Mateo, stood a few feet away. I still marveled at having someone whose job was just to drive me and Gabriel around. In the town where I’d grown up, no one had a driver. Most of us were lucky to even own a car. I felt bad asking Mateo to take us all over the city, but he assured me that his first job was watching out for Gabriel, and if the location was safe, then he’d be happy to take us.
So, I felt a tiny bit guilty, but not enough to stay home. Santiago was a vibrant city, and I wanted to take advantage of going out. Plus, Garbiel seemed to love getting out as much as I did. He often clapped his hands together when we got into the car.
I hugged him tight and resisted the urge to baby talk. “We have to get back home, little buddy. Your mom is going to be waiting for us.”
He knocked his head into my neck and gurgled as I patted him on the back. He needed a nap, and I had to take a shower. Apparently this dinner would be dressy, and even though I was a little nervous about eating with the Laurents and their guests, I was looking forward to having some adult interaction. Usually the Laurents went out for dinner, or if Mr. Laurent wasn’t home, Mrs. Laurent didn’t come to the dining room.
The chef always made dinner for me and Gabriel, and sometimes he joined us to eat, and sometimes I could convince Amelia, the housekeeper to join us, too. Gabriel loved to socialize, and he ended up getting most of the attention during dinner. If we all ate together, Amelia spoke English to Gabriel, and the chef let me practice my Spanish with him.
By the time we arrived back at the villa, Gabriel was sound asleep and I put him in his crib. As I was leaving his room, Mrs. Laurent appeared in the hallway.
As usual, she was stunning. She was one of those people who always looked polished, whether she was in a cocktail dress or her pajamas. Not that she wore any ordinary pajamas; she wore silky nightgowns. When I’d started working for the Laurents, she’d made me pack away my University t-shirts and my old pajama pants with llamas on them, and she’d bought me pretty cotton pajamas. They weren’t slinky or revealing – in fact, if I’d been back home in Alabama, I could have worn them out and no one would have noticed they weren’t regular clothes.
“Hello, Kate,” she said. Her accent was beautiful. I loved listening to her talk.
“Hello, Mrs. Laurent,”
“How was your time with Gabriel?”
“It was really good. He loved the park as usual, and waved at the flamingos over and over.”
“Wonderful,” she said. “I’m pleased that you are always providing stimulating experiences for him.” She glanced at my hair. “Once you’ve showered, I have some lovely dresses for you to try on for dinner tonight. You may choose the one you prefer.”
She followed me into my room, where she’d laid out four party dresses on my bed. Wow. These were way nicer than my prom dress had been, all for a dinner at home. One was red, one was teal, one was black. The other was a shimmery champagne color.
“I will leave you to choose a dress. When you have chosen, hang the rest in the closet. When you are dressed, choose a pair of dressy sandals from your closet. Then come to my room. I have someone to do your hair and makeup.”
Okay. First a party dress, now I was getting my hair and makeup done for a party at the house.
“Thank you, Mrs. Laurent,” I said, and she was gone, leaving me staring at the pile of fabric on my bed.
She was only around thirty-four or five, and she didn’t really seem older, but she was remote, and far away. She didn’t treat any of us as if she thought she was better than us, but there was an odd separation with her, unlike with Mr. Laurent. He was pleasant, but all business.
Maybe it was because she was so insanely rich. I’d never spent time around rich people. Sure, there were wealthy students at the University of Alabama, but most of them weren’t in my social work classes. And by wealthy, I meant they had a BMW or a Mercedes, and their parents had a big house in Mountain Brook, Alabama, or Madison, Mississippi, and