GETTING TO KNOW THE CHARACTERS IN MY BOOK

#1 Margie:

I found my first assistant on the streets of “Old Louisville.” She was loading up her car in front of one

Margie was friendly with a great smile

of the beautiful old Victorian houses a couple streets over from me. I almost drove right past, but when I noticed her cleaning supplies, I slammed on the brakes just in time to catch her before she drove away.

 Margie was a tall, healthy-looking redhead with freckles all over her face. Her curly hair was pulled back and fastened at the nape of her neck with a barrette. She was wearing cargo pants, a T-shirt, and a dark blue work apron with pockets all across the front. She was friendly and agile. I thought she would make a great assistant, so I interviewed her right there on the street and asked her to come for a trial run the next day.

 Exceptional at house cleaning, Margie even brought her own cleaning supplies, including rags, with her. She knew all about the best cleaning products, how to get spots out of anything, and how to iron. When she showed up at my inn the next day I hired her right on the spot, without further interview or references, although she offered to bring them. That first year and a half was perfect. For the first time in the three years I’d been in business, I was able to take a few weekends off while Margie inn-sat.

One weekend, I went to Chicago to visit my oldest daughter. A day or two after I returned, I was doing a routine review of my checking account when I noticed I was five hundred dollars short. I went through my checkbook and saw that the very last check was missing. I called my bank and was told that the check had been cashed at a Kroger grocery store near me. They sent me a copy, and I saw that Margie had forged my signature. The bank took responsibility and put the five hundred dollars back into my account immediately. Kroger confronted Margie, and she admitted she’d forged the check. Both Kroger and my bank prosecuted her.

Of course, I had to fire Margie. After a little investigating and a few conversations with her mother, I found out she had been on crack cocaine for months and had stolen food and other items from two other innkeepers. Eventually, she ended up in jail. It was such a shame; she was a nice girl who got mixed up with the wrong people. And, even worse, she had two little children.