After her shower, she headed back to the bedroom she would call hers. She cautiously climbed into the bed. It was fairly stable for something that looked so old. Lisa thought about her trip. It was hard to believe that just that morning, she was thousands of miles away. She was back home, with her family and relatives. She was surrounded by friends and people she knew. Now, she was in a whole new world where nothing felt the same. These thoughts crossed her mind, but exhaustion took over her body. She fell asleep immediately.
4
The next morning, Lisa heard the bell ring. Her host mother, Clara, woke her up at six o'clock in the morning. Lisa took a shower, put her jeans and a light blouse on and went upstairs. Lisa was told she would have to get up every morning at this time. She would then begin to prepare the breakfast table for the seven people who would be eating at it. Lisa was included in this seven people, as she was given her own place at the family table. The first day, Clara showed Lisa the duties she was expected to fulfil. First, Lisa would have to clean the dishwasher. Then, she would have to prepare and serve the breakfast tea at the table. Clara put dishes on the table, and made some fresh earl grey tea and set the table.
“Good morning!” greeted her host family, already starting with the fresh, crispy rolls from the supermarket. The whole family, including the parents and the four children, gathered at a large table. The table was full of food: different fruits, yogurts, jams, juices, everything one could ever wish for.
“Morning,” Lisa answered quietly.
The family table was long, since the family of six ate breakfast there every morning. Lisa was given a small chair at the end of the table. In front of her stood a little basket with yesterday’s bread. Lisa was allowed to have three slices of bread, a plate with some butter and a glass of tea. This was all she was allowed to have on her side of the table. The other side of the table was plentiful with food. There were fruits, Nutella spread, cakes and pastries and a variety of other delicious breakfast items. The side of the table opposite of Lisa's was always this full, but she wasn't allowed anything that was on the other side of the table. That surprised her. She thought as an au pair she was considered a part of the family. As part of the family, she should be allowed the same luxuries as the family. Lisa was never offered anything from the other side of the table. She also got the impression the family kept watching her eating her bread, as though they were making note of every slice she ate.
“Lisa, right now you have a good chance to get to know the children. They are on holiday from school and will be home for most of the day,” Clara explained to her.
Lisa nodded with enthusiasm. “Yes, I look forward to getting to know each of them.”
After breakfast, Lisa cleared from the table. It was Lisa's job to clean the table up of all the food, leaving it spotless. After she finished cleaning the table, she was greeted with another surprise. The children were going to spend most of the day with their grandmother. This was a daily occurrence while they were on holiday. The grandmother's home was twenty miles away and Lisa was expected to get herself there every single day. The children would all be dropped off by the parents in the car on their way to work. Lisa, on the other hand, was expected to ride a bicycle into town every day. Clara took her to the garage and showed her where they kept the bicycle she was expected to use. Inside of the same garage were two convertibles, a Ferrari, and a Multivan for family trips.
“Here is the bicycle you can use, Lisa. You will need to ride into the town every day. It's about 15 miles away from here.” Clara explained.
“Thank you.” Lisa answered, unsure of what else to say.
Clara explained that Lisa would have a few hours each morning to herself, before heading into town. The first day, Lisa made a note of the scenery on the trip to their grandmother's house. There were only a few single-family homes on the narrow alleyways. While Lisa was at the grandmother's home, she noticed the children kept going in and out of the kitchen. She had the impression these children were almost always eating something. Lisa was not offered any food while she was at the grandmother‘s. Later on, Lisa found out that the children had two to three meals in addition to breakfast and dinner. When they were brought by their parents to Grandma, they ate a second breakfast, but without their au pair. They could always go to their parents or grandparents and get something to eat.
What would Lisa do?
She noticed that every little piece of food she took was frowned upon. It was probably perceived as a huge financial burden for the family. Obviously, for this reason, the host family drove without her to festivals or restaurants, always devising excuses for it.
Once, after several hours of playing with the kids, Lisa felt hungry. The children constantly had something to eat. Of course, in secret from Lisa. Lisa discovered how the children got the cookies. The host-grandmother noticed that Lisa saw, and asked indignantly, “Would you like a cookie as well?”
“Yes, please,” Lisa said quietly.
But the grandmother threw a look at Lisa as if she had said something totally unexpected. As if she had now asked for half of the house.
“Here you are!” She gave Lisa with trembling hands a half of the cookie and looked at her very angrily, as if she was asking for something forbidden.
This gaze was something Lisa could not forget. It was always there when she thought about asking for anything.
Since Lisa was also a proud girl, she did not want to ask for food at Grandma’s ever again. She suspected that she would always receive the evil eye, and the cookies have a bad karma. Should she always apologize when she wanted to eat something now? Should she always feel as if she stole something when she asked for a cookie? Should she always beg for a little piece of each meal? The children ate more than Lisa, a grown woman, did.
Later on, when the parents arrived to pick up the children, Lisa was told she was to bike back to the mansion. On the way home, she noticed how dark and empty the streets were. In the evening, Lisa asked Clara how big the town was.
“It's not very big.” Clara laughed.
“There is around eight hundred people in total.”
Lisa was shocked to learn this. On the questionnaire that Lisa had seen, the family said they lived in a small town. It turned out to be very small. Lisa hardly considered it a town at all. It was a village.
Her host family owned a dental clinic. Clara and her husband were both CEO's of the company. Clara was a powerful business woman, who often worked many hours. She had children, but they spent most of their time with their father, or grandmother. Clara's mother often looked after the children during the day, to give Clara more time to work. Clara was always busy, sitting in her office. Although, she always had time for the things she loved. She had many hobbies, which included salsa dancing and travelling abroad. Her husband never travelled with her. Clara always travelled alone, or with her closest friends. Instead, he was expected to stay home with the children while she was away.