The Housemaid

Three weeks into working for the Winchesters, Millie has her first meeting with her parole officer since the new job. She pretends to have quit her previous waitressing job, when she was actually fired, albeit unfairly; she didn’t disclose this at her last parole meeting, a month earlier, either.

Hearing about the new job, Pam, her parole officer, tells Millie she’s proud of her. Pam encourages her to start making friends and begin dating again, noting that human connection is as important as a job and shelter. Millie’s mind immediately wanders to Andrew.

That night, Millie’s unable to sleep and goes downstairs to watch TV; the ground floor is usually empty after 10 o’ clock. However, Andrew comes down to get a glass of water and joins her on the couch. He considers eating peanut butter straight from the jar, and when Millie mentions Cecelia’s allergies, Andrew laughingly declares that she’s not allergic.

Nina hears Andrew and Millie laughing at the TV and comes downstairs. She angrily berates Andrew for being up so late; once he leaves, Millie tries to reassure Nina that nothing happened between her and Andrew, and Nina scoffs at the very idea. She instructs Millie to clean up the “mess” left behind, which is just Andrew’s half-empty glass of water. After Nina leaves, Millie hurls the glass on the floor in frustration, shattering it; she regretfully cleans it up quickly.

Nina has a PTA gathering in her backyard on Saturday. Leading up to it, Millie is stressed about getting things ready: The house is a mess, as usual, that morning, and in addition to cleaning it up, she must complete numerous tasks that Nina assigned to her. By the time she’s done cleaning, Millie is already running late. When she steps outside, she realizes that the patio furniture needs cleaning too and is on the verge of tears.

Andrew sees her distress and offers to help, assuring Millie that he’ll pick up the hors d’oeuvres. Cecelia asks Andrew for help with her computer, and Andrew sends her to get ready for their “road trip” to pick up the appetizers before he fixes the device. Millie comments on how good Andrew is with Cecelia and on their resemblance, but Andrew reveals that Cecelia isn’t his biological daughter. However, he met Nina when Cecelia was just a baby, so Andrew is the only father she’s ever known. Andrew confesses that he loves children and wishes he had many, and Millie remembers how Nina mentioned that they were trying for a baby.

Nina makes Millie stand around the entire time during the PTA gathering. When any of the women criticize the food or arrangements, Nina loudly laments the poor quality of her domestic help. In response to one of the women’s comments, Millie asks Nina if she should heat up the hors d’oeuvres. Nina immediately chastises Millie for interrupting and for addressing her as “Nina” instead of “Mrs. Winchester.”

Nina mentions to the women that Andrew and she are trying for a child, and the women congratulate her. When Nina steps away for a moment, however, the other women cruelly gossip about Nina’s weight gain and how she used to be in a psychiatric hospital. They discuss how Nina ought to do everything she can to keep Andrew because she signed an iron-clad prenup when they got married and Andrew never legally adopted Cecelia. In addition, the women note how the last thing Nina should have done is hire a pretty maid to work in her house.

Andrew and Nina have an appointment with a fertility specialist, which they’ve both been eagerly anticipating. While they’re at the appointment, Millie watches Cecelia. Cecelia asks for an “abalone sandwich,” which Millie misunderstands to be “a bologna sandwich.” When she presents Cecelia with the dish, however, the girl throws it on the floor.

Before Millie can reprimand Cecelia, Nina and Andrew arrive, both with bloodshot eyes and looking gloomy. Millie asks if everything is okay, and Nina snaps at her for being nosy. She orders Millie to clean up the mess that Cecelia created and storms off. Tired, Andrew reveals that Nina can’t have any more children.

To cheer Nina up, Andrew asks Millie to check Nina’s dates and book tickets to Showdown, a Broadway show playing in the city. In addition, he apologizes to Millie for how Nina treats her and assures her that despite Nina’s temperamental nature, she likes Millie and appreciates everything she’s doing.

Later that night, hearing loud crashing sounds and yelling, Millie heads downstairs to investigate. She overhears Nina yelling about how she knows Andrew wishes she were gone because she can’t give him a baby. Nina yanks open the door and is livid to find Millie standing there. She orders Millie to go back to her room or she’ll be fired. Upon hearing Andrew in the bathroom, Millie is relieved that he’s alright and leaves.

Nina seems almost her usual self the next morning, though a little more frazzled. Millie asks Nina for dates that she’s available to go to the show, and Nina’s thrilled, telling her to book tickets a week from Sunday. Andrew comes down and greets Nina lovingly before heading to work. Millie feels envious, imagining what it’d be like to live Nina’s life with a husband like Andrew. Enzo brings a parcel to the house, and Millie answers the door. She tries to flirt with him, but he immediately jumps back in alarm. Embarrassed, Millie apologizes; before Enzo leaves, he warns Millie once more to “‘get out […] It’s… […] Dangerous’” (106-07).

