"No, really, we had a maid. I grew up in Westmont."
Westmont was an area of very large houses, mansions, and estates, and many of the residents did have maids. What a shame, thought Laura, for parents to use their wealth in a way which permitted their child to grow up believing that he could leave the world a messy place, and someone else would follow behind and clean it up. It was just a fleeting thought, soon put aside in the rapture she felt that weekend. The setting was romantic, with perfect summer weather without rain or humidity to spoil it, and it was too early in the season for the dreaded black flies and mosquitoes. They were two healthy young people on a much-needed vacation from demanding jobs. They were both fit - Bryan played squash regularly at a club near his office, and Laura's walking to work every day kept her in shape - and they had quickly reached the level of familiarity which made their physical intimacy so enjoyable. They had found a great deal to like in each other, and it was a weekend which neither wanted to end.
But it did end Sunday night when they got on the Autoroute and headed south with thousands of others, like parolees returning after a weekend pass. Back in the city, though, their relationship had entered a new phase, and now Bryan stayed over instead of kissing Laura goodnight and leaving. Before long, Laura suggested that he bring over some changes of clothing, and soon they were, to all intents and purposes, living together. Bryan still kept the large apartment he shared with a fellow lawyer, and neither ever explicitly stated that they were living together because they were still concerned with taking things slowly enough to get it right.
It was wonderful to have someone you loved, to share life with, thought Laura. If only his parents hadn't had a maid - the one trait Bryan had which she found very hard to deal with was his failure to pick up after himself. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Laura kept the apartment tidy, and her jokes and gentle prodding had only short-term effects on his behavior. Finally, she had sat down to have a serious talk and had tried to explain to him that she had a lifetime habit of keeping her surroundings straightened up and tidy, and it was as jarring to her to see items left lying around as a wrong note on a piano would be to a professional musician. He admitted that he had a lifetime habit of not picking things up until he needed them again, and said he'd try to change his ways if she would try to be a little more tolerant of his habits. And so they agreed to compromise, she to unbend a little in her quest for perfection, he to try harder to attain it.