This post is part of a series of short stories.
Day Seventeen
I sat down
in my sunny yellow kitchen and poured myself a steaming cup of strong coffee. I
had to use a pot holder because the handle had long since melted off in the
heat of the gas flame. I poured just a touch of milk into it and watched it
cloud around and become milky. It was my late morning coffee break time and I
was so ready for it. Not that I have any other coffee break times. It was late
morning I’m trying to say. It had been a long morning of laundry and vacuuming
and bed making and decision making. I hate decision making. What to keep, what
to throw out, where to put this, what to cook, what to eat, whites or colors,
Vivaldi or Ella. I was just plain worn out. Our kitchen window perfectly frames
the sidewalk out front. I finally washed it yesterday and was enjoying the
new-found clarity it provided. ‘’You missed a spot,’’ I said aloud. I smiled. Two
young ladies walked by. They were dressed to the nines. Maybe 14 or so. One
wore a short black skirt and nylons. She had high heels and struggled to walk
in them. Her tummy, although covered, was spilling over the waist of her skirt
in a too-tight tank top. A T.T.T.T. ‘’Oh, honey,’’ I said aloud. Her friend was
as skinny as a rail but equally awkward. She also wore heels for what looked
like the first time. Her hair was frizzy and her makeup was visible from the
street. ‘’Bless their hearts,’’ I said. I took a sip, but my coffee was still
too hot. I like it lukewarm. A pigeon flew a few times near my window, which is
not typical. ‘’Don’t you dare,’’ I said. I got up and checked the outside
corner and sure enough, there were the first few strands of a nest. ‘’You
filthy rat,’’ I said while I used a broom to destroy its work. An older man turned
when I said it. ‘’Oops. Good morning!’’ I called. He looked at his watch. ‘’It’s
almost lunch time!’’ ‘’Oh, haha (I actually said the word haha), good DAY.’’ He tipped his head.
I sat back
down at my table and straightened the table cloth. I matched up the lines to
the edges of the table and reached for a cookie. You can’t have coffee without
cookies, am I right? One bite and crumbs were everywhere. I stood up and got a
saucer out of the cupboard. It was the last remnant from my grandma’s dishes
and I treasured its every use. No flowers or decorations, no gold plating, nothing
special really, just pink, but it was my grandma’s. And that was special. A boy
rode by on a scooter. His hair was too long. ‘’Darn kids these days,’’ I said,
like I was 80 years old. I chuckled a little. I tried my coffee. ‘’Ah, that’s
better.’’ I reached over and flipped on the radio. Every hour on the hour they
have a little blurb about health or science or some little bit of interest.
They were talking about sleep. They said people who get up early and get the
most early-morning sunlight are slimmer than those who sleep in. ‘’Or maybe it’s
‘cause they don’t eat too many cookies,’’ I bit into another. I saw our mailman
on the sidewalk. I jumped up and threw open the window, ‘’anything for me,
Harry?’’ I asked cheerfully. ‘’Yeah. Bills.’’ ‘’Ohhhhh,’’ I whined. You can
keep those.’’ ‘’No thanks, got enough of my own,’’ he smiled. He walked up to
the window and passed them to me. ‘’Hank at work?’’ ‘’Ye-e-e-es. How else do
you think we pay for these nasty things?’’ I waved the stack in the air. ‘’Don’t say I never gave you anything,’’ he called,
walking away. ‘’Thanks a heap!’’ I yelled.
I gulped
down the last of my coffee and shoved the rest of the cookie into my mouth. I
gently set the saucer in the sink and brushed the crumbs from the table into my
hand and tossed them into the garbage. I rinsed my hands and dried them on my
apron. It was blue with white pockets with lilacs painted on them. ‘’That’s
that,’’ I said, and went to the closet and pulled out a dust rag and a bottle
of lemon oil.
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