“Can’t you smell it?” asked Malee. The perfume that Georgia was spreading across the hall and the room should still linger inside the car, Malee thought. It was the favorite of Georgia and John should have no trouble recognizing it, if Malee could do so after seeing Georgia only for a short while before she disappeared again. John looked at her for a while before opening the car’s door from the driver’s side and taking a deep breath. His eyebrows came together suddenly, trying to remember the perfume to the mystery guest. He took a second breath before giving up.
“Ok. I know that smell, but who is it?” asked John. He hated guessing games where he would also lose, such as those times he played with the twins eons ago.
“Don’t you remember? This is the favorite perfume of Georgia.” said Malee. He could be so dumb, forgetting his childhood friend. John stood and stared at Malee, smiling, and then finally he figured the pieces.
“She is here? Up in the room?” John asked, still finding it hard to believe Georgia was back at home after all those years. Malee nodded.
“Aren’t you going to give me a flower bouquet for homecoming?” asked the voice from behind them. It was Georgia, followed by Mary. Malee bowed. John stood still and stared at the beautiful woman in front of her, who he remembered as very smart but an arrogant girl who would whine till she got what she wanted. Was she still the same brat that bossed him so long ago, he wondered.
“Are you going to stare at me the whole day?” asked Georgia once more, smiling. No. She was still the same brat, but more dangerous now, John thought. There was danger behind her smooth skin, beautiful face and wide smile on her rosy lips.
“No. I will get the flowers, Georgia. I meant young mistress, mistress.” stuttered John, before running away into the garden as if he had seen an evil dragon from the folk tales that his mother had read to him long ago. He was still a child at heart, Malee thought, or that Georgia’s charm caught him. Malee looked at Georgia again and saw the beautiful princess that she remembered seeing when George’s finance came to visit the house. She was more than that beauty and the brain of the highest order. No wonder John, not a bad looker himself, was afraid.
“I am going out. Prepare for lunch.” said Georgia before getting into the car and drove out of the gate.
“She had grown into her mother.” said Mary, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief from the pocket. Malee nodded as she looked at the smoke from the car’s exhaust in the distance. She wondered how George looked like or that he would come home soon.
“George would be back soon.” said Mary as she sauntered towards the servants’ house. The servants, some of whom they hired only after the twin had gone overseas, wouldn’t know how to do it. She would need to show them. It would surprise the rest, she hoped. Georgia was not well-liked by the servants, where rumors of her being a witch still stood to that day. In contrast, everyone loved and adored George.
“When will he be back?” shouted Malee to Mary, who was fast disappearing in the distance. Mary turned around and shook her head. Georgia only said that her brother would be back, not when he would be back. But then it was their home, they could come home anytime, couldn’t they?
“Clean their rooms.” said Mary before she turned around and disappeared behind the tree to the back of the house, into the garden. Malee nodded. She had seen the dust gathering under the bed and on the table. It was pure luck that Georgia had not noticed them. Or did she? Georgia was not the person who would miss out on such minor details in her path, George was. Malee went back into the storeroom beside the kitchen and took out the vacuum cleaner and brought it to the lift.
The house had a major renovation after the twins had left with the lift as the master was getting aged and the mistress asked for it. Unlike the olden days, she need not carry the drinks and meals from the front staircase anymore. The lift would conveniently connect the kitchen, and the upper floors. Malee smiled as she remembered the times she had to climb the stairs, wearing high heels and carrying the drinks on the hand to prepare her for the party. It didn’t feel like so long ago. Then she pressed the button to carry her to the upper floor and watched as the lift doors closed.