“He is well behaved.” I smiled. “Yes. He also just got carried in from his walk.” Alester and Jeremy laughed a little. “Carried in?” I nodded. “He’ll flop down on the pavement and won’t get up. I’ve tried everything to get him to walk back, but he finds no interest in it. I promise he’s not a lazy dog.” I said, giving Winston a good back rub, causing his leg to thump again as he tried to reach the spot. Alester seemed entertained. “I hope he’ll get along with my dog then.” I looked at him, curious. “Breed, if I may ask?” He smiled. “He’s a Samoyed.” I nodded my head. “Samoyeds are the opposite of a Chow Chow. Samoyed's smile, while Chow’s always give a scowl even if they don’t mean to.” I said, Winston looked up at Alester, seeming to give him a disapproving look. After we finished, I knew Alester was wanting to get to business. “Winston, sit.” Winston sat at my feet, and soon flopped over, laying down. “Well, I just realised I never asked your name?” I gave off a weary sigh. “Clemintine Lennon.” He nodded. “Age?” “I’m 19.” He nodded again, and soon looked up at me. “Nationality?” “I’m of Filipino descent, but my parents were born here, in England. He nodded his head again, writing that down. “What did you work as when you worked for Mrs. Williams?” “I was working either in the kitchens, cleaning, or watching over her children while she and her husband went places.” He nodded again, the pencil scrawling across the paper.
“Alright. So, you clearly have a background in housekeeping, nannying, and cooking.” I nodded my head this time. “Yessir.” He smiled. “Would you like to work for me? You can live in the house, it’s got lots of rooms and plenty enough yard for your dog to romp around with mine.” I took his now outstretched hand and shook it. “I’d love to.” He gave off a happy smile, stood up and put his fedora back on. Jeremy followed suit, and soon they both were at the door. “Ah, wait. I need to give you this.” He handed me an envelope, and soon left. I looked at it, slipped it into my trousers pocket, and went to take care of the dishes. Winston followed me into the kitchen, and I gave him a small treat of a biscuit. He wagged his tail, and sat down. Once the kitchen was cleaned, I realised. I would have to move out of this place to move in there. I opened the envelope to see what it contained. It was just a letter from him explaining what I have to do, and who I'd have to talk to once I get there. I sighed, and Winston made a little howling noise as he wagged his tail.
“Oh, Winie. We’ll have to move out I guess. I thought he was joking, but it says here to sell the house and all the unnecessary stuff like dishes, food, the couch, rugs, and other stuff because he has that all.” Winston waddled over to his little dog bed, and flopped down in it. I smiled. “Yeah, that’s a good response.” He wagged his tail a little more, and nuzzled himself into the blanket that I had put in there for him a few days ago. I went to my spare room, and looked at the empty flattened boxes. Taking a few of them, I went to my room. The furniture all came with the apartment, so I didn’t really need to take all that, or sell it. The rugs and things didn’t, so I rolled them all up and put them near the front door. I folded all my clothes except a few outfits, and put them in the box. My dirty laundry went straight to the laundromat, and I washed it there. Once it was clean, I packed a few more outfits into the suitcase where I had placed the few from earlier into, and the rest went into the box. One pair of dress shoes went into my suitcase before I zipped it up. Winston came into the room as I was putting all my bedding into another box. He put his front paws on the edge of the box and peered in. “I know it looks like a lot Winston, but we’re almost done.” He gave off a gruff snort, and stepped back down.
“Yeah.” I said, even though I had no clue what he was saying, I felt like I understood that noise quite well. I put all my books into another box with all my accounting stuff, my typewriter, ink, paper, and other “office” things. My room felt emptier now as I looked around. I pushed all the boxes out and into the living room. I packed the rest of the books from in there, and went to pack the rest of my stuff. Once done, and it was clearly night by now, I realised. I haven't eaten dinner yet. I’m glad I thought about it because I haven’t cleared my fridge yet. Once there, I fed Winston his meal, and I finished up the spam, eggs, milk and coffee that I had left in there. My cupboards were all dry foods like pasta and rice, so I decided I would do something with that in the morning. I had some oats left for Winston tomorrow, but other than that there wasn’t anything else for him to eat. I looked at him, and he looked up at me. There were oats, milk, and egg all on his face and a few oats somehow on his forehead. I smiled, and he continued to eat.
