Daily Word Prompt – Orderly
Ron was about as orderly as they come, slightly over the top some might say. He put it down to his time in the forces, whatever it was he liked everything to be spick and span.
He surveyed the apartment one more time and smiled, everything was gleaming as it should. He could see his face in the taps and the sink was dry and polished, not a single water mark in sight but he buffed it again all the same.
He was waiting for Miriam to arrive, she hadn’t been to his home before and he wanted to show her how well he looked after himself. He had always been the same, even when his wife was alive he took charge of the housework. That had been their deal, she did the cooking and ironing and he took care of the house. She had been a wonderful cook, she could make something from nothing all right, they didn’t need to splash out on fancy ingredients. Everybody commented on her skill in the kitchen, it had been difficult adjusting after she went. He was getting better as time went on and tonight he would be cooking for Miriam.
Ron thought he would sit Miriam in the leather chair, save the job of puffing the cushions. He would sit opposite and the could enjoy an aperitif before dinner.
He thought about the music he had chosen, he didn’t want to put it on until after the taxi had left the complex, this way just the right track would be playing when she arrived. Ron looked down to the parking lot but no sign of a taxi yet.
It wasn’t long before the door knocked, Ron was confused he hadn’t heard a taxi. He hurried over to the stereo and pressed play before having one more check of himself in the mirror and opening the door. Miriam was standing there somewhat windswept with a dripping umbrella in her hand. ‘I thought I would walk, clear the cobwebs’ she said, giving him a peck on the cheek and walking past him into the apartment. Miriam still had her umbrella in her hand and it was dripping all over his freshly polished floors. Ron quickly relieved her of the umbrella and and pointed her towards the leather chair as planned. ‘What a beautiful apartment’ Miriam said. ‘If you don’t mind I would rather sit on the couch, it looks so lovely and comfortable with all those cushions to support ones back’. Ron screamed silently, he hadn’t sat on the sofa in a year, the cushions were heavy and he wasn’t getting any younger. ‘Of course’ Ron obliged, knowing he should have been faster.
Ron prepared drinks and nibbles and brought them over to the sitting area on a tray. He purposefully left the tray on the glass coffee table, to protect it from ring marks and crumbs. Miriam, must have missed this as she pushed the tray slightly to put her glass down on the table. Miriam told Ron she had brought some photos along to show him and popped her bruschetta on the side to dig into her handbag. Ron watched as the oil and glass met, he missed what she was saying as she handed him the photo.
Miriam said she would like to use the bathroom before dinner and Ron pointed the way, quickly wiping the table with his nicely ironed hanky chief as soon as she was out of eyesight. Ron listened as the taps in the bathroom ran and thought about the splashes, thought about the fresh clean towels now creased.
Maybe it was too early to consider lady friends he thought, after all his wife had only been gone six years.
lizalizaskysaregrey 