paper rings (l.h.)

52

Back at Luke's Apartment:

It took them all night, but every inch of the apartment was clean.

Calum tried to hide his exhaustion as he insisted on scrubing the bathroom, despite Luke's pleas to wait until the morning. A stitch in time saves nine, Mali would say (back when they were kids at least, when Calum couldn't find a job and had to work with her as his manager for a summer). But the truth hid in his red-rimmed eyes, as he tried to stifle a yawn after replacing Luke's Mahogany-scented hand soap and fake-plant. He had spent extra time ensuring that Luke's clothes were folded, put away, and those he had neglected cleaning were in the laundry machine. The expired food from years prior was throne in the bin, and each dish was hand washed... Calum claimed it was faster that way, although now his shirt was covered in water. The house smelled clean, and Calum was rather proud of how motivated he was. Cleaning his own house, however, is another story.

"I know I should have just hired a housekeeper," Luke grunts as he stands up from where he was huddled over the bathroom tile, sponge in his hand. His eyes were just as tired as Calum's, but he knew that his friend was right. He probably wouldn't get to it had Calum not forced him tonight. He hadn't been sleeping at night anyway, so he was somewhat used to the stillness that only manifested itself this late. "It's embarrassing I let it get this bad."

Calum washed his hands beneath the running faucet, the bathroom filling with the woodsy scent that made the room feel as fresh as a new day. The bathroom was the last, and the worst, chore of the evening. Calum volunteered to clean this toilet, if Luke scrubbed the grout between the tiles, and the ground beneath the toilet. Drying his hands, Calum shook his head as Luke approached behind him towards the faucet. Calum stepped away and stood with his shoulder pressed against the doorway, his eyes getting heavier with each passing second. He checked his watch: 2:56 AM.

"I don't have one," Calum clears his throat, straightening himself once Luke flicks the light off, and they walk down the stairs into the living room. It was like this right before Luke's addiction turned nearly fatal, Calum insisting on crashing on Luke's couch and Luke throwing a fit until they decided to watch movies and order pizza. He should have forced Luke into a meeting then, and forced him to clean his home. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to call Luke's Mom and heard her scream when she heard exactly what happened. 

But the one night Calum took his eyes off of him... never again.

"...I think it's lazy," Calum continues, watching how Luke grabs two cups out of the cabinet. "And besides, there's no pride in a clean house if someone else cleaned it for you. Look at your apartment, Luke," Calum motioned to the shining floors, the freshly vacuumed carpet and dusted awards, records, and framed photos. "Isn't it worth staying up late, knowing you'll wake up to this?"

Luke flashed his signature half-assed grin as he glanced around the room, at the space that he would be proud to welcome Mary back home to. Plan their wedding at his kitchen island, listening to her soft laughs as he would poke fun at her quirks. He was sure there'd have to be a pianist in the wedding somewhere...

He hadn't proposed yet. His heart ached at the thought of his last attempt to ask, how he had been forced to wait a bit longer - because it would have been cruel to, just to turn around and tell her she'd have to deal with distance a lot sooner than anticipated.

So he gulps down his regret. Wishing for nothing more than to fast-forward to December, where he just might get a few days off for the holiday this year.

"It is worth it," he nods, his demeanor changing with his racing mind. He clears his throat. At the Narcotics-Anonymous meeting, he learned that his irritability with his friends was somewhat normal (most of the others related to his comments about feeling this way, after Luke was asked — no — forced, to share how he felt with the group) if not expected. They mentioned how they tend to become upset and angry, even aggressive, towards their spouses in their worst days — those who they claim they love more than life itself.