"Niles…." came that nasal voice. He sighed.
"Uh…"
"Partied hard last night uh…" Fran stood by the couch staring down at him.
"Yeah," Fran's mind: Look at his eyes, they are red and gazed over like he's been crying or irritated from the lack of sleep. She patted him on the shoulder as he got to his feet.
"Go take a cold shower before Max sees you like this. It will wake you up.. and you look like you need it." Niles' mind: What did she mean by that? Do I look that bad?
Fran grumbled when she heard the doorbell. Fran saw CC standing at the door. "Wha? is she doing here? Why can't she stay away from here?" Fran shook her head as she answered the door.
"If you're looking…"
"I had some contracts to bring over." Which of course was a lie. She had come over to get Niles.
"You missed Mista Sheffield."
"Oh," Fran's mind: how can she not know her own partners schedule. Something's not right. CC sighed. "I'll just drop then off and then leave."
"Then leave!" Niles shouted from the kitchen. CC entered the kitchen, with an evil grin on her face.
"Coffee?" CC shook her head.
"Niles, we're leaving back later." Fran called as she walled into the kitchen to see him. She stopped at the door. fraan's mind: what is she still doing here? I thought… she shook the thought. "Are you sure that you and B will be fine?" she nodded her head towards CC.
"We will be fine Fran, trust us." B winked at Niles. "Go have fun shopping."
"What about?" Fran turned around and CC was gone. Fran and the girls skipped out of the house.
"Maybe she did leave."
"Not on you life." CC walked back in the kitchen.
"Man…"
"Now here's the deal…" CC went on to tell them what they had to do for her during the week while they drove to her apartment. Niles' mind: a week full of torture for me, I see. Nothing she says is ever that easy. He sighed. How do I get myself into these kind of things?
"Now B all you have to do is take the dog for a walk." She handed him the leash that was hanging on the back of the closet door.
"Where is he?" B asked looking around her apartment.
"Check under the bed." B went that way. He got on his knees and then heard the growling. B's mind: why me? Why me? He lifted the bed shirt. "Chester, Chester." He reached out to grab the dog, and the dog bite down on his hand. "Ow…" he shook his hand "You little…" he grabbed the dog by the back of the neck and dragged him out from under the bed.
"Oh, did I mention that he hates to be walked on a leash." She smiled. "He thinks that you are taking him to the vet."
"That's one sick, evil woman." B mumbled to himself. "she knew this would happen. And what does she have planned for Niles? oh poor Niles, she hates him even more then me. what did I do?"
"Now for you…" CC called from the couch were she sat down.
Niles swallowed. Niles' mind: here it comes, the beginning of hell. What does she have for me to do this time? He starts to remember last time he was her servant. I…She wouldn't this time……she handed Niles her cell phone.
"What's this for?"
"You, starting now are at my beckon call. When it rings…"
"But…"
"One call." She picked up the phone next to her.
"No, don't I'll…." CC put the phone back down and smiled her evil grin. CC left annd returned with a sheet of paper. "Let's see what the first thing on my list is."
"You made a list?" he swallowed.
"Of course," she unfolded the paper. She flipped though the pages.
Niles' mind: that's not all for me? there's no way that I can do all that? how many sheets does she have me to do? I will not survive this…… "no, no, not that one yet…um…number fifty-seven looks good. Let's start there." Niles' mind: fifty seven? How many are there? there's no way that I will make it though all of those? What's she going to do kill me? let's just get that over with now.
"What's that one?" he closed his eyes and sighed. He waited on her to answer him.
"Landry first…then lunch and then…."
"If I heave to do this…" she glared at him. "Which, I know I have too. It has to be one thing at a time." Niles' mind: she's going to make me suffer with this list one little thing after another.
"I've seen you multi-task." Niles' mind: me and my big mouth. now she's going to add something else to this. "um…."
"That's…" she gave him a 'don't mess with me look' Niles' mind: one time I go out to have fun and I'm paying for it everyday. He did her laundry all day long. Niles' mind: what did she do save it all up for me to do? I bet some of this is wasn't even dirty. He picked up a handful to put in her washer. At least she has one here and its in doors.
