Kleenexes

Janet had few faults, really. But there were those few. A certain fussyness at times, an inability to get out of the house in less than 15 minutes, a packrat tendency that kept her from throwing out anything with any remote sentimental value, and probably the biggest-- she was a bit of a slob. No, really, she was. Those who haven't lived with her will be surprised by this, because she was so organized. But she never had problems keeping music, schedules and paperwork in order. She was only sloppy when she was "off the clock". Heck, she was working part time as a maid when we met, yet her apartment was strewn with laundry, papers and her signature wadded up kleenexes.

I'd point out the contradiction and she'd say "I don't make money for cleaning up MY place."

I should emphasize that she was untidy, not unclean. It was hardly as if anything was rotting in her place. No suspicious smells would emanate from the kitchen. Then again, she didn't really cook, so perhaps this was a gimmee. Clean bathroom, clean sinks, trash taken out. It was just all her various projects that would be in "organized" heaps across the floor. And don't touch! That ripped envelope had important notes on the back of it.

But those kleenexes... Janet had allergies to most "smelly flowers", so come springtime, you could always tell where Janet had been reading because there would a be a few wads of tissue laying about. I'd drag wastebaskets over to her in the hopes that she'd spot them and become motivated to actually get them in. And to be fair, she would try, but she read with her glasses off. What with her being as blind as a bat, her ability to sink a basket was pretty low. It did help to localize the pile, though, so that was something. And sometimes, she'd shove them down between sofa cushions. 24 years, and I still have absolutely no idea why she did that. I don't think she did, either, because she'd get this surprised look of embarassment when I'd clean them out.

I guess as character flaws go, it's pretty low on the list. In a way, it was a bit endearing. I mean, how many guys would go on road trips to come home to a stack of pizza boxes on the living room table? It was like Janet was one of the guys, for all her petite, skirt wearing, stuffed animal collecting, giggle-wumpus ways. And she played videogames. Like I said, a geek's dream girl.