A couple of weeks ago, I took $200 out of the bank (in the form of two $100 bills) to give to a friend who had been so kind to sell me her sofa, a desk, and a birthing tub (don't ask!). It was about all I could afford to give her, but I wanted to pay her something for offloading all of this stuff on me (great stuff, by the way), so I figured I could manage $200 for the moment. Then she went out of town with her family and I never got a chance to pay her.
Now, she called me this past weekend, and I called her up today, thinking I could stop by and give her the money. She has been gracious enough to say, "No, don't worry about it, pay me when you can," but I hate being that person who owes someone else money. Anyway, I take a look in my wallet and one of the $100 bills is missing. I am livid.
I had checked in my wallet a few days ago because I was restocking my vegan creamer and tea bags, and sure enough, the money was there. Then I went to the CRL party, and while I didn't check my wallet there, if someone had wanted to steal it out in public (and judging from the crowd, I seriously doubt anyone there would have done such a thing), they would have taken both $100s, right? I mean, why go in the wallet and just take one?
The other possible scenario, the one I find most disturbing and also most likely, is that the maid took it. This has not been the first time money has gone missing from my wallet since she's been working for us. The first time, a 5,000 colones note was gone, and although I was sure it had been in there before she got there, I was equally sure I might have miscalculated, and perhaps it wasn't in there in the first place. The next time it was 10,000 colones, and this time a $100 bill. I have heard that maids who rip you off will do that, take just one bill to make it seem as though you might be mistaken, you might question yourself. But who the hell doesn't miss a $100 bill? Not me! I miss it! That is a lot of groceries (at least a couple of weeks' worth for my family), several bags of dog and cat food, many tanks of gas for my car. That is money I worked hard to earn. I am not independently wealthy, and what irks me is that, if it was the maid who took it, she thinks I won't miss such a large amount of money. Not to mention the feeling of being violated when someone has been in your purse, digging around in your things looking for money to steal. It's not the first time I've been robbed, but every time it feels quite similar. I guess the amount of irritation is proportional to how much one has been violated. When our house was broken into in the middle of the afternoon while I was taking a shower (never live in Rohrmoser if you can help it!), I had nightmares about the men who came into my house for years. I am only now able to recall that I had a gun in my face without breaking into a cold sweat. So truthfully, taking $100 out of my purse was nothing compared to that experience.
At any rate, she will be fired by esposo when he gets home tonight. No more second chances. I've freaking had it.
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