He looked at some of the cloths. "Wait a minute that's…I hope not hers…"he held up a pair of men's underwear. He laughed. "Or does that confirm what I've been saying all a long."
"Funny Niles but they're…"
"You had me do…."
"My neighbors cloths too." She smiled.
"You evil woman. How…." She just lifted her eyebrows. She patted him on the shoulder. "I'm. Now get back to work we have a lot more to cover."
B came in wet and covered with mud. "that dog I swear."
"How was the walk?" CC looked at her dog. "what the….give him a bath now!"
"what? Now?" CC nodded. "Great…" B mumbled under his breath.
"What do you say,"
"Sounds Great." B repeated trying to sound excited.
"now that's what I want to hear from my servants." B shook his head. "Hurry up with that, then you can help Niles fold cloths." B's mind: joy sound like real fun. can't wait. I see she made him do all her laundry. I bet she had him do everyone's laundry who lives here in this complex. Oh no, she did didn't she. If she…I wouldn't put it past her. I think it's going to be a long, long, long week for us. The day slowly ended with Niles doing twenty-seven loads of cloths.
"You are going to let us go home, right?" B asked finally able to sit down.
"Yes, but…" CC looked over at Niles. "Remember answer the phone if it rings."
She tosses him some keys. "Now take the limo home. We have a big day tomorrow."
Niles did everything for her, diving her and her dates around;
Picking up her dry clean; cooking; washing the limos she rented just for the days: even volunteered him to build a gazebo for her land lord; but the worst thing was going too the biggest sale of the season. The 75 off Lo man's sale in Jersey.
"Look at this traffice." He complained. "It's not even 4am yet." He yawned looking at the clock in the limo. "Why so so early?" he blinked his eyes to get the sleep out of them.
"If you don't get out there you donn't go shopping at all." Niles' mind: I wounder if ms. Fine or Val knows about this sale? What am I thinking of couse they do. they always know. What if they show up out here and she me with you know her…na he shook his head. not with all these people out here, shhe might not see me but I might here her. cars in the other lane went by. "Am I in the wrong line?"
"No, we turn up there." More cars went by then stopped. "See they are trying to pull into this lane."
Niles looked at the other cars in the left lane as his lane rolled down some. He saw a woman hanging out of the passanger side widow yelling at the croud. Niles' mind: that can't be? Could it? Niles leaned closer to the window, rolled doownn it down and listened. He heard that familer voice of Ms. Fines. "Move it!" she yelled. Niles' mind: oh no that wasn't…that was just my mind playing tricks on me. that's all. But then he heard it again. "Let's go."
"We will be seen for sure." B whispered at Niles as he looked at him form thhe front seat. CC sat in the back reading the sales ad.
"Maybe not B. This is a really big mall and what are the chances of us in the shop at the same time."
CC looked up from her ad. "What is talking so long?"
Niles turned to face her for a second. "A traffice jam, what's it loook like lady. It's just the biggest shopping day oof the year."
"Except the day after Thanksgiving." B added. Niles glared at him. "Well, that's true and out here…."
Niles finally found a place to park in the front.
"4:30am." CC didn't even wait until Niles opened the door for her. she bolted out with pep in her step. "boys time to do some shopping." What a shopping day it was. Niles had never seen so many people fight over cloths in his life. Niles' mind: why do people do that? it's just stuff, it has no real value if damaged. Oh well, let them have at it. thank god that we haven't seen Val or Fran yet.
"Give me that!" yelled a woman.
"No it's mind. Now get out of the way." Yelled another. Niles stepped to the side. "I better get out of the way or I'll…." Someone ran into him.
"Move it old man." the kid said and stepped on Niles' foot.
B and Niles made their way to the exit. B saw some benches in the middle of the mall. He grabbed Niles hand.
"Follow me." They both headed that way." Let's sit down some." They found the last two seats. "Whew, shopping is harder then it looks." B wiped his hands down his face.
"Tell me about it." Niles rubbed his feet. "I don't know how much more of this I can take today." B watched the crowd as each of the shoppers had bags and bags of things.
"don't look now but there's….there's Fran."