This is the way I originally wrote Maria’s return. This would have been in Chapter 83: The Power of a Woman, after this section:

So the league of assholes (much easier than trying to keep count of the quickly dwindling number) is silent for two days, watching her, assessing her, before they ask again. They get the same answer. Finally Nacho comes to me as the representative of their ‘concerns’.

It takes everything I have not to say ‘windows’.

“Diego, we don’t know what’s up with Maria, but she’s not cooking like she used to. It’s almost like having Ella here. Can you find out what’s wrong?”

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So I called a meeting and allowed Maria to tell the men of RangeMan Miami her needs. No man was prepared for what he heard.

“You men think that because it’s good old Maria, you can treat me any way you want. Well, I’ve had a chance to see how the other housekeepers around RangeMan are treated and I’ll tell all of you, for a bunch of men who believe that women should be protected and cherished you do a poor job of showing me appreciation! I’m not taking it anymore.”

She looked at Antonio and Patrice. “You want to know where your pepitas are? They’re still stuck in the heavy pumpkins I can never get you men to help me carry in unless I ask. They’re stuck in the five and ten pound bags of pumpkin seeds I need help carrying. Your papas rellenas are still at the store in the potato bags that weigh ten and twenty pounds. Your fruit salads contain three different kinds of melons, papayas, citrus, honey and all that stuff weighs a lot. A lot! And I have to come and ask you to help me with it and hope you will!”

The men were starting to get a clue but Maria was on a roll. “Do you know how the other housekeepers around RangeMan are treated? Let’s take Ella for an example. When Ella makes a grocery run, at least two, at least two, of the Trenton men go with her. Depending on what she needs to get, maybe more.

When they get to the store, she only carries her purse. They push the carts and load the car. They get back to the office and the remaining men have already organized a brigade to get everything she bought inside. This wasn’t something she had to organize. They organized themselves because the Trenton men were grateful to have a housekeeper! I thought that it was perhaps a one-off, but nooooo, apparently that’s the way all the housekeepers except me are treated. It was the way they treated me while I was there. How do you treat me?”

Now every man was looking a little shame-faced, me included. That’s exactly how I treat my own mother.

“After Lucia does a grocery run, the men stop by to see if she needs help putting things away. They chop veggies, help her package and freeze meats, and carry those big crocks of stew and soup to the break room when it’s cold. I found out that, to save money, Rose buys entire sides of beef and pork and she and the men have fun cutting their own steaks and chops. It gives Maxwell a chance to display his knife skills! All this seafood I could buy directly from the docks but I would never be able to get it back here and frozen without help and I’d never be able to get enough of you off your butts to help me.”

At this point, Maria was crying and we felt like shit. No other word to describe it.

“I’m the isolated case in RangeMan. All the other housekeepers, their men treat them like they treat their mothers and they receive the kind of care and concern they would get from a Mom in return. They get flowers and gifts on Mother’s Day, their birthdays and their anniversaries! That’s what I want. I’ve been giving you ‘Mommy’ care and getting nothing in return for it.

No more! Until I start getting some respect and consideration around her, you can enjoy your granola. I have 14 different recipes and you’ll get granola because oats, nuts, and dried fruit I can carry on my own.” She turned to leave.

“But Maria!” Julio cried, “you’re supposed to be in charge of feeding us according to dietary requirements. That’s what you’re responsible for! How is granola appropriate?”

I cringed. Idiot.

Maria turned around, a fierce look on her face. “I’ve reread my contract. It states I’m responsible for ‘light snacks’. ‘Light snacks’, Julio, not the meals I’ve been presenting you with. Not the treats I’ve enjoyed making. Laundry and ‘light snacks’, which means that granola is all I’m contractually obligated to make for you. It’s a ‘light snack’ in line with your dietary requirements. So go eat it!”

By the end of the day, the men had organized a duty roster for Maria and presented it, along with instructions to add any other duties to the list they had missed and let them know so they could get organized. By the third grocery run, we had our old food back and Maria was happier. Thomas got on the phone with the other liaisons and got a list of housekeeper duties and which ones the housekeepers got assistance with and we’ve been organizing coverage.

Some of the men still grumbled, saying it was ridiculous to put in all this work. After all, the duty of the housekeeper was to feed us and keep the place clean. I pulled the RangeMan housekeepers’ contract and found that Maria was absolutely right; the housekeeper was in charge of laundry and ‘light snacks’. The cooking that Maria did was not covered. I showed this to the complainers and that stopped all complaints.