New Year, New Life: Chapter 2
Cleaning and Packing
``What should I wear? What should I take?'' Natsuki pulled another blouse out of her closet and held it up, looking at herself in the one small mirror in her dorm room. A shake of her head, a toss, and it too landed on the pile of clothes on and around her bed. ``What!'' She complained in exasperation, looking around in the closet and finding it bare.
She sank to her knees, pounding them with her fists. ``Think, Natsuki,'' she ordered herself. ``Think. Relax. Focus.'' She took a deep shuddering breath and slowly let it out, then another. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands, unclenching her fists, willing each finger to relax one at a time.
Another breath and she was able to look back at the garment hurricane that had befallen her bed. ``Oh my.'' She had to laugh how this came out, almost sounding like her girlfriend. ``Shizuru, are you trying to help me calm down?'' She asked the empty room. ``I really want to make a good impression on your parents. What would they like?''
``You're going to have to answer that yourself, Natsuki,'' she told herself. ``She's not here to tell you.''
Taking another look at the disaster surrounding her bed, she figured things probably weren't as bad as they looked. Moving to start picking up and folding her mess, she remembered Shizuru chiding her for her messiness.
.
It had been near the end of spring, when she was starting to spend even more time at Shizuru's after they had become a couple, and she was again over at her apartment.
``Where's the shirt and shorts I left over there?'' she asked, pointing to one corner of the room.
``I picked them up, washed them and put them away,'' answered Shizuru, walking over to her dresser, opening the bottom drawer and indicating one side where said garments lay neatly folded.
Natsuki heard the unuttered sigh, and also the words she did not say. Shizuru had to be tired of picking up after her. Natsuki never was good at housework; for most of her life, she didn't have a mother to teach her those skills. And now that she was spending more time here, her disinclination toward picking up and cleaning was affecting someone else, someone else who mattered a great deal to her. Natsuki didn't understand why Shizuru was such a ``neat freak,'' but nonetheless she valued a clean, orderly apartment. That did give the benefit that at Shizuru's she never had to worry about upsetting an old soda can or instant ramen bowl or getting the clothes she tossed off dirty.
No, she told herself, You really do understand, you're just lazy. And worse, this was causing Shizuru trouble.
``I'm sorry, dear,'' she told her. ``Maybe I've been living alone too much. I should do things your way. I mean this is your place, I'm a guest and am making more work for you.'' She examined the floor at her feet, and continued softly, ``Could you help me? ...teach me how you keep things clean?'' She closed her eyes. ``Mother died before she could really teach me.''
Shizuru's eyes had filled with tears, and she hugged Natsuki, her voice having momentarily been taken away. She had wished Natsuki would be more conscientious about keeping the place clean, but figured this would be another long, slow learning process. She'd lost track of the number of times she bit her tongue, telling herself to accept Natsuki as she was, with all her faults and habits. She kept telling herself that Natsuki's loving presence was worth any cleaning up after her. But here, Natsuki was actually recognizing this in herself, and even asking Shizuru for help, asking her to step in and take her dear mother's place in this. How could she refuse.
Thus began ``Shizuru's housekeeping lessons.''
After a while, Natsuki had actually learned the basics, and she really was making an effort at it. Natsuki had figured out some methods to motivate herself, too. While she would probably never enjoy housework in itself, she had learned to enjoy doing it together with Shizuru—though that was likely as much enjoying Shizuru's presence as the work itself. She also found that when she was working by herself, that if she thought of Shizuru, how she had taught her and how she would appreciate the results, that she could find enjoyment in these thoughts.
.
Natsuki picked up and folded another pair of slacks. Shizuru helped her with so much. And this packing, like other things in life, didn't need to be perfect. She would just pick things Shizuru liked her wearing and try not to worry. Though that last part would be nigh impossible.
Oh well. She would do what she could.
As she folded, put away, and packed, an idea came to Natsuki and a twinkle entered her eye. That might be just the thing to wear for the trip.
``Thank you, Shizuru,'' she said to the empty room. ``I hope you like this.''
Author's Note:
This turned out to be a shorter than usual chapter. In compensation, I'll try to get the next one up for you quicker than usual.