Worry and Strife

Where have the days gone?

I have had no word on Madam Odette's condition. It's always the same. The days just blur together at this point. But Anne has been a rock. Her only chore right now is making sure I'm taken care of. She brings me three square meals, reminds me to sleep, reminds me to get outside, and even to breathe sometimes. She has been going above and beyond with her job and it has not gone unnoticed.

Even with Madam Odette out of commission, I am still being paid for the little bit of work I have been doing for the house. It's spending money at this point but I have nothing to spend it on.

November has only begun. A lot of the folks around here are heading home for the holidays. Every day I see a car leaving with a few folks heading out. I'm not sure if I can head home or not. I'd have to ask Madam Odette and she's not available.

It's just another day in silence with Anne reading books in my cabin. The fire crackles with the occasional sound of a new log being set in the fire. About midafternoon, well after lunch, I pipe up, "Anne, are you going home for the holidays?" This caused her to mark her place in her book to give me her full attention, "I am here for when you need me?"

"But will you be taking time to go home?"

"I will be here as long as you need me."

She's dedicated to her job. Maybe a little too much. I'll have to play to her weaknesses, "You're no good to me stressed so I would say from the week of Thanksgiving to the New Year, you should be home." She goes to open her mouth but before she even gets a word out I stop her. "And before you say anything, I can take care of myself. Plus I know how much time off you have. You could easily take that and then some. I could not see you until March." Shut down! I know that because she's been exclusive to me that she's been put on what classifies as a "special assignment" so she got a small pay raise and extra benefits. On top of that, because she is available to me 24/7, she gets a whole lot more time off.

I remember finding one of Madam Odette's employee handbooks in the library. She keeps it there in case someone needs to reference it. She does take excellent care of her people.

Any possibility of an argument has been shut down though. She's trying to think of a way out of it but she's stuck. I got her cornered to where she will just have to accept the time. The best part is I can see that she's defeated and will have to accept it. "OK Sir Red, I'll take some personal time to go back home."

"Good, and no 'buts' about it. I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself."

She's still reluctant. It's eating her up. But I've won this round and she will take the time for herself. I can't force her to take the time. I can only suggest it very forcefully. At least it didn't come to threats. "Sir Red, I appreciate you looking out for me but."

My cabin door was swung open with a blast of cold air from outside. Danny's familiar face came rushing inside, closing the door behind him. Even though he's a german shepherd, he has to bundle up for this sheer cold. The wind is what really cuts you. He beats some of the snow off of him, "Pardon the intrusion and the mess. Red, Madam Odette has requested your presence in the main house."

"Requested? You mean she's awake."

"She is awake. She's been under close monitoring for a few days and she has been cleared for visitors. You are the first person she requested to see her."

There are some mixed emotions here. He's telling me she's awake enough to ask for me but I haven't been told if she was even alive or getting better. I look to Anne but she waves me off, "Go, I know she's been weighing on your heart. I'll be here when you return, Sir Red."

She can handle the cabin for however long I am gone. With the short walk to the main house, I should only need my coat hanging from the stand. Danny looks way more bundled than he should be but he also has to be ready to be anywhere at any time. He's been doing most of the grunt work while Madam Odette has been incapacitated.

I go to open the door and it slams me in the cheek. The wind is killer out there. Danny helps get a hold of it so we can both close it and make sure it latches. "Red! Are you ok? That was quite a hit." He almost has to shout with the wind howling. "I'm fine! I promise! I immediately put something cold on it so it won't swell as badly!" I hear him cackle ahead of me. At least the humor wasn't lost on him.

The doors are opened slightly as we approach. There's no one outside in this nonsense. It would freeze anyone within an hour. Danny started taking off his extra layers once we were inside. I just throw my coat onto the coat rack with the rest. Those badgers that are always outside are now taking refuge inside using those muscles to operate the doors. "Danny, is it always this bad this time of year?"

"Yes, because of where we are concerning the mountains, the winds are ferocious. Works perfectly for getting people home for the holidays. They avoid the cold."

"Except for the few who elect to stay?"

He taps his snout with a wink. I could have guessed he was one of them but he has amazing loyalty to the job. I'm also sure his wife and child live here as well. I've seen him close to another of his breed. A lot closer than just a working relationship. That is neither here nor there. My audience has been requested!

Danny leads me up the grand staircase to the largest double doors on the floor. I've walked through them time and time again but this time feels different. It feels like it's been months. I try to collect time in my head to figure out how long it's been but the days blurred together. Sleep didn't register the start of a new day. Everything felt like it was just standing still.

