Margreet still had some time before they would have coffee. She decided to make a list of what she wanted to buy in the near future. She felt like knitting a sweater, so… knitting needles, knitting yarn… and a pattern? She decided to use the thin sweater she was wearing now as a pattern. She liked that sweater, she didn't like the color, but the model was nice and it fit well, so she could use it for that. And a tape measure, handy too.

She looked around her room. On one side the bed, on the other the low cupboard, but beside that it was empty. How cool would it be if she could find a rocking chair. She already could imagine sitting there, next to the window, near the heating. She had no idea where to buy a rocking chair, but wrote it on her list anyway.

In the attic landing she had seen such a straight, sleek chair, more like a dining room chair. She decided to get it and put it at the foot of her bed. She could hang her clothes over it in the evening. This gave her the idea that she wanted a small bedside table at the head of the bed. Also on the shopping list! And maybe a few books from that thrift store. A few plants in the windowsill? Or a vase for flowers? Would she be allowed to pick a few flowers from the garden regularly?

She just had discovered that there was a low sink in the attic landing, one of those low sinks with a shelf that would be perfect for small things. Small things, such as filling a vase or watering a plant.

A couple of dishcloths would be handy too, but she probably didn't have to buy them herself. She immediately decided to go to the guest floor to get some from the cupboard. She grabbed a bucket from the pile and put a few dishcloths in it to take upstairs. She would report it to Annerieke soon, then she would at least know for sure whether it was okay for her to grab this just like that.

At the moment she turned to go back upstairs, a door to a guest room opened. A man nodded kindly at her: “Almost coffee time young lady, it's not time to clean anymore, is it? By the way, I'm Anton Veth, I'm enjoying a two-week holiday here with my wife!” He shook her hand as he looked friendly at her with mischievous eyes.

Margreet blushed, remembering what this man had said to Huib about her. She introduced herself: “I'm Margreet, and no, I'm not going to clean now, and I'm just checking what I need upstairs. I'll be living here internally, upstairs in the attic. There is a kind of sink there, I thought it would be useful to have a bucket and a few dishcloths there too…”

“Margreet, that's super handy, you're absolutely right! I'm glad you came to help Annerieke and Huib, they've had a tough time. Ah look, here is Joke, my dear wife! Joke, this is Margreet.”

“Hey Margreet, I just saw you helping in the dining room. Glad you came! For housework, I guess?”

Margreet looked into Joke's friendly eyes: "Yes, housework will be the most important, and I hope I can help Annerieke in the kitchen."

“Oh, Annerieke, our most wonderful hostess and cook!” Anton acted comically dramatic. “Yeah, you might think I'm kidding you, but I really love her, she just makes us feel at home here! That is why it is a joy for us to have holiday here.”

“That's absolutely right,” confirmed Joke, “and we do that regularly! Come on Anton, it's almost coffee time."

As they went downstairs, Margreet brought the bucket and wipes upstairs quickly before she went downstairs too.

.

Margreet found Annerieke in the kitchen, where she placed pie slices on a beautiful cake plate. “I'm going to pass out some pie, or… do you like to do that?”

Margreet hesitated: “I think it would be nice, but I'm afraid I'll tip those pie slices over the people!”

Annerieke laughed: "They probably won't like that, but I know something else for you, you can put our pie on the saucers later, then you'll see that it's not that bad!"

“Do you have to serve coffee for the guests? I could do that."

“No, the coffee and tea and everything that belongs are already there and the guests are used to taking it themselves. I'll be right back."

Margreet took another look around the kitchen, and decided to explore it further. She opened cupboards and examined the contents. Really fully equipped. When she closed the last locker, she stroked the decorations with her fingertips.

"Do you like it?" she heard Huibs voice behind her.

She hadn't heard him come in and felt caught. She responded in a shy soft voice: “Yes, beautiful, so delicate, you can see the decorations, you can feel them, and yet you have made them very shallow. How did you do that, by milling?”

“Yes, I often decorate by milling. In the beginning I drew the figures on it first and then deepened them. But when I got more experienced with milling, I once tried to mill by eye, without drawing first. That's what I did here on the kitchen cupboards too."

“Without example? Without drawing? How is that possible?"

"How? I always wait until I vaguely see the shapes in my mind. When I know what it's going to look like, I start and work through at a very slow pace. The fuzzy image I had before becomes sharper as I work, and often the image grows too, so that I end up milling more than I thought before, more embellishment, finer embellishment.”

