#chilis au
Yeehawgust Day 27: Dust Storm
August 2021
Chicago, Illinois
The way things had gone had delayed plans a bit, but finally, finally, they’d found a house to take on together. Much as she loved Caro, Harry, Josh, and Maddie, and as much as Arthur loved John and Abigail and Jack, Sadie thought either of them might have committed murder if it had gone on much longer. Staying with one’s siblings for a time in a new city was one thing. Staying with them through months and months of 24/7 togetherness in a pandemic…well, if nothing else it had given her and Arthur something to ruefully laugh about together. She didn’t think she’d have gotten through those earliest days without those texts and Skype chats.
But now here they were, and this was their house. A bit of an as-is fixer upper, especially given it had been sitting vacant with the snowbird owners going back and forth about making their seasonal-turned-years-long move to Georgia permanent. But what wasn’t a bit of a work in progress these days? She and Arthur had already pored over swatches and websites and plans, Arthur sketching things out with that surprising skill of his. They’d spent more than their share of time in Lowe’s debating paint and arguing about the merits of various faucets and cabinets for the kitchen, but agreed that a good stove and oven were a top priority.
They’d finally gotten the keys and the closing signed, and now here they were, staring at a house that was theirs, and desperately in need of a deep cleaning before actually doing anything with all those grand plans. She eyed Arthur. “Well, guess it’s time to evict the dust bunnies.”
“They’ve definitely been busy breeding these past years,” he agreed with a shrug and a laugh. “Living room first?”
“Oh, no, no.” She gave him a wink. “Bedroom, honey.”
He shot back a knowing smile. “Because it’s very practical to start upstairs and then move our way down so we ain’t tracking dust through a clean downstairs?”
“Utterly practical. I can’t fault your logic.”
“That is, of course, not the only reason to want the bedroom done first.”
“Of course. I want to sleep somewhere comfortable as soon as possible.”
They’d spent plenty of time picking out a bed. God, the idea of the sheer luxury of a new queen sized bed, especially after nearly two years now of the old twin bed at Caro’s with its saggy mattress? Her back and hips, if nothing else, told her too many mornings that she was far, far closer to forty than twenty, and she couldn’t sleep like that indefinitely. And the idea of having Arthur there every night…even better.
It wasn’t like how it had been with Jake all those years ago. They’d finally moved in together a few years out of college. It had been a matter of mismatched furniture from Walmart and Goodwill and Craigslist, a mishmash of dishes and kitchen stuff and linens, that followed them from apartment to apartment and then to a house, slowly replacing a piece here and there as it wore out. It had been like that still, even well into their thirties despite having enough money, because by then the whole thing was comfortable in its mismatched coziness. But they’d never quite gotten to plan a home from the very start like this. She was glad she and Arthur would get that experience together, to have something different from how it had been with Jake, and she suspected he was glad to have something different from how it had been with Eliza.
They’d come well-armed with plenty of Pledge and rags and a vacuum and Swiffer dusters. Soon enough a storm of dust filled the air as the great dust bunny eviction began, and even though they’d be sticky and dirty and sweaty by day’s end, she knew already they’d look at their work with a hell of a lot of pride and satisfaction, starting to make this place their own.
