I’ve recently started a book called The Maid by Nita Prose. This book is a novel and it tells the story of Molly Gray, a socially awkward maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, who becomes a person of interest when she discovers a prominent guest dead in his bed. I came across this amusing passage in the book.
‘Molly, what are you doing here?’ Mr Snow asked when I showed up from work after Gran died. ‘I’m so sorry for your loss. Mr Prestion told me that your grandmother passed away yesterday. I already called in a replacement for your shift. I assumed you’d take today off.’
‘Mr Snow, why did you assume?’ I asked. ‘As Gran used to say, when you assume, you make an A-S-S out of U and ME.’
Mr Snow looked like he was going to regurgitate a mouse.
‘Please accept my condolences. And are you sure you don’t want the day off?’
‘It was Gran who died, not me,’ I replied. ‘The show must go on, you know’ (p10)
This book paragraph gave me the impression that I was in an obscure comedy performance that would make me chuckle. The line “It was Gran who died, not me” was the one I found most endearing. It seems as though Molly is emotionless; she dismisses it and carries on with her life.