Margreet tilted her head, looked again at the kitchen cupboard and then at Huib. “So you see it a little bit first, then you get to work, and as you work, the picture grows. Unbelievable…"

“Yeah, unbelievable… that’s it for a lot of people… I've heard that before. I wasn’t able to do so in the beginning either, but Erik, my father, has always encouraged me not to be afraid, just try, if necessary on scrap wood. I started to see more and more, to feel more, and to know what I wanted to create. And so it came, so it went!” said Huib lightly, but Margreet had sensed how he spoke of his father.

“You must miss Erik very much…”

“Yes...” Huib sighed deeply. “He was an amazing father. He saw me, he saw who I was, and he saw what I wanted, what was in me. He always encouraged me to do what belonged to me, what made my heart sing. And yes, I miss him, but luckily we still have mom!" he went to another subject quickly when Annerieke came in. Annerieke laughed, immediately understood that it was about Erik when she heard Huibs last sentence spoken so exaggeratedly cheerfully.

“Yes, my boy, I'm here! And there is coffee, with pie!” Annerieke handed Margreet the cake server: “Please, go ahead!”

With her upper teeth on her lower lip from effort, Margreet slid the cake server under the first piece. With her other hand she held a cake saucer nearby. She got the pie server with the pie above the saucer without any problem, but the thing wouldn't slide off. She looked uncertainly at Annerieke. Annerieke gestured that she could slide it off with her little finger. “You don't have to wipe your finger afterwards. When all the pie slices are on the saucers, you clean your little finger with a dishcloth or under the tap…”

“Or you put it in your mouth, too delicious to wash it down!” Huib intervened.

Annerieke laughed: “That's also possible, no one would blame you. But because of the rules that exist for guest house employees, it is useful to wash your hands afterwards.”

“Stupid fussy stuff,” Huib grumbled. “Rules rules rules, I get that you want to follow them mom, but it's so childish. Look, if I licked my little finger and then shoved it in another guy's mouth, yes, that would be unsanitary! But mostly for myself…”

Both women burst out laughing.

“And that's my son,” Annerieke wailed supposedly.

"You're pretty much stuck with him," Margreet agreed, with a serious face.

“Girls… bring on that pie Margreet, I'm hungry as a horse again!” Huib acted tough.

“Yes, I can imagine that,” said Annerieke. “You haven't had food from your tight-fisted mother for hours. And then have to do such hard work, man, man, man you are regrettable!”

Margreet looked from one to the other, and enjoyed the atmosphere. This felt so cosy, homely, with flying back and forth teasing, she wasn’t used to this at all. But she really liked it!

While they were quietly enjoying the pie, Margreet suddenly realized that she still had something to say: “Oh Annerieke, I was upstairs after washing the dishes. I took that chair from the attic landing, a kind of dining room chair, and took it to my room, so that I can hang my clothes over it in the evening.” Encouraged by Annerieke's nodding head, she continued: “And I took a bucket and a few dishcloths from the cupboard on the guest floor for that sink in the attic landing. Is that okay?"

“Of course, it's always easy to have something like this at hand, and we have enough stuff on the guest floor. I'm glad you felt free to grab what you needed!"

Somehow Margreet had known that, but she still felt a slight relief. While she pricked a piece of pie on her pastry fork, she did not see that Huib and Annerieke were giving each other a wink…

After Huib disappeared towards his house with a short greeting, Annerieke said: “Tomorrow I will start the working day by clearing up saucers, plates, cups and glasses in the living room. The dishwasher knows how to handle that, while I clean the coffee and teapots. Then I prepare breakfast for the guests. Will you come and have breakfast with us at half past seven?”

“Yes, that's right, I'll set my alarm. Can I help you with anything now?”

“No, my work is done for today, I'm going home in a minute. Do you have anything to do before the last hours of this day?”

“I think I'll get a look on my laptop, brows around a bit on the internet and check my mail. And then take a shower and go to bed on time.”

Annerieke smiled: “You're right, I hope you can sleep well. See you tomorrow, Margreet!”

“Yes, see you tomorrow!”

They left the kitchen together. Annerieke locked the front door, went out through the laundry room, also locked the back door, and walked to her house. Margreet looked around the hall for a moment, realized that this really was her home, and went upstairs.

To chapter 8. Annerieke employs Margreet

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