to stroke, kick, and doggy-paddle her frustrations away.
Still, this anger management technique worked better some times than others. But overall, Karin Magnusson remained a happy, optimistic person by nature, who could bear a little bossing around in exchange for an otherwise very lush, cushy, cozy living. While not on duty, she was permitted off the grounds for as long as she liked, and could bring home whatever material possessions desired. She was simply responsible for returning home ready to work at her assigned time. Technically, she could also get away with taking home her own guests,
plausibly
, but this was liable to be frowned upon without proper consent from Madame Roschfeld.
But if the truth be told, what made Karin Magnusson happiest at this stage of her life was, in her eyes, a tremendous privilege in and of itself. She got to be, to reside and work, in the United States of America. She viewed it as the greatest country in the world and dreamed of living here as a child. When she turned 20, her dream came true. The first things she wanted to do upon arriving were to wear a stars-and-stripes T-shirt, see a baseball game while scarfing down a hot dog and follow it with a healthy helping of apple pie.
She spent her first few months in the U.S.A. settling in her new home with her folks, putting down roots, and advertising her talents and acumen as a housekeeping professional. Before she knew it, an entire year and a half passed. One day she heard through a friend that the wealthy and prestigious Madison Roschfeld was looking for a new maid. She leapt at the opportunity. Well, she didn't exactly leap. She...tippy-toed. She was nervous dialing for an appointment to interview. But four months later, here she was.
She'd made acquaintances with the others, but not exactly friends. When an employee of Madison's was taken onboard, he or she wasn't just automatically accepted into the club-like camaraderie among the veteran employees. The rookie had to earn his or her membership into their offerings of friendship—their powwows, card games—with performance and resilience. It seemed bizarre to Karin that as more time was spent under Madison's employ, her fellow service professionals grew more affable and amiable towards her, while Madison grew frostier and more aloof. Oh well, she thought, she wasn't being paid to make friends, and she supposed she couldn't do so with everyone. She wanted as many as possible to like her, but some simply wouldn't, for any number of reasons.
She broke out her dish rag and wood milk to resume her tasks, polishing the furniture, as another servant made her way through.
"God dag, Gabby," Karin greeted, balancing her tone with just the right mix of politeness and bubbly cheer. Gabby nodded.
"Karin." It was the first time Karin could remember Gabby calling her by her first name. She considered it a step forward. She smiled. Things were looking up. Then she heard the bell again.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling!
