Mama Melody always emphasized that she hires two maids and one security who also acts as the gardener because her house and compound was big. Since she had one toddler, I didn’t see the work to be extreme on me because I am a robot. I mean, I rarely get tired. I can work from 430AM to past 10PM and you won’t see me dozing during the day. I can never sleep during the day and if I have to, then it won’t exceed an hour. The motto is simple, if you love big houses like me, then you should get ready for the chores.
When I got there, Emily worked with me for some days, then she gave a sudden notice that she had to resign to go and nurse her husband who had been involved in an accident.
Mama Melody didn’t believe I could handle her house alone yet it was almost the same size as Mama Kariuki’s house where I worked alone. I tried convincing her to let me try but she insisted that she doesn’t trust writers and she might trend one day for overworking me. Aah! don’t get shocked that everyone knows I write. My main reason for actually insisting to working alone was the fear of getting a partner who wouldn’t get along with me.
She insisted and the search started.
The first one to come was Millie. This one was the kiherehere and evil type. She was forcing to be considered the perfect maid. We would complete our chores, get on Netflix or our phones and immediately she heard the boss coming in, she would pretend to be doing something. No amount of telling her to stop panicking and relax would stop her. I had trained Melody to take her plate to the sink after meals. Millie would remove it for her, pretending to smile while asking if she was full when the boss was around. During the day, Millie wouldn’t even go near melody or talk to her. She wouldn’t even serve her anything when she was hungry. She wouldn’t even dare carry her but immediately boss came, her spare time would be used on playing with the baby. The only problem was that she didn’t know there were cameras all over so they could see all her pretence. This is the type of maid who’ll carry your baby everywhere when you’re around, but when you leave, your baby will cry herself to sleep. She was dismissed after one month. Mama Melody said she fears pretenders than thieves.
The second one was Akinyi. This one was en route to Mombasa and it seems her boss refused to send fare so when mama Melody booked for her guardian from Kisumu to Nairobi, she had reduced her fare by half. She stayed for two days and ran away. Her friend who helped her get the job exposed her secret after she confirmed from the family where she was.
The third one was Maxi. She got her first salary and left after stealing. When she was going for her off, she packed mama Melody’s necklace which she left on the dining table, the baby’s tablet, Melody’s shoes and some dresses belonging to mama Melody’s sister in the guest bedroom. Mama Melody didn’t look for her because she said all the things she took were very cheap and the money won’t even get to her salary. She even left her belongings behind which we burned later. This one was perfect in her work and very mature. It was easy working with her.
The fourth was Priscilla. This one had the “thieve’s vibe”. She used to ask random questions about how much everything expensive costed, and her phone calls were always conducted in secluded places. Unless she was talking to her family, you would never hear Priscilla’s conversations. She also had weird questions like whether the electric fence was working, if mama Melody had a safe and where it was, if the CCTVs were monitored etc. Information concerning herself was always very shallow. She was horrible at her chores and she was also fired after her first salary.
The last one was Gladys. This one always had emergencies. If her relative or friend wasn’t dead or sick, then she needed to attend church services and rallies even during the week. She was always asking for permission to go somewhere. Her church had a weekly service on Wednesday from 4PM to around 9PM, Saturday was for choir practice and a small service and she wanted to leave for her prophetic church at 12noon and come back at 9PM. Sunday required the whole day for her. Her excuse was that we were two and I could handle the work alone because the prophet needed her services in church. She was also dismissed after two months when she refused to change. Gladys was also very good with work and Melody. I could have chosen her a million and one times to work with me again
At this point, mama Melody was also tired of employing and let me be alone. She gave me a million and one warnings to alert her when I found the work overwhelming but I was okay and happy until my last day.