Chapter 31

Mila went back to her mother’s house to await the inevitable phone call. She felt certain that Mei would call, and she was right. The phone rang that night during her long, otherwise uninterrupted span of television viewing.

“Hello?” she said excitedly when she picked up the phone.

“Miss… Miss Mila?” the thickly accented female voice said hesitantly through the line.

“Yes! Yes!” she cried happily. “Mei, is that you?”

“Yes, Missy, it’s me,” she said, sounding relieved. “How are you?”

“I’m so glad you called!” Mila said unabashedly. “How are you? Will you come out here?”

“I have been thinking about what you said… Where is your mother now?” Mei asked slowly.

“She’s dead,” Mila frowned. “I told you that.”

“I just… I just wanted to check. She was not happy with me…”

“I know,” the girl in a boy body said quickly. “I know, but she’s not here anymore, and I liked you very much. I would like it very much if you could come back here.”

“You want me to work for you, in that same house?”

“Yes… well, er… I don’t know. Should I be in a different house?” Mila asked, confused.

“No,” Mei replied quickly. “I just… wondered. What salary would I have?”

“Well, the same… or more! Just tell me how much,” Mila said blissfully. Mei named a figure that she said she was garnering at the mansion she currently resided at. Mila wrote it down, biting her lip. She didn’t know if this was fair or not, but she would call the lawyer and make arrangements. “Okay, I will call tomorrow and make the necessary changes to have you paid. How soon can you come out?”

Mila couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard frantic whispering on the other end of the line. Then Mei returned, saying, “I could come tomorrow, if you could pay a taxi for me.”

“Okay!” she agreed eagerly. “That will be so wonderful! Thank you, Mei!”

“Thank you, Miss Mila.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Okay. Bye bye,” the woman said, hanging up the phone.

Mila replaced the phone in its cradle and stared happily at it for a long moment. Mei was coming back. Finally things could get to the way they should be. Mila clasped her hands together enthusiastically. The housekeeper didn’t know it yet, but she was going to teach Mila everything she knew.