Jane was home doing dishes. They had to be done by hand as the house had no dishwasher.
She loathed doing dishes. They tended to pile up until she was eating out of mixing bowls and empty yogurt containers.
Or, until they started to smell and Robert would refuse to come over until she'd done something about it. He said he could smell them from the porch no matter how many scented candle she lit or how much rosemary she hung over the kitchen sink.
“Why don't you come over and dry? It'd be easier for me if you were here.”
Robert snorted “I will help dry the dishes if they are done right after the meal. Not just tossed next to the sink to ferment.”
“You're mean.” Jane pouted.
“No. I don't want to lift a plate off a pot and find maggots in the last of the macaroni and cheese.”
So Jane was in her apron with blue rubber gloves on, scrubbing dishes when the windchimes announced a visitor.
She cursed under her breath for forgetting to close the front door. Dishes took a long time and involved taking dirty dishes out of the sink before it could be filled with hot, soapy water.
Jane pulled her hands out of the water and went to the front door, dripping on the wood floor.
A somewhat disheveled young woman was on the porch.
“Hi. Um, my friend told me you might be able to help me.”
Jane cocked her head to the side, frowning a little. “What do you need help with?”
“Ah. I need to know if I'm pregnant.”
Jane could smell that she was. A low, fruity scent signaled this girl was definitely with child.
“What if you are?”
“I heard you could make teas and stuff to help with the morning sickness.”
“Yeah, I do. Come on in.” Jane pushed the door open and stepped back into the living room.”
Before the girl could step over the threshold, the front door slammed in her face. At the same time, the back door banged shut and every blind on every window dropped.
Jane coolly pulled the blackout drapes shut and went back into the kitchen. She sat down on her step stool and listened to the girl bang on the screen door.
Jane heard a car door slam and a male voice say “What the fuck?”. His tone was bewildered rather than angry.
“The door just slammed in my face. I couldn't get in.”
“But she opened the screen. “ “I know, but the door closed.”
“Let's go try around back.”
Jane listened to them go around the back and the resulting noises from the cats jumping over the fences. The two voices began to speak in lower voices, it sounded like they were sitting on the back porch steps.
She didn't know what would have happened if they'd come in the house. They probably had every intention of just getting some ginger tea and taking some of the pamphlets Jane would give them about Planned Parenthood. If the girl's parents didn't know she was pregnant, she'd want to hide the morning sickness. But, had they come in, something very bad would have happened.
Jane went back to her dishes, listening to the girl cry on the back steps.
She loathed doing dishes. They tended to pile up until she was eating out of mixing bowls and empty yogurt containers.
Or, until they started to smell and Robert would refuse to come over until she'd done something about it. He said he could smell them from the porch no matter how many scented candle she lit or how much rosemary she hung over the kitchen sink.
“Why don't you come over and dry? It'd be easier for me if you were here.”
Robert snorted “I will help dry the dishes if they are done right after the meal. Not just tossed next to the sink to ferment.”
“You're mean.” Jane pouted.
“No. I don't want to lift a plate off a pot and find maggots in the last of the macaroni and cheese.”
So Jane was in her apron with blue rubber gloves on, scrubbing dishes when the windchimes announced a visitor.
She cursed under her breath for forgetting to close the front door. Dishes took a long time and involved taking dirty dishes out of the sink before it could be filled with hot, soapy water.
Jane pulled her hands out of the water and went to the front door, dripping on the wood floor.
A somewhat disheveled young woman was on the porch.
“Hi. Um, my friend told me you might be able to help me.”
Jane cocked her head to the side, frowning a little. “What do you need help with?”
“Ah. I need to know if I'm pregnant.”
Jane could smell that she was. A low, fruity scent signaled this girl was definitely with child.
“What if you are?”
“I heard you could make teas and stuff to help with the morning sickness.”
“Yeah, I do. Come on in.” Jane pushed the door open and stepped back into the living room.”
Before the girl could step over the threshold, the front door slammed in her face. At the same time, the back door banged shut and every blind on every window dropped.
Jane coolly pulled the blackout drapes shut and went back into the kitchen. She sat down on her step stool and listened to the girl bang on the screen door.
Jane heard a car door slam and a male voice say “What the fuck?”. His tone was bewildered rather than angry.
“The door just slammed in my face. I couldn't get in.”
“But she opened the screen. “ “I know, but the door closed.”
“Let's go try around back.”
Jane listened to them go around the back and the resulting noises from the cats jumping over the fences. The two voices began to speak in lower voices, it sounded like they were sitting on the back porch steps.
She didn't know what would have happened if they'd come in the house. They probably had every intention of just getting some ginger tea and taking some of the pamphlets Jane would give them about Planned Parenthood. If the girl's parents didn't know she was pregnant, she'd want to hide the morning sickness. But, had they come in, something very bad would have happened.
Jane went back to her dishes, listening to the girl cry on the back steps.
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