Something Missing_ A Novel - Matthew Dicks [61]
Jillian looked up briefly, smiled at Martin, and said, “Tomorrow it is, my dear” before returning her attention to her newest customers.
Martin loved it when she called him “my dear.” Though she said it almost every day to him, he never got tired of hearing those two wonderful words.
Before pulling out of the parking lot, Martin refocused his attention on the business of the day. Client referrals were next on Martin’s list, and though he normally disliked everything associated with Housekeeping Day, this was one task that he enjoyed very much. His latest referral had come by way of the Gallos of Kensington, who had proven to be an excellent source of potential clients. As professional chefs, the Gallos were constantly hosting and (more important) being invited to a large number of dinner parties in the area, so their refrigerator magnets were rarely devoid of a new invitation. Almost all of Martin’s referrals came from invitations stuck on the sides of his clients’ refrigerators or filed away on a desktop, reflecting his belief that like-minded people traveled in the same circles. Married couples befriended other married couples. Couples without children sought couples in similar circumstances. People also tended to associate with others of similar financial standing. The culmination of these suppositions was Martin’s belief that the best source of potential clients was his current clients’ friends, and the wedding, anniversary, birthday, and dinner party invitations (which usually included the couples’ full names, addresses, and telephone numbers) served as access to these people and their lives.
Invitations were also effective at weeding out the wrong kind of client. An invitation to a bar mitzvah, for example, signaled the presence of a child in the home. A daughter’s wedding invitation, on the other hand, might signal a child leaving the nest, making that couple a potentially profitable one. Invitations could also effectively signal a family’s financial standing. A catered party in the home or the use of the dining room at a moderately priced country club usually indicated a certain level of financial success and lifestyle that appealed to Martin when choosing a client. A dinner party at a beach home on Martha’s Vineyard, however, indicated that a client might be too wealthy for Martin’s taste. Martin had even taken the time to learn about greeting cards and their pricing, and he could now tell with a cursory examination how much someone had spent on an invitation—a good clue to their financial status.
While all of this information was helpful in identifying potential clients, none of it could replace a site visit and extensive research. The site visit always came first, because just by examining a home and its surroundings from the street, Martin could eliminate 75 percent of all couples referred to him.
Martin’s referral of the day brought him to the home of Jennifer and David Hugh of Southington. From the invitation that Martin had photographed two weeks ago, he knew that Jennifer and David were planning a Hawaiian-themed dinner party for an unspecified number of guests in five weeks. The invitation, printed on average card stock in typography, had encouraged the Gallos to “Get into the spirit by dressing like a native! Colorful leis, flowered shirts, and even hula skirts are all welcome!” Martin had taken this as a good sign. Though the Gallos’ finances were well within Martin’s specifications, he had found that, unlike most clients, the Gallos also had friends who were much wealthier than themselves, and so he was frequently disappointed to discover