June 03, 2020
Review, Edit and Update
Full of Thoughts from April 21st, shows the character of Martha, alone with her worries in Covid19 the required isolation of her home. She decides to act and contact Digby, the butler about her job security, then left with many questions and a few ideas - along with a cup of tea and a cookie.
Little needed to be altered in this episode, merely some punctuation, spacing and unnecessary wording.
Full of Thoughts
Hartley seemed empty. A ghost town where once there had been foot traffic, bicycle traffic and just plain traffic. Cars, trucks, service vehicles and buses. But inside homes, families were living differently. Moms and dads working from home while helping their kids to keep up with their schooling. Moms and dads unemployed while helping their kids to keep up with their homework, while at the same time doing home fix-ups that had been waiting for ‘someday’.
Martha watched the news, always paying attention for any changes to the government’s plans, and of course to Public Health recommendations and projections. As far as she knew, her job was safe. She’d had no indication from Mrs. Beaufort that their jobs were in jeopardy, but it did weigh on her mind. Especially when she heard about the many unemployed and how they were struggling. Did she have enough retirement money? Would she have to give up this little cottage on the Beaufort Estate? If she did where would she go? To live with her daughter, Joanie? So many questions that had no answers. Martha decided to start asking questions. After all, that’s the only way a body can find any answers. She started with an email to Digby. Had he heard anything from Mrs.Beaufort?
Digby,
I do hope everything is well with you and you are about ready to get back to work. We seem to have gone past our needed isolation time. In that case, we should be able to go back to work as long as we keep the distancing, wash our hands and not come to work if we don’t feel well. Have you heard anything from Mrs. Beaufort?
Take care of yourself,
Martha
Martha,
Yes, I am well. I do hope you are well also. You are correct ~ I am definitely ready to get back to work. We have ‘served our time’. As a matter of fact, I heard from Mrs. Beaufort only moments ago. She actually called me to ask when we were to have our next staff meeting. I told her that it should have been last week, so we would have one as soon as we returned to work. She seemed very pleased, and asked if she could attend.
I am going to send out an email to all the regular staff that we’ll meet early next week. Mrs. Beaufort made another very strange request. She would like our ideas on what we could do for the community. She went on to say that she would like us all to work together.
I also asked her about our job security, as I know that must be playing on everyone’s mind. Without the least bit of hesitation, she said that all of our jobs are secure.
So, Martha, get your thinking cap on and dig up those ideas you’ve had for how we can help the community.
Be well,
Yours sincerely,
Digby
Martha had been studying on Digby’s email ever since. She had gotten one answer. Her job was not in jeopardy. But now she had another question. What could we do for the community? As a Housekeeper, on a Housekeeper’s salary, she couldn’t do much. But together? Martha knew every inch of the Beaufort home. It was a home with so much emptiness inside those walls. Could they help with housing? No. That didn’t seem right. It could only a be temporary solution. There were at least two bedrooms, but only two bedrooms doesn't help a whole lot of the community. When she went over the budget in her head, the food budget often was quite large. Would something like meals for the homeless help? Of course Cook would love that idea. A temporary laundry service? At that point, Martha’s brain was hurting from all this thinking. A cup of tea seemed a good idea, so Martha put the kettle on. Got out the china teacup and saucer from her grandmother’s china. While the kettle boiled, she went looking for a cookie or biscuit. Alas, there were none to be found, But wait! What’s that? Tucked in the back of her cupboard was her secret stash cookie jar. There was one cookie left in there. It was only a week old and had chocolate chips in it. With her cup of tea and that cookie, she may be able to brainstorm again.
Some of the things that we have to think about……Martha’s quick mind started up again with her first sip of hot tea. First of all, and of course, Covid19 and any precautions from Dr. Bonnie Henry, our chief Public Health officer. So, do we want outsiders coming into the house and how do we do that safely? Will we all have to wear masks? Probably not. I hope not. Is there anything about the house itself that needs fixing? Nothing important and we can get that work done ~ with Mrs. Beaufort’s approval of course. Martha did seem to think in details, which was why she was good at her job. She kept the house running efficiently and with little waste.
Martha checked her kitchen clock. 9:30p. Time for her to get into that nightgown she told Elizabeth about. She had a good book on her night stand that was waiting for her. She tidied her kitchen and her sitting room before going to her room. I’ll just finish these last two rows before I go to bed. In the now tidy sitting room, Martha picked up a knitted dishcloth she had been working on, sat down and the knitting needles began to click faster and faster as Martha wondered how they could help. Mrs, Beaufort held the pursestrings, so ultimately it would be up to her. But she wanted our ideas. If I could have my way, and I held the pursestrings, what would I do? I would use the empty beds in the two bedrooms for somebody that needed them. I would have a kind of soup kitchen on the weekends to help the homeless. I would build a playground on the front lawn with everything a good distance apart so community kids could come and play. I think that’s enough for tonight. Anything else will have to come to me in my sleep.
Martha ate the last bite of cookie and drained the last drop of tea. She rinsed the cup and saucer under the tap and set them upside down on the draining board. Shutting out the kitchen lights, she disappeared down the hallway into her room and shut the door. She did get in bed with the intention of reading her book The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Funny, fanciful and a mystery. But the book fell on her chest. With the lamp still burning, her gentle snore softened the night.
“What is interesting and important happens mostly
in secret, in places where there is no power.”
Michail Ondaatje, The Cat’s Table
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