Chapter 16 - THE HOUSEHOLD STAFF
I expected them to condemn her.
Some did.
Some defended her.
Maria, Clara’s weekday nanny:
“Ms. Aurelia was strict, but she was also the reason bottles were labeled correctly when everyone was exhausted.”
Thomas, the estate manager:
“She reorganized night staffing after Mr. Vellari fell asleep in a meeting.”
True.
Elliot’s tutor:
“She sometimes spoke to him too much like an adult.”
Also true.
Then one housekeeper:
“Mr. Vellari would say, ‘Ask Aurelia.’”
How often?
Enough.
That hurt.
I had delegated.
Not custody.
Still, daily phrases create authority.
Ask Aunt Aurelia.
Check with Aunt Aurelia.
Aurelia knows the schedule.
Aurelia handles school.
I had built part of the pedestal she climbed.
That did not make the SUV my fault.
It did make the earlier confusion understandable.
Then Maria said:
“She started correcting you in front of Elliot.”
Examples:
“Dad forgot again.”
“Dad is working.”
“Dad doesn’t know Clara’s schedule.”
Sometimes accurate.
Repeated enough, damaging.
May you like
A caregiver can help a grieving parent without narrating his failures to the child.
Aurelia had stopped distinguishing.
