The Hotel Maid by Michelle Dunne

Author:Michelle Dunne [Dunne, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Published: 2024-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

MIA

Mia’s hands worked of their own accord, preparing Mammy’s ‘go-to’ meal. The same one she always made when Mammy was hungry, but not willing to wait: buttery scrambled eggs with fresh chives and white pepper. Never black. Served on three slices of sourdough bread. But her brain had shut down and her body was threatening to do the same. Her stomach was churning, her hands were shaking and her whole head pricked with pins and needles.

Her real mother was here. Probably standing in the exact spot where Mia was standing now. Her hands stopped what they were doing, and she looked down at the floor. She was right here. Did she touch this pan? Her eyes went to where her hand rested on its handle. Had she ever used the black pepper by mistake, like Mia once had?

She could feel Mammy’s eyes on her back, so she got to work again. The tension in the room seemed to hum and everything felt wrong. She wanted to ask a hundred different things, mostly about her real mother. But what about all the other questions that were lined up in her head since before Mammy came home? She had wanted to know if she could go with her to the Cedarwood Manor next time. She wanted to know about boyfriends and girlfriends and the weird way Daddy had acted last night. She stopped what she was doing again, as a thought occurred to her. Is that what he was trying to say? That he and Mia’s real mother were boyfriend and girlfriend? Was he her real father?

Did he kill Mia’s mother?!

‘What’s wrong with you, girl?’ Mammy snapped.

Mia was frozen to the spot, but Mammy’s voice spurred her into action again. Her belly told her that she’d get in serious trouble if she asked about any of this, so she decided to keep her mouth shut. But all the questions swimming around inside her head were getting jumbled up. They became so tangled that all she could think to say was: ‘Did you have a nice break away?’

‘I did, Mia.’

Mammy had that false happy tone in her voice, the way she sometimes sounded when she knew Mia had done something wrong. An explosion was coming, she was sure of it.

She put the plate on the table in front of Mammy and moved hesitantly away. She desperately wanted to hear more. But she knew better than to ask.

‘You look like you have ants in your pants, Mia.’

‘Sorry.’

Erica gave her a bemused smile while she ate, which only added to Mia’s confusion. Then, with her mouth full, she used her fork to point at the opposite chair, where Mia had sat earlier. She settled back into it quickly. She dared not breathe in case Mammy changed her mind.

‘You want to know how I came to rescue you from that stupid woman. Is that it?’

Mia couldn’t respond.

‘It’s simple really, Mia. I didn’t see why we should be pumping money into that woman’s hand for the rest of our lives, when she was the one who betrayed me.

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