Stroke
The Evening Prior to the Stroke
by Terry Light
Once a month Maria the housekeeper came to my apartment. She was an extremely nice woman with dark hair, older, shorter, and a little bit on the chubby side. She vacuumed my dusty carpets, cleaned the porcelain fixtures in the bathroom, scrubbed the stains on the counter and stove in the kitchen, washed my dirty dishes, dusted the furniture, and generally did everything except clean the windows.
There was not much to do.
The main reason Maria came was because I needed at least one 'regularly scheduled visitor' to my condominium. That way I would be a good fellow, putting things away and organizing before she came. Maria could do her job - clean.
Left on my own, I tend to clutter. Unfortunately, I fired Maria a couple of months ago. Not a good decision for a single man, but I figured I was done impressing women. I no longer dated.
Oops.
Now I wanted to stand out for a woman coming to my apartment for the first time. Her name was Junko and she was slender, smart, attractive, and had a good sense of humor - everything I desired. We had been to Starbucks, an Irish bar, the ocean, and most important of all, we had been to her place.
Now it was my turn.
Of course, my condominium was a mess. I had to organize and then I had to clean, tasks I disliked tremendously.
Ever since I remember, I always put things off to the last minute. It may have been a school term paper, a monthly newsletter, straightening my locker and bunk for military inspection, or preparing for a sales interview. I delayed and delayed but still did quite a good job, even if that may not make sense to people in the rest of the world.
I was a procrastinator.
Trust me, I had good excuses! I felt sick the night before and had dry heaves! I simply felt yucky and terrible. Junko called while finishing Christmas stockings for a charity and I was supposedly cleaning my place.
Stroke (Table of Contents)
The Evening Prior to the Stroke
Waiting for my Eyes to Unbloo-ify
© 2009 by T. J. Light