The Butler(61)

    He looked around his mother’s small, cluttered apartment for a last time before he left, and sent all his love to her in thought. He remembered Javier sitting on the couch with his gun, only days before. He thought of Olivia, and what he’d said to her the last time he saw her.

He couldn’t wait to get to England now, and to get lost in another job, so he didn’t have to think of all of it. He had his whole life packed into two suitcases, which he carried downstairs to his station wagon. He saw the plainclothes detective, dressed as a janitor, on duty to protect his mother’s home, and her when she came back later.

    He pulled away from the curb with a heavy heart, thinking of those he loved and had loved and could have loved, leaving them all behind, as he headed north for the drive to England.



* * *



—

He was in London by the end of the day and gained an hour with the time difference from Paris. He went to his small flat, which he hadn’t used in months, and called the agency to let them know he was back, had left his temporary job, and was ready to take a job in England. They said they would get back to him and would check their books. Until then, they hadn’t put much energy into it, since they knew he had a temporary job in Paris, and he had been picky about what he would interview for. Joachim said that now he was willing to look more broadly. He bought fish and chips and ate in his room that night.

When he called his mother, she sounded sad and scolded him for his uninvited housekeeping and wanted to know what he had done with her latest art magazines. He laughed at the question.

“I knew you’d accuse me of hiding something. I put them on your night table.” They talked about her day, and his drive to London, and she said she missed him. One of the things he loved about her was how normal their exchanges were. It had always been very simple, and he never doubted for an instant how much she loved him. It had fed him in the darkest times of his life. It was a shame that Javier hadn’t been able to derive the same sustenance from her, although she had loved him just as much and always told him so when he was still at home and when he called them in France. But some part of Javier had always blocked her. He preferred to believe himself unloved to justify the choices he made and the dark turns his life had taken as a result. Although they looked identical, it always shocked Joachim, and his mother, how profoundly different they were.



* * *



—

    Joachim went to bed early and was woken by the agency calling him in the morning. They had four interviews set up for him. They had taken him at his word, and were putting him forward for their butler positions, although none of them were quite up to the level of what he’d had before. But he expected that.

The interviews had been set up at ninety-minute intervals at the agency in Knightsbridge. If both parties had further interest, a second interview would be set up, in their home. It seemed an efficient way to handle it and wouldn’t waste everyone’s time if it wasn’t a match, or even close.

Joachim showed up at the agency in one of his well-tailored black suits. He had always been vain about his clothes fitting well, and, with his generous salary, had his suits made by a tailor on Savile Row. He wore highly polished sober black leather shoes, a white shirt and a navy and black Hermès tie, and had a haircut before he went to the agency. He looked impeccable.

He liked the first couple more than he’d expected to. They were a young Saudi couple, and had a large house in London that was fully staffed. The wife was quite beautiful, and wasn’t veiled, although he suspected she would be in her own country. They had a house in Geneva too, and a home in Riyadh. They only wanted him for the house in London. They had six children and four nannies, and the kind of staff he was used to. The rest of the house staff was from the Philippines, the nannies were British, and a house manager and secretary were both Saudi. The way it was set up, Joachim guessed that he would have less authority and control of the staff than he was used to. The two Saudi men essentially ran the staff and made all the decisions, and Joachim got the distinct feeling that he would be window dressing, and nothing more than a British butler who would look good to their guests at dinner parties. He was used to a job with more substance than that, and a free hand with decisions. They only spent a few months a year in London, and although he liked them, he had the feeling that he would be bored most of the time, except when they were in residence, entertaining. It was made clear to him that the two Saudi men would outrank him, and he would take direction from them.

    He genuinely liked the couple, who were warm and very polite to him, but he suspected that the lack of authority he’d have would rankle him. And he guessed that they were more likely to favor their own countrymen than an English butler. It was a good job, and paid well, but he didn’t think it was the right one for him. He wanted a position with more variety and broader scope now, after the diverse projects he’d handled for Olivia. He had enjoyed that more than he’d expected to. He turned the Saudi position down. The agency wasn’t surprised.

The second job he interviewed for was with an American couple. The husband was well into his sixties, his wife (his fourth one, the agency had whispered to him before the interview) was twenty-two. Her husband treated her like a teenager and she acted like one. The husband couldn’t keep his hands off her during the interview. She was wearing a miniskirt that was so short Joachim made a point of not looking in her direction for fear of what he’d see, but the interview was so amusing that he had to struggle not to laugh at their questions. They had just bought a house in London, were from Texas, and also had a home in Palm Beach, which was already fully staffed. They had been married for six months. They planned to have a cook, two or three maids, and wanted him to double as butler and chauffeur, which he wasn’t entirely opposed to, and they asked if he’d mind helping the maids with the heavy cleaning. His three grown children and eight grandchildren would be using the house occasionally, and with an adoring look at his young wife, he said he hoped they’d be having more children soon. The salary they were offering was not what he was used to, and he could easily envision himself in the midst of chaos, with the owner’s family showing up with their children, while he drove, cleaned, and played the role of butler to all of them, with nothing very interesting to do. There was nothing very creative involved, there would be no travel or entertaining, and it sounded like there would be way too many people in the parade, especially with the child bride who wanted to know if he had any experience as a trainer, and would he be willing to give massages, which sounded like dangerous ground to him.