They came in by the dozens. These obnoxious women. The bargain settled at the door, she would tread into my room carefully.
"Bada kamra hai," and then begin to jack up her price on a sudden whim. Packed off, the next candidate would wind her way in somehow. By the time she was trained, ready for work, she'd report sick. Days dragged on, finally another one replaced her.
This one agreed to every demand I made. So she wiggled her fat backside through the window to clean the outside, huffed and puffed slowly like a dying engine out of our house within half an hour, never to appear again.
So the candidates filed in by the dozens. They interviewed me.
Scanned me from top to bottom as if I were a machine. A settlement regarding pay and bonus reached, satisfied, they promised to start work the next day. I waited and waited, they never turned up and finally did it all myself.
One day a woman rolled in through our door, short but nice looking and neatly dressed. I, much calmer and matured through months of rejection by potential candidates, readily embraced her with the biggest smile. She liked me. She began work, learned the ropes quickly. Efficient and quiet, she finished her work in a jiffy.
I did go out of my way to speak kindly to her, doling out generous gifts from time to time.
She worked with us for years. Now she's like family to us.
I realized I finally had earned my MM degree.
Maid management.
