Disclaimer: All characters are over the age of 18. Any resemblance to actual persons is strictly a coincidence.
My name is Juliet, and I have a story to tell. Some might find it a bit disturbing, but try to understand; If I don't tell you, no one will ever know.
My sister and I were never close. I am two years older than her and was way better looking. I was the one who was always out with the hottest guy on the football team or just out in general.
My sister, Megan, on the other hand, was somewhat lacking in the looks department. Although she made up for it with a sharp wit and a gaggle of friends, she never had too much luck in the dating game.
Even though I was only able to get into a local college, I was able to land the best job I could have, on looks alone. Megan was accepted into just about every school she applied to, but chose MIT for their chemistry department.
What irked her more than anything else was the fact that my job as a personal assistant paid almost the same as hers, even though she needed a doctorate to get it. I landed mine with a measly associate in absolutely nothing.
She was the head of her department at a local laboratory that produced the very products I used to keep my youthful appearance. I always thought that was ludicrous, but there it was.
As might be expected, I married young and to a guy that everybody had warned me about. It was good for a while, but as things rolled along, I soon needed to find distraction elsewhere. I cheated.
Worse yet, I cheated, and got caught. When my husband discovered me in bed with one of his closest friends, that was it. He threw me out on my ear. Without anywhere to go, I tried to move back with my parents. They were less than sympathetic, having learned of my infidelity from none other than my sister, whom I had told in the strictest confidence.
Without any options, and barely a week's pay to my name, I begged my sister to let me stay with her.
"I can't believe you actually had the nerve to call me, Juliet. I mean, you can't seriously be thinking I would allow you to stay here." Megan prodded, knowing my situation.
"Megan, please. I'm virtually on the street, here." I explained. I wasn't really. I was holed up in a Motel 6, but the conditions there were atrocious. Finding an apartment was out of the question. There was a waiting list a mile long to get into anything I might be able to afford.
"What if I told you, yes, but with a very specific set of rules? Would you still need it so desperately?" Megan asked.
"Megan? I'll do anything. Just give me a roof over my head for a few months so I can get on my feet." I pleaded.
I couldn't believe she actually said yes. I hopped in my pretentious, albeit used Lexus, and was at her door in less than an hour. She opened the door after making me wait a good five minutes on the stoop, my two designer suitcases on either side of me.
"Juliet. That was fast." Megan accused, stepping aside to allow me to drag the bags in behind me. She'd gained a few pounds since I'd seen her last, but was far from fat. Her hair was short and styled, as it always had been and she looked typically frumpy.
"Thank you for letting me stay." I sighed.
"Don't thank me yet, Sis. You haven't heard the terms of the arrangement." Megan reminded me. "Why don't you leave your bags packed and come out to the kitchen."
Her house was a standard split-level suburban home, and the kitchen and dinette stood above an elevated den, with the necessary fireplace. The only thing was it was far from being in the suburbs. In fact, the nearest house was a good half-mile down the road.
Megan had obviously been working on something, and she had me sit opposite her at the four-seater oak table. "Here are my rules, Juliet."
I took the typewritten page, obviously something she had been working on for a few days, not since we had spoken on the phone.
Juliet's Rules and Responsibilities:
1. Housemaid. You are going to be my housemaid. I expect you to spend at
at least two hours per day cleaning my home. I want it spotless, and I'm a
bit of a slob.
2. You will also be responsible for maintaining my gardens and the three
acres of lawn I keep.
3. The balance of your time will be spent doing the same for my elderly
Neighbor.
I stopped reading at that point, wondering if she had lost her mind. "Megan? You can't be serious. What about my job?" I looked for some sign she was pulling my leg, but there was none.
"Oh, I expect you'll have to quit. There's no way you're going to be able to do both." Megan explained, deadly serious.
I stood, thinking I would simply walk out. This was preposterous. What did she think I was, some sort of slave? "I'm glad you saved me the trouble of unpacking, Megan."
"I won't be making this offer again, Juliet. Make certain you are choosing wisely." Megan chuckled, knowing full well I had no intention of following her 'rules'.
I grabbed my bags and opened the front door to a disheartening sight. My Lexus was nowhere to be seen. "Where's my car?" I screamed.
"Did you leave the keys in it?" Megan asked, almost ominously.
"I might have. I had my hands full, you know." I grumbled.
"Oh, those Hanley boys. They probably took it for a joyride." Megan laughed.
"They stole my car!" I yelled, standing on the porch and stomping my feet.
"You want me to call the police?" She asked.
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble." I seethed, slipping back through the door.