Day 1: Taken By the Cleaners

I awoke extra early on Becoming Myself again and prepared several suitable outfits for the day (remember the heat and rain makes this a necessity). I placed them out on the bed in their probable order of need and decided to get some water from the fridge.

I have guests coming tonight (the start of the deluge that lasts until Easter) and had hired my two "enemies of dirt" Victoria and Andrea to clean the house. These are the type of girls who carry every piece of furniture out of a room, scrub it, and return everything to it's place. Then I hired the "ex from hell" to do a little touch up painting. This whole gang needed the money and they can be trusted; trusted within reason I learned.

I always leave a a case or two of beer for the cleaners, but this particular week I had stocked the fridge with expensive champagne, brutally priced Venetian chardonnays, and more, much more. When I opened the door all but a few bottles of cheap wine for cooking were gone. I looked under serveral cabinets thinking of the way the move item to clean, but no.

I donned a smart morning dress with a hat tilted slightly on the left to shield the sun and walked over the the place of employment of my "ex".
"Did you like the painting?, he asked. "Oh, yes. It dried faster than
I would have imagined",I replied, "But, tell what happened to all the wine and champagne?" There was a second there, a second to think of an answer. "But you told us we could have anything." Tears were starting to well and we were not going there. "Really, Ramon, you know what is a present for guests, don't you." "Yes", he said, "I replace it today." "No dear", I said, "They were all gifts from salesmen; I'll make some calls today, but really." "I'm sorry, please...."

And then I felt IT: Mrs. Astor. As I left the restaurant with Ramon following, I said, "You did nothing wrong; it was just an error in judgment. And on top of all, it's just liquor, which simply can be replaced by the picking up of a telephone." Then I walked over to Ocean Drive turned North and engaged a haughtily gait that I have not enjoyed in months.