Molly was still in a daze when her housekeeper returned and swiftly put all the groceries away before beginning to expertly and speedily dice onions while preparing dinner. She wouldn't listen to a single objection about it not being in her duties to do so.
Dinner was ready a lot faster than Molly expected it to be and Vanya set down a plate in front of her with an eager expression. "Here, Mistress. I hope you enjoy it."
It was a chicken and potatoes dish and was absolutely delicious. She couldn't remember the last time she enjoyed a meal this much. Her discomfort about being waited on momentarily disappeared.
"This is amazing!"
Vanya smiled in satisfaction. "I'm glad. Is there anything else you require of me while I am here?"
"No, you're good. You already did way too much, honestly," Molly told her. "You don't have to cook for me."
"Nonsense! It's my honor to cook for you, Mistress. I'll go ahead and clean up the dinner dishes before I go if there's nothing else." She did so before the food was even gone and took those dishes too. "Have a lovely evening. I'll see you in the morning."
Before Molly could say another word, she was gone. Today had been the strangest day she experienced since originally winning the lottery. She truly didn't know what to make of Vanya's willingness to serve.
She headed to her secret library that opened up from a shelf in the home office and discovered Casper was sitting on her favorite bean bag chair looking up at her expectantly. Had he been in here this whole time? She hadn't seen him in hours but that was to be expected in a house this big. There were plenty of places to hide.
She grabbed a book and plopped down next to him before petting him absently. "…I have had the strangest day, you know that?"
He simply meowed in response. What had she expected from a cat?
Molly continued petting him with one hand and reading with the other but her mind was still swimming from what happened earlier. This was going to take some serious getting used to and she wasn't sure what to expect from here on out.
===
Vanya continued showing up every morning without fail and taking care of whatever needed to be taken care of throughout the day until it was time for her to leave. She made breakfast, lunch, and dinner and offered drinks or snacks in the afternoon. She took care of the cats' litter boxes. She even took Molly's car to get an oil change on her behalf.
She was not at all used to this sort of treatment! But any protests from her about how this was too much were ignored. Who exactly was the boss here?
Oh well. She knew she was a pushover. She always had been.
At least Molly wasn't the only one who found this behavior weird. Whenever Calvin was around, he thought it was off too. One day when Vanya was out of earshot since she was chemically treating the pool, he made his true opinion known.
"That woman is seriously creepy. She pops up out of nowhere and works faster and more efficiently than should be humanly possible. And it seems like she gets genuine enjoyment out of going above and beyond! Where did you even find her?!"
She sighed. "Some reputable website advertising in-home helpers. I wonder if they're all like her or if she's a class unto herself. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she used to be the personal maid of the Queen of England."
"She is weirdly formal…how does it feel being called Mistress all the time?"
"I'm trying to get used to it. I notice she doesn't call you Master though. I guess it's because I'm the one who hired her personally."
Calvin shuddered. "I don't want ANYONE calling me that but especially not her. Maybe you should consider getting rid of her and hiring someone else. It's been a month and I don't know how much more of this I can take."
Molly didn't think she was that bad. Definitely strange and took some getting used to but she really liked Vanya's cooking. It was making her spoiled.
"I don't think she's—"
At that moment, the woman in question practically materialized out of thin air and smiled warmly at Molly while completely ignoring Calvin. "I finished with the pool, Mistress. Would you like a snack? Some water? A neck massage?"
Come to think of it, her muscles were pretty stiff. "I could go for a massage."
Vanya seemed pleased and was about to proceed when Calvin began doing it first. "I'm her fiancé; I can do it. You go slice up some apples or something."
Molly didn't notice the anger flashing dangerously through the other woman's eyes. "…I understand. Please excuse me, Mistress."
The massage wasn't very gentle and she winced. "Cal, ease up a bit. You're hurting me."
"Sorry. I'm not very good at massages."
"Then why did you insist on doing it yourself?"
"Because I want to spend some time with you alone on my day off! Is that so much to ask for? That creepy housekeeper is everywhere and waits on you hand and foot. I can't catch a break."
Molly didn't get the chance to reply before Vanya returned with the requested apple slices. She gingerly set them down on the coffee table before turning to her boss with a smile.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Mistress?"
"Uh…" she looked at her fiancé, who looked back at her beseechingly. "Actually, why don't you go home for the day? We're going out tonight so there's no need to take care of dinner. Thanks for your hard work, Vanya."
"It's my pleasure to be of help. See you tomorrow!"
Once she was gone, Calvin groaned. "Does that woman ever take days off? It's like she lives to serve."
Molly couldn't even refute it. Vanya seemed to get genuine enjoyment out of being considered helpful. She supposed that was how the housekeeper got her rather impressive reputation.
"Well, she's gone now. It's just you and me. Want to play a board game or watch a movie or something?"
"Sure."
They ended up playing a few different board games before heading out to grab dinner at one of their favorite restaurants on Molly's dime. She had been paying for all their dates and the household expenses because of her windfall.
Calvin insisted on continuing to work because he said he would go crazy if he didn't have something to do and he had worked hard for his position. She couldn't blame him. She was already going a bit crazy without having a consistent schedule.
Most of her time these days was spent either reading, trying out new hobbies, or attempting to write. Her dream was to write a full novel that would affect someone the way her favorite books had affected her but she wasn't all that creative and had no writing experience outside of essays in school.
Molly did a lot of research on writing advice and tried writing drabbles for prompts she found online. Those weren't as hard to do. It was writing something longer that was cohesive that was the issue.
She did those sorts of things whenever Calvin wasn't home but when he was, she spent as much time with him as she could. Admittedly, Vanya did keep popping up and getting in the way. She might have to say something to her about finding her own things to do whenever he was around before this conflict escalated to a full-on fight.
The housekeeper was very protective and solicitous of her charge. It seemed she had meant it when she originally said she would do anything for Molly.
Strange as it was, Vanya almost felt like a friend. Simply a very formal one.
At least Calvin still treated her normally. Those two were the only humans she had regular contact with anymore now that she had quit her job. It was nice having someone call her by her name or nickname instead of by an antiquated title.
"Hey, you wanna go do something fun outside tomorrow? We could go to the zoo or a museum," Molly suggested.
He shook his head while his mouth was full and swallowed before speaking. "Sorry, I'm putting in extra hours tomorrow and will probably be gone most of the day. A senior manager position is rumored to be opening up soon and I have to prove my worth. You understand, right?"
Her heart sunk. She did understand but it seemed like he had been working overtime more and more lately. The paranoid part of her wondered if he was avoiding coming home for some reason or other.
No. She couldn't think like that. Calvin loved her. They would be getting married in less than a year and would spend the rest of their lives together. He wouldn't have been annoyed about their time together being infringed upon earlier if he was avoiding her.
Stupid anxiety. It had to show up and ruin things at the worst possible times.
"That's fine! I can go by myself if I really want to get out of the house. Don't worry about it at all," Molly told him with a pasted-on smile.