Chapter Seventeen: Cleaning House:

Nancy’s out of control. She wanted to clean up the house. I looked around from the couch I was sitting on.

“It looks fine to me,” I said to myself. Nancy wasn’t going to take that for an answer. She frowned as she tapped her foot.

“What?” I asked.

“That won’t do!” she shouted. “Clean this up now!” I rolled my eyes.

“Fine,” I grumbled. Anything to shut her up. She kept her eyes on me. Ava sat on the flooring playing with Marshmallow.

Nancy made a list of what we needed to do. Sweeping, dusting, washing the windows, vacuuming, and everything else with cleaning. I looked at the list.

“Seriously?” I asked.

“Yes!” Nancy said. She kept that cold look on me. Of course, she was going to give herself the easier tasks. I mean, I understand why. But still…

I threw back my head. Might as well get this over with. Anything to make her shut up. So I started in the kitchen. It doesn’t look too bad. Sure, I do clean it up a little bit. I took a look around. The dishes from yesterday are still in the sink. Most of the dishes go in the dishwasher. I was going to run it but I never got around it. Don’t know why really.

I walked over to the pantry and looked inside. There was a small bag of dish detergent. Good enough. I opened the dishwasher and set everything up inside. I put down the rack from the sink to keep them from flipping over. I put the dish detergent into the compact and start it up. I don’t know if it will work fine. I will see in a moment.

Then I sweep up the floor. It’s not like it really needs it. Nancy’s going to come in and look around. I wasn’t surprised. Right now, she’s dusting in the living room. She’s just going to dust and fold laundry. Maybe turn on the washing machine. Nancy hinted that this was going to be an all-day thing. I tilted my head as I made a face.

“Are you serious?” I asked. She stared at me.

“Is that a problem?” Nancy asked. I frowned but said nothing. She clearly was the one in control. I can just go along and force myself to smile. What else can I do? She’s not going anywhere. Nancy and the kid don’t have anywhere else to go. I took a breath and got to work.

The kitchen took about twenty minutes to clean up. I was surprised that it took that long. I looked toward the doorway. If the kitchen took some time, how long was the rest of the house going to take?

“Nancy?” I asked.

“Yeah?” she asked back.

“How are you doing in there?” I asked.

“Good,” Nancy said.

“I just finished the kitchen. What do you want me to do now?” I asked. Why was I asking this? I shook my head. What’s happening to me?

“Why don’t you start one of the bathrooms?” she asked. I shrugged to myself.

“Sure,” I said.

“Do you know where the vacuum cleaner is?” Nancy asked. I took a moment to think.

“Did you check the hall closet?” I asked. I walked over to the doorway and poked my head around the corner. Nancy was staring at me with the duster in her hand.

“You sure about that?” she asked.

“Just go look,” I said. She put down the duster and walked down the hall. I shook my head. It’s not like I vacuum that often. I looked down at the kitchen and the rug just at the doorway. Maybe I should humor her by sweeping the floor. Might as well. It looks like we’re to be cleaning all day. Somehow, I’m not mad anymore.

Meanwhile, Ava and Marshmallow were down for a nap. They would be out of the way until we got everything done. I have no idea how long that is going to last though. Wish us luck.