Nice (and Clean!)

"Where'd you go?" Bailey asked, stopping by my office after lunch.

"I ran an errand," I offered vaguely, immediately asking how her weekend went. She told me about her children and their activities and concluded by saying she'd cleaned.

"I don't get spring cleaning," she said. "But fall cleaning - because you spend all winter inside - now, that makes sense."

"I went to Target," I offered as a response to her initial question after pondering for a moment. "I had a coupon. So I bought a rug scrubber," I said sheepishly.

"I love mine," she breathed and sadly told me of how she'd broken a part and it no longer worked.

"I got the mid-range one," I confided, confident that I'd found a kindred spirit. "My basement smells bad," I wrinkled my nose and watched her mirror my expression, "and the carpet is this thick, soft, shaggy stuff. So I can't see stains, but they're there." I thought suspiciously of smelly stains before returning to my product adoration. "So this is supposed to clean with the steam and hot water and scrubby brushes and special cleaner! Plus," I continued breathlessly, "it works on ceramic tile!"

"Wow," she nodded, suitably impressed.

I've returned home, hurried into pajamas and assembled the magical cleaner. I moved furniture and began to clean, squeezing the trigger to release water as I pushed forward, then sucking away stains and smells as I retracted the device.

I finished in time to watch the new SpongeBob special. It smells clean as I lounge in the basement, nibbling cheese and crackers and waiting for carpet to dry - all remnants of ick sucked away.

Life is good.