Another stressful day at the Snoww household.  Gabriella tried to ignore the ceiling above her creak as Teddy had his ‘special alone time’.  Gabby always thought the name was a bit of a misnomer, given that she hadn’t seen Teddy take his special alone time with any less than two people in their room.  Today’s special guest for ‘alone time’ was Sharron.  Or was it Amanda?  The days and people were starting to blur together.  Every day felt like the same miserable story told over and over like a bedtime story that had long ago lost all appeal.

To make matters worse, this was now the second time she had caught Wilma rooting through her mail.  The first time was half a month ago, when she found her peeking at the monthly catalog they got from the SHC showing off their new newest models, since spring was coming around the corner and demand would start picking up.  Gabby kept getting the monthly catalog shipped to her house for sentimental reasons, but Teddy had decided for her that it would probably be for the best if they were just stashed away in the office.  After all, no need to open old wounds.

The duty usually fell on Wilma to promptly take it to Teddy’s office and file it away, so Gabby couldn’t see it.  So when she found Wilma sitting in a pile of mail curiously turning the pages, Teddy got understandably upset.  Gabby had stood up for Wilma, but she had been reprimanded anyway.  When Gabby looked at the cover, she knew exactly what had drawn her eye.  A model that looked almost identical to the model that had put her in this state.  

As it turned out, the problems with the initial design had been with assembly and not the fundamental structure itself, so it got reused into a new model.  The experimental coolant was gone, the wiring system was changed, but the haunting figure of the machine still sent a shiver down Gabby’s spine.

She had understood the reasons for this mistake.  She could let it go.  But this latest excursion?  It was unacceptable no matter what angle you looked at it.

Wilma decided that Gabby was having too much trouble each day operating the letter opener.  So she had volunteered without asking to open up all the mail they received and read it out loud to her.  Not only had she opened two junk letters, but also an important document for the ongoing court battle over workplace injury.

In essence, it wasn’t anything excessively personal.  It was just a laundry list of the chemicals used to make the coolant and a list of their more dangerous effects, coupled with a few statements made by the company in the wake of the incident.  But she had gone to bat for her and she felt like that had been spat in her face.

This was just one in a line of increasingly patronizing behaviors that she had experienced more and more in the last few days.  Ever since Teddy had started seeing other people, Wilma had inserted herself into her life in a far more pronounced way.  Wilma would usually try to do some activity with Gabby every time a ‘guest’ came over to see Teddy.  

Not every activity was as invasive as reading her mail to her.  Wilma sometimes took her into the kitchen to cook with her.  Sometimes the maid would snatch her up and take her around the house as she cleaned.  

Wilma very rarely asked before taking me on one of her excursions.  One time, when Wilma’s boyfriend was out of town and Patricia had decided to crash at the mansion, Wilma had decided a sleepover would cheer Gabby up and took Gabby to her house to spend the night.  All without asking her or consulting her, but after spending several hours with Patty, Gabby was receptive enough to the idea that she didn’t really care that she hadn’t been given a choice.

They didn’t do much on their sleepover.  A few hours in, Wilma’s boyfriend Ignatius called to check if she was okay, and they spent countless hours chatting about their day.  It was both a warming and hollowing experience to watch the lovebirds enjoy what time together they could.  The way Wilma twirled her hair as she talked about dusting the foyers, or giggling at some joke that Gabby couldn’t hear.  Gabby could imagine herself once standing where Wilma currently stood.  

Every once in a while, Wilma would remember she had company, and give her guest a pat on the head or give her another scrap of cloth to keep her warm.  The couple talked well into the night, so Gabby went to rest in the hammock Wilma had set up for her.

When she was smuggled back into the mansion the next day, Patricia was the only one who had noticed Gabby had even gone missing in the first place.  Wilma kept Gabby close even as she did the chores, nestled up in her back pocket.  It was a bit of a tight squeeze whenever she had to bend over, but Gabby figured it was leagues better than whatever Patricia had in mind for her.

But thinking back on that now, Wilma hadn’t even asked before abducting her, or forcing her to stay in her pocket.  As she opened what little mail was left that Wilma hadn’t gotten into, the letter opener slipped and gashed her foot.  Wilma ran over with a bandage and treated the wound.  As she was disinfecting the cut, Wilma gave Gabby a kiss on the head.

“Don’t worry, Gabriella.  Your big friendly maid Wilma is here to take care of you.”

“Mrs. Snoww.  I’m your employer, and you’ll treat me as such.”

Wilma giggled.  “Sorry, you’re right Mrs. Snoww.”

After making sure was back on the nightstand, safe and about as tucked in as she could be, Wilma reported the incident to Teddy.  Shocked to hear Gabby had hurt myself with the letter opener, he came up with a plan so Gabby wouldn’t cut myself anymore.  Now Wilma opens all the mail for her.