While waiting to pick up Cecelia from her tap-dancing class, Millie mulls over the humiliation of Enzo’s rejection, nursing a headache. Another nanny, Amanda, who is waiting with her, notices Millie’s discomfort and offers her an Advil. When she finds out that Millie works for the Winchesters, Amanda reveals that Nina was in a psychiatric hospital because she tried to kill Cecelia when she was a baby: “Nina drugged her, threw her in the tub with running water, then took a bunch of pills herself” (110).

Shocked, Millie remembers the antipsychotic medication she saw in the bathroom—and Enzo’s warning. However, she can’t afford to leave the Winchesters without saving up some more money. She has no choice but to stay on and do her best not to antagonize Nina.

At dinnertime, Millie tries to move the cardboard box that Enzo brought in, which is still on the table. Andrew comes in, and seeing that it’s from his mother, opens it. He’s visibly upset to find it filled with white baby clothes. Millie realizes that Nina must have mentioned to Andrew’s mother that they were trying. She tries to comfort Andrew, saying that perhaps the doctor was wrong. However, Andrew reveals that Nina is a little older than him; she had some “issues” when they first got married, which is why they waited so long to try. Moved by Andrew’s distress, Millie offers him a listening ear if he ever needs it. He thanks her and squeezes her hand, and the contact sparks something between them. Andrew immediately pulls away, but “before he disappears up the stairs, he gives [her] one last long lingering look.” (115).

Millie spends the next week avoiding Andrew but can’t help thinking about him all the time. As she’s getting dinner ready one night, Nina walks in and asks about the tickets to Showdown. Millie confirms that they’ve been booked for Sunday night, along with a room at The Plaza. When Nina realizes that it’s this Sunday night, she berates Millie for being careless, as she’s only free the following week. This Sunday, Nina will be driving Cecelia to camp in Massachusetts and spending the night there. She threatens to take the cost of the tickets and hotel out of Millie’s paycheck. Andrew arrives and tries to calm Nina down, promising to get a refund. Upset, Millie rushes off to her room and bursts into tears.

On Sunday afternoon, Millie carries Cecelia’s bags—which seem unusually heavy—to the car. After Nina and Cecelia leave, Andrew confesses that he didn’t get the refund but didn’t tell Nina so that she wouldn’t penalize Millie for what was Nina’s own mix-up. Andrew offers Millie the tickets and hotel room to enjoy with a friend; when Millie turns it down because she has no one to go with, Andrew offers to take her. Despite Millie’s apprehensions, he doesn’t want the tickets to go to waste. Millie agrees, despite her sense of foreboding that if she goes with him, something terrible will happen.

Millie has no outfit appropriate for the theater in her own wardrobe, so she wears one of the white dresses that Nina passed on to her. Millie looks beautiful in it, and when Andrew catches sight of her dressed up, he’s visibly affected. As they drive into the city, Millie notices Andrew glancing at her legs. She knows that Nina wouldn’t be happy about any of this but brushes the thought away because there’s no way Nina would ever find out.

At the theater, Millie’s excited and amazed by the entire experience, which amuses Andrew. As they settle in for the show, Millie gets a message from Nina reminding her to put out the trash. Millie decides to do so as soon as she’s back home.

After the show, Andrew takes Millie to a French restaurant for dinner. Millie remarks about how gentlemanly he is, and he credits his mother for raising him this way. Halfway through dinner, Nina calls and yells at Andrew about something. Once he puts the phone down, he confesses that he doesn’t know how his marriage has come to this; Nina used to be a very different person.

Andrew mentions that he was engaged to someone right before he married Nina, and Millie wonders whether Nina broke up that relationship. Andrew then confesses that Nina and he haven’t had sex since their doctor’s visit, and Millie can’t stop thinking about this.

Millie and Andrew have a great time at dinner. However, they drink too much wine, and can’t drive back home. Andrew suggests that they stay at The Plaza, promising to book a separate room for Millie. As they get into the taxi, Millie notices Andrew staring at her legs again. He tells her that she looks beautiful. The cab jerks, and Millie is thrown against Andrew, who begins kissing her.

Millie and Andrew don’t end up getting separate rooms; they sleep together, and wake up next to each other in the morning. Millie knows that the situation is a fantasy and that Andrew will never leave Nina for her, but she can’t help hoping. Andrew asks Millie not to say anything to Nina; he’s not sorry for the last night, and he had a great time, but it can’t happen again.