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Chapter 37

A foul smell wakes me from my sleep. The light is barely glinting in my window. My eyes move to the clock on my nightstand. 6:00. I throw the covers over onto the other side of the bed and sit up. I won't get anything done just sitting here. This I know but I still do not want to leave the confines of my room. I know what is waiting for me down the hall and I don't want to face it. I take a deep breath and leave my room. 

I walk down the hallway, but stop when I reach the living room. I just stand there for a minute taking it all in. The only word I can think of is ____, but I don't say it out loud. I want to but I don't. 

The house is trashed. A set of dice lie on the couch and in various corners of the living room. Glasses cover every surface of any available space along with various beer bottles and stacks of plates. I walk into the kitchen but the sink is already full of all kinds dirty dishes.

Blankets and pillows were thrown without a care. Empty cigarette packs are scattered across the floor along with other pieces of trash. The couch has been moved from the wall and so has the coffee table. 

 My gaze shifts to the dining room table. It still has the poker board, about five glasses some still full, a couple of ash trays, and empty cigarette packs all over it. I roll up my sleeves and head to the sink. It seems like the best place to start. Once I get the sink emptied then I can pick up and clean the other dishes. I turn on the water and wait for it to warm up then I pour some soap into the sink and swish it around. Today is going to be a long day.

 It took an hour to hand wash all the dishes. I would have put them in the dishwasher but it did not work.  When the dishwasher first broke, I became the new dishwasher. I remember running out of soap one day so I couldn't wash the dishes. I called Momma into the kitchen and told her. 

Momma reached under the sink and grabbed a bottle of bleach. She poured the bleach in the water and told me to use that. I knew it wasn't really going to work but I didn't say anything. I did as Momma told me but their were no suds so nothing got clean. I called Momma back into the kitchen and told her. 

She went in the laundry room and got the laundry detergent and poured it in the dish water. I instantly said, "What are you doing?!" 

She looked at me and said, "This will work just as good."

I looked at the now sudsy water then back at her. I protested again about not wanting to use the detergent, but she told me to use it anyway so I did. I always protested whenever she told me to use the detergent. I always felt weird using it. I didn't like it.

 It took forty minutes to sweep the whole house, and about thirty five to pick up the living room. All I did was straighten up. I really didn't feel like really cleaning up. I also had to be quiet so I didn't wake everybody up.