The next morning, I asked a few neighbours if they wanted any rugs, a desk, and some china. Those items went fast, thankfully, and I asked the kids if they wanted some biscuits. I had bought a fresh box a day before yesterday because I ran out, and I didn’t need them. The children eagerly snapped them up, and I went back to my house. I dialled the number that was left for me in the envelope, and Alester sent out one of his servants to pick up my boxes, myself, and my dog that I had swaddled in his blanket. Winston barely squirmed except a few times because when we stopped he thought we were at the vet’s office. Once at Alester’s grand Villa Greenlea’s door, I hooked up Winston on his leash. Alester opened the door as I was telling Winston to play nice with the other dog. Alester’s Samoyed was eager to sniff Winston’s butt, and I saw that Alester was eager to have me. My boxes were brought in, and he showed me where I was going to stay. I noticed it wasn’t in the servant’s quarters, but in a room that was close to his.
“I hope you don’t mind staying here. I uh, well, my parents are going to be coming over, and I need a buffer between my mother and I.” I smiled, sympathetically. I knew how that was. “I don’t mind at all. Will I be your personal servant while she is here?” He gave off a small nod. “Yes, mainly because she thinks I should have one. I pray to god she won’t have you dress me.” We both laughed, and Winston came flying to me with his new friend. I looked at him. “Well, isn’t it Mr. Winston and his new friend!” I picked him up and placed a kiss on his head, which he slobbered my face in his own kisses. “Ah, I see I didn’t tell you that my dog’s name is Nyx.” I smiled, and patted his jet black samoyed on the head. “She’s awfully pretty in’t she, Winston?” Winston gave off a small ‘Rooohh!’ which made us both laugh. “I think that Winston agrees.” Alester said, after our laughter calmed down. I nodded my head. “Well, he does get along with Nyx. Winie is also neutered, so no worries about puppies anytime soon.” He nodded. “Nyx couldn’t have them anyways, mainly because mother wanted Nyx’s ovaries out.” I sighed. “Seems rough.” He nodded. “It’s alright, mainly because she’s got a good head on her shoulders, been through a lot an all.” I sighed. “I think we’ve all been through stuff because of the depression. I kept my money on me so I didn’t have mucha rough time as the rest of ‘em.” He nodded. “I see your speech is a little rougher?” I sighed. “Yeah. My pops is from New York, and my mama is from London. I grew up with my dad though, and received letters from my mom. She even forced pops to send me to Etiquette school, which I took gratefully, and that’s also where I learned all the stuff I know. I guess it landed me better than where I thought I would have ended.”
He nodded his head, and opened the room’s door for me. “Ah, well, I shouldn't keep you from unpacking.” I didn’t realise that all my boxes were up here now. “Mm. Thank you, Sir. How would you like me to address you from now on, in all formalities?” He jumped a little when I became very formal. “Well, when it’s just me and you, please call me Alester. But, when there are other people, you can call me Sir.” I nodded my head, and gave him that formal bow that we all were taught to use. “And, lord don’t do that when it’s just me and you. That would make it very awkward.” We both laughed. “Alright, I won’t.” He smiled, and set me off to unpack. Nyx followed him, and Winston followed me, his energy clearly sapped. “Did you get your steps in Winston?” He wagged his tail a little. “Mm. That’s what I thought too. Nyx will keep you on your paws.” He gave off a small bark at me, and I kissed his head. I unpacked my bedding, and made the bed. This clearly was a new mattress, and as I looked around, everything was set up to accommodate me. I guess he took note of my whole living room. Golly, there was enough space for all my books.
I had my bed made, my desk set up, and I was putting my books in the book shelf when he came back in. “Ah, I see you’ve made good progress. I’ve got fish and chips, would you like some?” I turned, and smiled. “Yes please.” He set the extra basket down on the desk, and I pulled up the other chair for him. “What else do you do?” He asked, and I frowned. “Well, I read and type up things. I was an accountant for Mrs. Williams and her extravagant spending. I took the mail out, wrote invitations for parties and galas, formal dinners, and I was in charge of getting all the needed supplies. Things like that, as well as cleaning and darning clothes.” He nodded. “Well, I don’t need an accountant, for I’ve got one. We’ve got a laundry woman who does the clothes, and a person who does all the social event planning, and also a foot boy who’ll run into town to get last minute things.” I nodded. “Mm. Well, I guess I can suffice your personal needs, like if you need a friend or just need something. I can also make your bed and clean your room if you feel it’s needed.” He smiled. “Alright. I can allow that. I get late to work sometimes if I clean my room all up before I leave, and I don’t know why I can’t wake up earlier anymore.” I frowned a little. “Well, I did offer my assistance, and hearing you say that makes me want to defy what you said and do your room anyways.”