But as I enter this room and see the red fox sitting up in her bed, supported by pillows with her reading glasses on as she looks over the paper, I feel that everything is moving again. I'm no longer floating in place but moving forward once again.

"I know I taught you how to keep a better poker face than that." Her eyes catch mine as she glares. Her face is still forward, nose to the papers, but she's giving me a strong side-eye. I didn't even realize how big of a smile I had on. At her words, I collect myself.

"That's better. Danny, clear the room, Red and I need to have a discussion." He raises his paw with an inhale. I was surprised he got that far before she cut him off. "I will not be leaving the bed so don't lecture me on the do's and don'ts of my condition." He just gave a nod pulling, who I assume to be, the on-staff doctor and nurse from the room.

The door clicks behind them as they take their exit. I stand straight waiting for… something. "Well Red, are you just going to stand there?" She turns her head to me with a soft smile. Her hard facade has melted and she's herself. She pats her paw on the bed next to her.

There's still enough room that I have to crawl over to her before I can lay down at her side. There are enough pillows that I can even sit up properly. As hard as I try not to look, I do catch a glimpse of the papers she's flipping through. The print is fine, everything looks official. I catch a chart here, a graph there, and some bold print scattered about with percentages and numbers. All Madam Odette does is sigh as she scans them over, "I swear if my name wasn't attached to everything I would just let Danny and his team take over everything."

She adjusts herself slightly, settling in a bit further. "They make every decision as though I would, distribute tasks to the teams as I would, and push inventory and news to endpoints just like I would. I would bet that every director, manager, and floor worker didn't even know I was out for almost three weeks."

Has it been three weeks? One week in the mountain, one week after we got back where she was unavailable, and how far into this week are we? It really has been almost three weeks. "I've also been told that there was someone on my staff who has been pestering others. Demanding to see me?"

"I wasn't pestering, I was asking how you were doing."

"Hmm, right. Every day?"

"Until they told me that they would come for me."

The papers went flat on the bed as her paws folded within one another over them. "Either way, the complaint has been brought to my attention. I don't have an HR department here so I have to deal with them all personally. And there were quite a few of them. Here is your punishment, Mr. Welch."

Welch? She's never addressed me by my last name. She continued in her "boss lady" voice that brings me some weird fears, "I am going to place you on paid administrative leave, consuming your accrued paid time off, until after the New Year. During that time I suggest you go home to be with your family."

Wait a minute…

"There will be no 'if's or 'but's about it. If you feel that this is unfair to you, now is your chance to say something." She has this shit-eating grin on her face. She knows damn well what she is doing and this is why I've grown fond of her. "Are… are you forcing me to take a vacation?"

"Mr. Welch, I cannot force you to take a vacation but I can forcefully persuade you."

"If I refuse, will there be stronger disciplinary action taken against me?"

Her face leans in keeping that smile, "There would be and I assure you that while I may enjoy it, you will not." Oh, that's a threat. That's a very valid threat coming from her. As she leans back I finally break from my stoic facial expression, "Then I guess I'll be taking administrative leave."

"That's a good boy."

I feel like I just had this conversation but was on the opposite end of it. Hell, I know I was. I did this with Anne not five minutes ago. "What about you, Madam Odette?"

She rolled her head at me, "What about me?"

"What will you do while I am gone?"

"Take care of myself, my business, and my staff. You don't need to worry about me."

"Speaking of yourself, what happened?"

She hummed and hawed about it looking around the room, "I'm not sure myself. We got back from the mountain, I felt lightheaded, then just woke up in bed."

"Is it really that simple?"

"The concern that everyone, including myself, has is that I don't remember much about our trip. The doctor tells me it could be from going from a high elevation, higher, then back to normal so quickly but it's never happened during my annual trip. Might just be showing my age."

"You are 26 years young!"

She was taken aback by my outburst. "First, that's an old lady compared to you. Second, how do you know that?"

"You leave employee records in your library, including your own."

Now that is a shade of red I have not seen before. "So what did you learn?"

"Your birthday, birthplace, and parents' name. Just a copy of your birth certificate. I stopped when I realized what it was."

"I… will have to make sure that gets locked up."

She buries her face into her paws as she mulls this over. "Nothing I can do about it right now so let's move on." She's the only one caught up in it. However, it is interesting to see her in this predicament. To pull herself out of it she grabs the stack of papers looking through them. She mumbles to herself as she skims through them until she finds the few she is looking for. "Here they are! Your progress reports."

