The Life Of Max And Jay

Laundry Day

It was an extremely hot July day in London, and the apartments' air conditioning was blasting at its highest point, which wasn't very high, as England isn't really known for being a place of high temperatures. Despite this, the summer that year was extremely hot, and everyone felt like they were dissolving in the heat. Everyone was hanging around lazily in their apartments. Everyone, apart from a small, curly-haired boy who, one sunday morning, was working happily in his medium-sized kitchen.

At the edge of his kitchen was a counter, and underneath the counter was a washing machine and an airer which was folded up and neatly tucked away next to the washing machine.

Max waited for the machine to stop before opening the machine and piling its contents into a large basket that was kept in a cupboard along with the other cleaning products that he owned. After gathering all the soaked clothes, he carried the basket and the airer out onto the balcony, where he started to hang out the clothes while humming a tune to himself. Jay was out working at the garage he worked at, fixing cars, so Max was taking his time doing all the chores, starting with the laundry.

He had always enjoyed doing the chores. His mum had always asked him to help with housework when he was younger so he was always happy to do it. It reminded him of home, even if both his parents were still living in France. He wasn't really from France, his grandparents were, and his grandmother had gotten sick, so his parents were living with her until her health improved. Despite being part French, he couldn't remember much of the language. Sure, he could remember enough to have a conversation, or order food, but that was about it. Still, he enjoyed going over there to visit family and see the sights. And the pastries!

As he finished hanging out the clothes, he stood at the edge of the balcony and watched all the people walking around underneath him. Being on the seventh floor was always fun, until you drop something, because then it is lost forever. He watched people dressed in suits on their way to work, he watched couples walk hand-in-hand to the little cafe opposite that he works at, and where Alex sometimes tutors the kids she works with. He watched a couple of kids skip around, playing a game of tag, and then get scolded by their parents in the busy street.

He slowly came back to his senses, sunlight reaching into his shining eyes. He reached over towards the clothes and felt the dried cloth. He then started to carefully fold the clothes back into the basket. As he picked up one of his favourite hoodies, he brought it up to his face and smelt the lemon-scented fabric conditioner he had used. The cloth felt soft against his skin, and he liked the way it felt. He folded it gently and placed it in the basket along with the other clothes. After placing the final item of clothing in the basket, he lifted it up, as well as the airer, and brought them inside. After putting the airer away, he took the basket to his bedroom and began to sort the clothes into two piles on his bed.

After sorting all the clothes out, he put one pile on Jay's bed, and then returned to his own bed to put away his own clothes. After completing the task, he walked back into the sitting room and began on the other chores, like dusting and washing the dishes.

After a while, the apartment door opened, and Jay walked in, his face tired but smiling after a long day of work. He walked towards Max and held out a bunch of flowers he had received at work that day.

"For the table," he said, and Max took them, removed the flowers that were currently in the vase on the table, drained out the water, refilled it, and then placed the new flowers delicately into the vase. Then he grabbed himself a cup of water, gave one to Jay, and the two of them walked onto the balcony, Jay still in his work clothes, and Max wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and a light jacket. The sun had started to set, so the air was cooler. And so the two stood there, watching the sun set and the stars appear.