I am a 50-year-old widowed man and my kids have already left home and are following their own way. Friends call me Z.
I´ve been a widow for the last two years and work in an eCommerce business of my own, managing a small team of associates worldwide; I am semi-retired and lead a comfortable life in Brazil renting and constructing properties as well.
Since my wife passed away I decided to move to the south of the country, in order to enjoy milder weather and a safer place (as the reader probably knows, Brazil is a very violent country). There, I bought a beautiful large 3-room apartment with a view of the ocean and great installations (gym, pool, concierge service, etc.).My kids are abroad and, although I have a very good and frequent relationship with them, they will not be mentioned in this story.
I was living by myself and decided that I needed someone to help me with cleaning, cooking, and also taking care of small things like going to the supermarket and doing other chores. For developed countries folks this might sound unusual, but having maids is very common in Brazil. In my case, I was looking for something more - I was looking for a part-time housekeeper; someone I could trust completely; in a sense, we would be partners in managing the apartment and other properties as well. She would also have complete access to my home and, in reality, to a big chunk of my life.
The process of hiring was delegated to an HR company; this would be a difficult position to fulfill; cleaning a home and being able to drive and talk with service providers whilst, at the same time, bringing a high degree of trust and proficiency, is not a common trait to find.
After a few weeks, the HR company consultant thought she had found the perfect candidate - Magda was a 30-plus-year-old blond, with one kid, divorced and with German ancestry, which was perfect since my father was also German.
I was very impressed with her - she spoke fluent German, was very serious and appeared to be hard-working; the job would fit her life well since she would only need to work 3 days a week and would be able to have enough spare time to take care of her 12-year-old daughter.
There was a catch though - I needed someone that could sleep, once a week, in my home. The reason I decided on this unusual arrangement was that I would eventually need to solve business issues until later on in the evening and it would be impossible for the maid (assistant?) to go home that late in the night; I remind the reader that this is Brazil - maids, most of the time, cannot afford their own car and generally live in dangerous neighborhoods. So, for instance, should we follow up with a job going on in one of my properties, or have to prepare dinner much later on, I would be able to ask Magda to work after hours and leave in the next day.
Flexibility was a very important issue for me and, because of that, I was paying way beyond the market salary.
I approved Magda and, in the next day, she was already having her first working day with me. We went to a store together and bought her some working clothes from a nice retailer (it was not a uniform), so she could be comfortable and, at the same time, ready for any work in the street or any other location. Magda and I had a lot of fun choosing clothes and I think she was happy with our choices in the end. We got to know a little bit more about each other and had a wonderful time all in all.
The relationship between I and Magda was very cordial and she was very respectful and dutiful. In fact, after a few weeks, I could say we were starting to become friends, stopping during the day for a coffee and chatting about life and Agda, her young daughter.
During her sleepover, we would have dinner together and she would always prepare a wonderful meal; in fact, it began to be more like a date, where I would bring a dessert and she would buy and cook something special for us to eat.
I was always looking forward to having "our night" since it was joyful to the point where we would watch a movie together after dinner. That being said, we were always very respectful towards each other and, except in my mind, I made an effort never to seem like the relationship could be more than friends and coworkers having a meal and a good time together.
Magda would sleep in one of the suites, with a view of the sea, in the room right next to mine. I must confess I spent a lot of hours thinking about how to open her door and share her bed, but I was able to control myself - definitely, I didn't want to lose her as a working partner I made sure her room was very comfortable and that she had all the things she needed to feel at home. The only odd item I kept in her room was an old photo of mine... who knows if she might dream about me? One never really knows, I deluded myself.
As time passes by, we would go out together to buy things or resolve different issues ever more frequently. We redecorated my apartment (Magda felt it was too empty) and started going out together to supermarkets and other activities. Those were always pleasant moments and, the more we did it, it was becoming clear we were getting closer to each other, but, still, keeping enough distance, afraid that something could ruin this beautiful friendship and work environment.
One day Magda needed to go out and buy some construction material for one of the houses I was building; although I had a small contractor, this guy was with his car broken and needed our help. I asked Magda to fetch my car but she stubbornly refused to do it, since it was for my personal use and very expensive. This is when I noticed that she did not have a car of herself, and was going home by bus every day and buying all the stuff I needed by foot, bus or cab! Of course I should have known that, but I guess in my boss' privileged mind I totally forgot it.I took a sudden decision: grabbed her by the arm and went to a car dealer nearby... talked her into choosing one of the models - a cute yellow car, with a reasonably large trunk. She was astounded... happy, but nervous, she didn´t know how to react... I told the salesperson that I would buy the car, no negotiations needed, but she had to take the car immediately!
Magda, then, left the dealer driving "her" (it was in my company's name) car to buy the things she needed.
When she came back I called her so we could discuss a bit of what happened during the day; I told her that she could use the car as she pleased, including driving back home. In Brazil people live in borderline poverty; although Magda was very well educated, she did not previously have a steady job and her life was very difficult, although she did have a driving license. I explained to her that she had to make sure I was aware of her difficulties and that it was my obligation to take care of her. I think I might have been too incisive and caring or touched a trigger point because, as we were talking, I noticed that her hands were trembling, and she was not really paying any attention to me anymore... I asked her if she was feeling alright and she broke down crying... She said that she had never been so happy in her life - she loved her job, she loved working with me, laughing and discussing different matters and, now, she was driving her own car by herself... not in her wildest dreams it would have happened before! She told me she was very, very grateful and asked me to please never let her leave. I reassured her and told her that I also needed her and she also made me very happy. It was a match made in heaven.