Wait ‘Til He Finds Out About Folded Clothes

“Good afternoon, Acme Grommets and Gravel, Pearl speaking.”

“You’re not going to believe this.”

It’s T.  “I don’t believe it already,” I say.

“Smartie,” he says.

“Yes,” I say.

“ANYway,” he says, suddenly exasperated, “I just figured something out.”

I smile.  “I can’t wait,” I say.

“Don’t get lippy,” he mock-threatens, smiling.  “I can have someone in that elevator and on your floor before you can think of an alias.”

“All talk,” I say, laughing.  “Now what did you figure out?”

“The dishes,” he says.  “You know how every time I want to cook something I have to do the dishes first?”

T has recently become quite a good cook; and despite my teasing him over his discovery that pancakes can be made from scratch, his forays into cuisine have become more and more elaborate, leading to his saying things like “chiffonade”, “rolling boil”, and “arugula”.

“I do,” I say.

“Well what if – and hear me out here – what if the dishes were already done?”

There is silence.

“What if,” he says, “when I went to start dinner, the dishes were clean and ready to use?”

More silence.

“Are you suggesting,” I say, slowly, “that you should wash your dishes after you’re done using them, rather than let them lie in the sink until the next time you want to use them?”

“I am,” he says.

There is silence.

“Wait,” he says.  “You’re about to make fun of me, aren’t you?”

“No, no, no, no,” I say, writing down “T has discovered reason to wash his dishes.  In a world gone mad... ”.  “That’s a fantastic idea.  I’m just going to write that down.  Hey, you mind if I call my mom about this?”

“Pfffft,” he says, air escaping.  “You’re making fun of me.  I’m getting off the phone now!”

“Wait!” I shout.  “I have so many questions!”

“Ahhh, shaddap,” he says, smiling. 

“Have a good day!” I say.

He laughs.  “You, too.”