My Short Story

I sail across the tiled kitchen floor in slippery socks, wearing a frumpy oversized t-shirt, fitted jeans, and maybe some flour on my face and most probabaly on my clothes. All the while I am belting out at the top of my lungs to join the radio with enthusiasm, "Deep in my heart I know that you love me as much as I love you... And that you must be lying somehwere looking up to heaven too..." As I sing, I whip the spatula with the motion of my hips and fling some cookie dough onto the counter. The opposite counter. Across the room. "Oops. Mom won't like that new look!" I chuckle at the spectacle I am making of myself. Good thing I am home alone! Well, relatively speaking. My little sister is home, and on the computer, but unable to witness my actions. I continue my dance to grab the dishrag and wipe up the disaster on multiple walls and surfaces left from too many good songs in a row on the radio. Oh... here comes the chorus again! "Praying for daylight waiting for that morning sun, so I can act like my whole life ain't going wrong. Baby come back to me, I swear I'll make it right. Don't make me spend another lonely night...." Cookies into the oven, rinse off hands, and I am done! Rows of beautiful cookies and now I just have to tackle the dishes that are beginning to amount to a sizeable bulge in the sink. Hmph. Dishes. But good thing there is still music to keep me company and keep my mind from the dirty measuring cups and numerous cookie sheets. Scrubbing away, I just can't help but sway and sing along... "She wants someone to call her angel. Someone to put the light back in her eyes. She's looking through the faces, and in unfamiliar places, she needs someone to hear her when she cries. And she says... Take me away and take me farther. Surround me now and hold, hold, hold me like holy water." Cookie sheets done, I stick the utensils and dishes into the dishwasher and start it to hear it swoosh into motion. Clean and tidy, just like the family likes it. Hmm, now to find a tupperware that will fit enough cookies to take a batch to my brother at work. This could prove to be a challenge. Problem solved, I scoop up the cookies, put on my mittens, yell as I head for the door, "Be back in a bit! Running cookies to Denny and then going to his house! Bye my little princess... be good!"
I am out the door and on the road. I do love the feel of driving in no rush, unhurried and able to take my time and enjoy the night. There are only a few stars above. Hmm, maybe more will come out later. Stars are a fascination with me, I only wish it was a bit warmer outside so I could lay out under them tonight. That will have to wait I guess. I deliver my cookies and am received with many smiles of thanks from an office area of guys that look like cookies were what they had been dreaming about all day. They tease Denny about having a sister to spoil him since he has no girlfriend to do it, and I admit that it's rare but I do what I can. I ask if I can stop by his house to use his computer and he says it's fine. "Did you call to see if anyone was home?" he asks. "It should be locked, so you may have to wait till tomorrow." I glance back as I step down from the raised cubicle that has become his custom seat of late and answer, "If it's locked and no one's home, I'll just wait till tomorrow. Have a good rest of the night! I'll talk to you later." Back to the car and to his house within 10 short minutes of heavy traffic, and a few snippets of songs that are worthwhile. The radio is so frustrating sometimes! No music. Just when I need music, it's all commercials. I think they conspire to frustrate me. I park on the street and head up to the darkened house with an empty drieveway. No one's home. Rats! I should try the door anyway, just to make sure. Unlocked! Denny is not going to be a happy camper with this news. And most assuredly not with a 37" flat screen hanging just inside on the wall. And video games scattered with abandon around the Xbox and it's permanent spot on the floor in front. Hmm, not a happy camper at all.
Stepping into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, I hit the switch. Classic. Dishes litter the counter and are a heap of clutter in and surrounding the sink. Bachelors. Bless their hearts, they just can't bring themselves to clean on a regular basis. Should I clean up? I should at least load the dishwasher. I take off the jewelry and the watch and move it to the front pocket of my jeans for safe keeping. This mound of dishes looks downright nasty. I begin the task at hand and move through the mugs and glasses quickly enough only to find a buried treasure below. Ah, so that's why the dishes are still sitting here. Buried below my first surface glance are numerous pans, skillets and baking necessities. Looks like somebody did some serious baking or cooking and left a mess they didn't want to deal with. And it had to have been weeks ago. Because the deeper I go, the more I smell something. A stench. Like an animal had crawled into this dirt coated sink and died right there on the spot. Oh man. Think of song Deanna... anything to keep my mind off this gross mess that is permeating my nose. I proceed to hum and sing as I scrub down the entire kitchen. I end up scrubbing down the sink and counters with an SOS pad and palmolive that works like a charm! What a shining beauty it is under that grime! Splendid. My older sister arrives back from her 6 hour clinicals at Mercy Hospital and we talk for a few minutes before I head home. "I'll tell them to say thanks, Deanna. That kitchen was more than I could bear. I told them to clean it from their party, and they wouldn't, so I refused. But it had to be bad." I grin and reply, "I don't mind. It was gross, but if it helps a bit, then it's cool. I'll ttyl, I'm going home to relax a bit. Be sure to ask Denny for some cookies. If you're lucky there will be a few left. If not, there's more at the house. Talk to you later."
What a day! It was a good day though. This morning I couldn't help but love the feel of my bed and ended up curling in a little deeper and snuggling down to just stay there as long as my body wanted. A beautiful thing. I didn't even rise today till 2 pm and that was merely because Brittany called to see if we'd have time to hang out for a bit. But she had class all day, so that thought ended before it began. But it was enough to boot me out of bed and get me going. Dinner with the family later on, and some relaxation. Tomorrow will be the same thing, just laundry instead of fun. Maybe some reading in there for good measure, to make sure the day isn't a total loss. I curl up on the couch next to my mom and find that nothing beats a day of sleeping late, a good book, baking cookies, and seeing my brother and sister. It was a good day I think, and as I find myself winding down with a book and spot on the sofa, I say to myself, "A good day indeed."