“You’re not late at all! Here, have some soup.
Has it been busy at work?” Mom was very
happy with Chris, she treated him as one of
her own.
Chris took the soup from Brenda, and noticed
she was acting strange.
“Is everything okay, Brenda? If you need
anything, just let me know.”
<
He’s always been like that, kind and friendly
with everyone.
Brenda shook her head, her eyes welling up.
She looked at Mom, then at me, like she’d
been mistreated. “Thanks, Chris, I’m fine.”
My eyebrows furrowed, and I mentally marked
her for termination at the end of the month.
I would tolerate a housekeeper who thought
of herself as family giving suggestions, but I
would never allow someone who tried to
cause problems to stay in my home.
At the same time, I watched Chris‘ reaction.
L
“Is something going on at home? If so, you
should take a few days off. Both work and life
are important.” Chris took a sip of soup, and
then, suddenly looking enlightened, cut a big
piece of cake from the center of the cake and
gave it to Brenda. “Happy birthday, Brenda.”
The cake was for Mom, it had all her favorite
fruit on it. Giving away a piece wasn’t a big
deal.
But Mom hadn’t even sung “Happy Birthday,”
