The next day is the same routine where I shake the feeling away of carpal tunnel at the warehouse and start my second job at the Espinoza house dressed in all black and ringing the doorbell in the back. I expected Natalie to answer, but instead it is a boy in his early twenties looking down at me like I'm trash.
"You must be the new one," he says all low as Natalie peeks behind him.
"Pardon me, young sir," says Natalie, "I usually give the new clients a spare key to not disturb the household." She grins at him as he walks away with heavy feet. She slips me the key with a heart shape on it as I walk in hastily. The smug boy looks at me once more before ascending to the stairs and all I could concentrate on the heart shaped locket he wore around his neck. What an odd piece of jewelry to wear for a teen boy, I thought.
"You just met Anthony Espinoza, the young boy who came back from college," says Natalie. "It's best to steer clear of him since he's got a thing for breaking the rules and causing mischief." I turn to look at Natalie and she seems to look flustered from her thoughts.
"Fine with me," I reply. "What are we supposed to do today?" I look at the kitchen and see a heap of dirty dishes as if a party were hosted for fifty people.
"Today we clean the pool, kitchen, and bathrooms." She rolls up her sleeves to start on dishes and fixes her hair and I notice a small bruise on her shoulder. I say nothing of what I saw since it could be from several possibilities, and it is also none of my business. "You can start with the swimming pool since it's easiest. You can find the pool bleach in the laundry room and use the net scrubber that's hanging outside in the backyard. All trash you catch in the pool you are to dump in the bins located in the garage." She puts all the dishes in the giant dishwasher and starts soaking the pots and pans with soap and hot water. "Any questions before you start?" I shake my head. "Good," as she waves me off to go outside.
. . .
As I clean the pool with the scrubber, I can barely make out a single star in the night sky through the light pollution in The Enlightened community. Over in The Veiled, there are clusters of stars since there is hardly any light pollution. I guess that is the only thing I seem to enjoy in our community since The Administrate can't take away the solar system that illuminates the night sky. I sigh as I reach the middle of the swimming pool's floor, trying to balance myself from the edge to not fall and make a mess of myself.
Then I hear a loud bang on a window that causes me to look up at the house. I see Natalie pushed up against the balcony door like she's being arrested by The Law. I gasp and look more closely and see the faint shimmer of a heart-shaped locket through the glass. Natalie moans loudly and I have come to the realization that Anthony Espinoza and Natalie Santiago are a secret relationship of lustfulness. I see that Natalie is missing her pants and is bare naked from the waist down. I gasp in shock but little did I know that I lost my foot placement by the pool then I slipped from the edge of in the swimming pool with a loud splash. I try with all my might to swim up to the surface with water in my lungs Coldness envelopes my body as I struggle to reach the surface for air. I can feel the panic rising in my air-starved lungs for oxygen, but I cannot fight the water any longer due to my lack of swimming lessons. My mind is drawing a blank and I try once more before giving up. It's getting harder to concentrate and my mind engulfs into the darkness and the coldness numbs my limbs.
. . .
Breathe, you stupid girl! Breathe goddamnit! I feel the pressure on my chest as my lungs are being forced to push the water out of my esophagus. I spit up almost half the pool until I'm heaving for air into my lungs, and I look up with tears spilling out of my eyes. I start crying with the notion that I almost experienced death just for cleaning a stupid pool.
"She'll live," says a male voice. I turn to look who saved me and I see Anthony Espinoza soaked to the bone and only wearing a pair of shorts that is clinging in all the inappropriate areas. His body is a dark tan with smooth, ripped muscles, like he's been going to the gym as soon as puberty hit. Behind him is Natalie all silent and with the look of shame on her face before she turns away and holds the heart-shaped locket in her left hand. I guess he asked Natalie to hold the locket before diving in for my rescue.
"Thank you," I manage to whisper through my sore throat. I notice that Natalie is a mess from their intense love making through the balcony window. There's evidence of a bruise in shape of a hand on her neck and her hair is a mess instead of its usual French braid that goes past her shoulders. She looks miserable and abused in the most inhumane way and it sickens me.
"You should get up and dry off," says Natalie as she goes back to retrieve a white towel for Anthony. I sit and look at how she treats him, and I realize that he is abusing her. He walks back into the house leaving us outside. Without hesitating, Natalie leans down to help me up and wraps her arms around my body. She's crying softly and gently smooths out my wet hair. "Thank god you're okay."
"Are you okay," I hoarsely whisper, "I saw what was happening to you and I didn't—"
"Shhhh…," she shushes me and helps me into the kitchen into the laundry room. "He needs an outlet and I happen to be the outlet at the moment." She wipes a tear from her eye as soon as it falls. "He despises this household and his own family along with their expectations and The Administrate." I help Natalie with her hair as my clothes are drying. Her hair looks like a bird's nest, so I try to smooth out the tangles and turn it into a French braid again. My fingers start to tense as I'm halfway through her hair due to discomfort in my joints.
"You are not an object," I whisper, "We may work for others that are wealthy and swimming in their luxuries, but never forget this," I turn Natalie to look at me, "we are people, and we are not animals. We are the ones that keep these bozos rich and we can stop it at any time." I have no idea why I'm trying to cheer her up when I know nothing of this woman other than she is sexually abused by this college frat boy that clearly needs to learn some manners as well as how to treat a lady. Clearly this is the type of stress that The Veiled community go through on a daily basis and I absolutely loathe this whole country.
. . .
After fixing ourselves up in the laundry room, I went back outside to retrieve the scrubber that was in the swimming pool. I decided to use the net to bring the scrubber toward the surface of the water.
"Have you seen my locket," asks a deep voice. I turn around and see Anthony Espinoza looking at me with repugnance. I break the stare and try to remember what became of the locket.
"I'll fetch it for you Mr. Espinoza," I mutter as I rush back to the laundry room hoping Natalie still has the locket in her pocket. I rush down the stairs to only find it hanging on a hook by the entrance. I grab it and notice the warmth radiating from the locket itself. The locket is made up of silver with golden trim swirling in the middle to its center that holds a red gemstone. The locket was heavy and in the back was an opening small enough for a key to open the whole thing.
"I see you have an interest in jewelry, maid," says someone from behind me at the entrance of the laundry room. I turn sharply and feel my heart race with fear of this monster. As I try to keep my composure, he looks different, softer demeanor with kindness in his eyes. Looks may be deceiving since his boy is cruel to the heart.
"Sorry, sir. I was just examining to see if it got damaged in the water." I hand him his locket and take note of a change in his stance, more dominant and cold-hearted. "Excuse me, I need to prepare dinner." I walk around him and get to the kitchen and try to figure out what to cook without Natalie. I decide on making spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread with a side salad.
Natalie comes from upstairs and helps me in silence. Two hours later we managed to finish all the cooking. We set the dining table with spaghetti in the center and salad on the side with wine chilling in a bucket of ice. I decide to start cleaning up the kitchen while the Espinoza family come home from work.