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Ginger Fox Part 3

He looks to be in the prime of his twenties. With oily skin, short black hair, and acne scars on his face, his smile reminds me of Batman’s arch-nemesis. A false and cheeky grin like a true Joker. With wide eyes and a devilish smile, he seems to take some pleasure in belittling the poor kid for liking to stay in the library. He lazily descends the stairs.

“Miss Fox, this is Bob, my cousin, who is spending the summer with us,” she says, closing her face and speaking dryly. “Bob, this is Jon’s new companion.”

“I noticed. Jonathan kept his word, he chose with care.” The snide young man finishes descending the stairs, pulling his sunglasses from his pocket and adjusting them on his face. “Do you take any kind of sedatives?”

“Sorry, what?” The unexpected question leaves me confused. I don’t take any medication. “I don’t think I understood, but I don’t take any medicine.”

“Bob!” Even with Mrs. Lorane’s bitter voice calling him, his face doesn’t turn toward her, still staring at me.

“You should, you’ll need it.” He brushes past me, smoothing his hair and exhaling in a disgusted manner. “Welcome to the asylum, Miss Fox. If you don’t take medication, know that you’ll need it soon!”

I’m processing what he said when the front door slams shut with a loud bang as the acne-ridden young man exits.

“Please, don’t mind Bob; he has a terrible sense of humor,” Mrs. Lorane says, her eyes showing a slight tremor at the corner of her mouth. She blinks quickly, shifting the topic. “Normally, the other companions had some understanding of pedagogy.” I see her eyes narrow and her shoulders tense with nervous breath as she looks at my sneakers. “This year, Roy preferred to choose someone more…”

More? I almost fear what she’s about to say. It’s almost as if being here is something bad that’s being forced down her throat.

“Youth!” A loud, cheerful voice sounds behind me. I turn my face and am amazed by the beautiful exotic woman striding confidently toward me. “I believe that’s the word you’re looking for, Lorane. And Roy certainly took it literally. Look at this lovely petunia he brought to this time-stagnant place.”

I smile at her different demeanor, which doesn’t match this elegant place and the people I’ve just met. The beautiful woman with her silky blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, highlighting her fair skin, has stunning gray eyes that shape her square face and accentuate her long black eyelashes. I’ve never seen eyes like that. Her body, with droplets of water on her skin, is accompanied by the scent of sea spray and sunscreen. But being wet doesn’t seem to bother her, as she moves through the mansion in her tiny bikini. When she’s close enough, I notice how tall she is. Her large hand, with long blood-red nails, reaches out and surprises me by tucking away a stubborn strand of hair that escaped from my hair. She moves it behind my ear, smiling at me, and pins the curls back.

“Look at that skin, what a spectacle!” Her gaze shifts to the woman near the stairs. “Tell me, Lorane, isn’t youth beautiful?”

“This is Miss Fox…”

“I know who she is. And I really hope it works out.” I take a step back, returning her smile.

“Miss Fox, this is Baby, my…” As I lift my face, I can see the strange expression Mrs. Lorane leaves on her face, as if searching for the right word.

“Sister-in-law!” The stunning blonde responds for her, turning back to me. “We’re going to get along just fine, sweetie.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ginger, but you can call me Gim.” I extend my fingers to her, which she gently squeezes between hers.

“The pleasure is all mine. Well, dear, if you need anything, just call me.” She releases my fingers, turns, and walks away, leaving my line of sight as she moves further away.

I feel a pang of sadness seeing her amazing body. Maybe she should be a model, as she is so naturally stunning that it lowers any woman's self-esteem a bit. But the truth is one: she is beautiful, almost to the point of perfection.

“Baby, just like Jon and Bob, only comes here in the summer. During the year, it’s just my husband, myself, and his elderly aunt. You’ll meet them at dinner. Please, let’s continue; I still need to introduce you to Jon.” I turn my face back to Lorane and nod, leaving the cheerful, gorgeous blonde behind.

I climb the marble staircase, which seems endless. It takes all my strength to drag my suitcase with me. Between paying attention to Lorane’s long list of instructions and my gradually diminishing breath as a sedentary person, I thank God when we finally reach the top and I can lean against the wall.

“Everything related to Jon is reported directly to me. In your room, you’ll find an envelope on the bed with a credit card for necessary expenses for both of you. Your days off will be scheduled on some weekends when he will spend time with his grandmother or when Roy authorizes. Do you drive?”

She glances at me briefly, and I nod in confirmation, standing up straight again.

“Excellent! You will have access to the vehicles, but you need to inform Robert, our staff member. Robert has worked at the mansion for years; he is responsible for the maintenance of the house and the cars. You will always find him in the garden.”

“Got it. For a car ride, talk to Robert.”

“I don’t like people coming in and out of Jon’s room, so when he is here, the companion is responsible for the room. One of the maids will leave clean clothes in the room, and you’ll hand the dirty clothes to her.” I listen to each word she says, and her voice is almost on autopilot. “Any questions?” I quickly compose myself, shaking off the fatigue as she turns, looking me up and down, as seems to be her custom.

“No, ma’am.”

“Just to emphasize, Miss Fox, you are hired to accompany Jon. Your role is different from the other staff members in the mansion. Mr. Roy occasionally grants some privileges because of Jon, but remember that you are still just an employee here.”

That sounds terribly cold. In the end, when she looks at me, my intuition tells me that this woman would be kicking me out of this mansion if she could.

“I won’t forget,” I reply calmly, already aware that we won’t be friends.

I hear from Lorane everything I need to know about how important it is for Jon to stay in the library. A few times, I think that this really is her goal: to make the boy as invisible as possible during the summer in this mansion, along with my presence.

“I’m sure that your son and I will get along well, ma’am.”

“Jon is not my son,” she interrupts immediately, stopping in front of a white door at the end of the long hallway.

“He’s not? Oh, I thought... Sorry…”

“Jon is Mr. Roy’s nephew. When he was born, my husband took on the responsibility of guardianship. Since then, my husband and I have cared for him.” I don’t know what to say, only feeling the pain of the poor child inside me for losing his parents so early.

I now understand why she has such a bitter expression; it must be the typical story of a young woman marrying an old rich man on the brink of death, who never dies and has the health of a bull. And the young wife is left only to care for the family, which she does with pure disdain. The fact that she talks about the child’s parents' death as if it were a burden on her shoulders makes me understand why the boy spends so much time in the library. Lorane moves, opening the door to the room and being the first to enter. I stop beside her, seeing the cold and lifeless room where I’ll be sleeping. It contains an old double bed and a wooden wardrobe with two doors. The large window stands out on the wall, going from the ceiling to the floor, giving me a perfect view of the beach when I’m on the balcony, taking away any other attraction that might be missing there.

“This is your room.” She points to the door on the left, walking toward it. “Here is your bathroom.”

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