"My what?"

She pulls out the few papers that have my name plastered all over them. "I know that you know that no matter what you are to keep up with your studies and practices. While I was out of commission, you were slacking in every area of study. Your reading is down, your application is down, and you should have started some alchemy basics."

This is how I know that's is back to her old self. She's in her protective teacher mode. "Red!" Her call to me snapped me back to reality. I got too comfortable in my head knowing that she was OK. "Yes, Madam Odette."

She takes a deep breath. I recognize this moment. I've been through it time and time again. "I'm going to let it pass. You've been through enough recently. But don't mistake my understanding for weakness." She reaches over grabbing my shirt pulling my face to hers. Her lips are warm against mine. Her eyes close as she savors the feeling. I give in to my wants as my paws caress her face.

She lets me go sitting back up. "I think you did earn that though. You did well getting us off that mountain."

Right! I never got if she ever said I passed or not. "Madam Odette, does that mean that I passed your test?"

"We are alive and in good health. I would say you passed."

Yes! Finally! I got some closure on that. But it feels empty. When she was speaking with me outside there was an underlying emotion that seemed to bubble up before disappearing. Where did that go? Was my answer to her question satisfactory?

You know; I'm going to let it go. She's been through a lot. I've been through quite a bit. Sometimes it is just best to leave things where they are. There is no need to push further on an issue where there is no need.

There's a clicking noise that snaps me back from my thoughts. Madam Odette has her paw in my face. She was snapping to get my attention, "You back? You spaced out there for a moment."

"I was thinking about something, but nothing important."

"Looked rather important. You know you can't hide anything from me."

"It's just… You asked me a question that seemed rather important. I'm not sure if my answer was up to your expectations."

"What was the question?"

She doesn't remember? "You asked what I was going to do with my magic now that I had this knowledge." Her lips pursed as she seemed to be in thought. "Hmm, it sounds like something I would ask but I don't remember asking it. Let's not worry about it. I know you, I know how you think. I'm certain that the answer you gave was satisfactory. You did pass my test after all. The question would have been a part of it."

Just like that, she dismissed it. I might come back to it another time. Again, no sense in bringing it up if it's not needed. I'll take my victories that I passed and my teacher is well again. She's doing so well that she's demanding that I take time for myself.

"Madam Odette, I'm glad to see you're back to being yourself." Her smile was soft, of genuine delight at hearing those words. "Thank you Red, it's good to be back. But! You're still in some trouble. Get yourself packed for your trip home. You've got a long car ride home."

"Yes, Madam Odette."

I stand taking my leave. I look back once more to the red fox laying in bed. She gives me a wink and a kiss before placing one claw signaling for me to keep this quiet.

As I step outside of her bedroom I am greeted by Danny. "You have tonight to pack, and tomorrow I will be driving you home, Sir Red."

"Danny, not you too. There's no need for the 'Sir'."

"Under Madam Odette's orders, I am to call the one I am working or serving by proper title. As I was instructed to help take care of you, you are 'Sir Red'."

I can try to fight it all I want but I know Danny. He's been working and serving Madam Odette for years. He's been trained, more or less, and it's become a second habit. "You win. This time!" I hold a claw up playfully shaking it. He can try but I see him crack that smile. I'm sure with Madam Odette he would be as straight-faced as he could be but around me, with my informal nature, he can relax. Be more of himself.

I'm escorted to the back doors, given my coat once again, and sent on my way. The cold still chills with the wind but the warm glow of my cabin keeps me going. Anne is waiting for me inside. She looks rather comfortable until I walk in. She stands greeting me respectfully, "Welcome back, Sir Red."

"Good to be back, Anne. Now I know how you feel."

"What do you mean?"

I let her know about how Madam Odette is putting me on "administrative leave" for an extended period of time. She threw my own words back at me as well. She's got eyes and ears everywhere. "So, that's how it is. I get forced to take time off. Since I won't be here, you get time off as well."

She mumbles, "You two..."

She drops her head shaking it. There's an odd smile on her face as she chuckles. "You two, are just something else." She smiles, but there's a hurting behind it. She has her eyes closed to slits as she stands there as she was taught with her paws crossed. "Anne, some time at home will do you good. Myself as well." There's a silent agreement from her. "That being said, please, take tonight and get ready. I also have to get myself together."

She gathers her few things she had with her. As she leaves I thank her for her service. She has gone above and beyond what I needed at every turn, going well out of her way to make sure I was taken care of, and just being a crutch when I'm uncertain.