He laughed. “Alright, go ahead. It’s all clean right now, but you can do your thing tomorrow morning.” I nodded, and there was silence as we continued to eat. Nyx burst through the door, as I was giving Winston a tiny bit of chip to edge him off till he could have his oats. Nyx placed her paws on my thigh. “Aw, Nyx, you’re going to have to ask your father about that one.” I said as I wiped my hands on a napkin. “Why do you give Winston a little of your food?” I looked over at Alester. “I do that so that it can edge him off until he can have his oats.” Alester looked really confused. “Oats?” I nodded. “Because Chows can become overweight easily, they have to have a diet of oats. I put milk and some egg in there for him, and on christmas he gets to have peanut butter, oats, milk, and some egg. I give him little things that I’ve tried with him, and he loves chips. He’ll sit at your feet if you have other food, but chips is something he’ll do a whole opera for.” Alester laughed at that. “Seems fun.” I smiled and shook my head. Winston figured out a way to wiggle himself into my lap, and soon I shoved the chips basket away from him. “Winie, no. You got yours.” He gave off an impatient whine. “Winie.” He looked at me, whined again, and tried to wiggle himself onto the table. “Winston Lennon. Stop doing that. I gave you your chip, so stop it.” Winston stopped what he was doing, and flopped in my lap. “That's what I thought.” Alester was trying not to crack up about it.
We finished up, Winston was flopped over in his bed, and Nyx had her head on the edge of his basket. Alester left Nyx in here, and I finished putting books on my bookshelf. I knew he was in his room, because I heard the door open and shut before he came to the doorway of mine. “Clemintine?” I gave off a small hum. “Uh, my mother is going to be here tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know that.” I turned around from the bookshelf, and looked at him. “How early should I be up? And also, you can call me Clemin when your mother gets here. She’ll ask why I have a woman’s name, then call me a trany.” He nodded. “Wait, are you a transvestite?” I sighed. “No. My parents named me Clemintine so that they would have a female child. That's what they originally wanted, and soon after me they had my three sisters that they would do anything for.” He nodded. “I’m sorry.” I laughed, a slightly bitter one, but it was still a laugh. “Mm, don’t be.” He fiddled with his pocket watch, and soon nodded again. “Alright, but if you want me to, I can call you Clemin.” I shrugged. “Whatever you think is best, you are my boss after all.”
He nodded again, and I went back to searching for the book I had set aside, but knew that I put it on the shelf somewhere. I could feel his eyes watching me a bit, and soon left. Nyx came up to me, and nudged her muzzle against my leg. I rubbed her head a little, and Winston gave off a snort which signified he was starting to enter deep sleep, and that also meant a lot of dog snores. Nyx sat by my feet, which I thought was cute. I found the book I wanted to read, and sat at my desk. Nyx went to Alester who walked past my room. Winston was snoring heavily in his sleep, which I couldn’t help but giggle over as I read my book. I was laughing when Alester walked by again. He didn’t know what I was laughing about until he heard Winston give off a loud snort in his sleep, which made me laugh harder. Alester smiled, shook his head, and went to his room.
It was a little hard falling asleep at night because I was in a new place. But, Winston made it more enjoyable because I pulled him into the bed with me. He was a big teddy bear when he was in the bed, so that was easier to make me fall asleep. I woke up to a gentle knock on my door at 4:30 in the morning. I looked to see that it was the shadow of Alester. Winston growled at it, and I told him it was Alester, which confirmed my suspicion that it was because Nyx came and jumped on my bed, jumped off, and jumped on it again. I got up, and put Winston down. “Sorry to wake you early.” I looked at him once I turned the light on, my bed ruffled hair surely made a “wonderful” sight. “It’s alright. I’ll feed Winie when I'm done getting around. It doesn’t take me long. Then I'll make your bed and clean your room while you finish all the preparation.” He nodded, and thanked me as he headed down the hall.
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