A short one shot as a result of a 'spring cleaning' themed prompt. Enjoy!

Spring Cleaning

Jeannie wouldn't be home from college for Easter break for another three weeks, so Mike Stone figured he had all the time in the world to replace her childhood bedroom furniture with something more adult. He knew that her days living in a bedroom decorated in princess white and gold furnishings with pink trim were long over, but part of him wanted to keep her young and forever his little girl.

His partner planned to be by shortly to help move the old furniture downstairs to the curb where a Goodwill truck would later pick it up. For now, Mike's primary task was to empty the dresser drawers and put the items in safe keeping until the new furniture was delivered.

With empty boxes on the bed, Mike pulled the first drawer and extracted a disorganized pile of socks, underwear and nightgowns. The second drawer contained t-shirts and shorts, and Mike placed those in the same box on top of the contents of the first drawer. He figured that while nothing was neatly folded, no harm would come since the storage was very temporary.

Opening the third drawer, he found several sweaters including a couple of older pastel colored items which had been lovingly knitted by his late wife, Helen. He knew that Jeannie had outgrown these sweaters years ago, but fully understood her desire to keep them. He gently squeezed the items as he placed the items in a new box, as if he were giving his daughter and wife a small but meaningful hug.

The bottom drawer was a mix of items. There were more sweaters on the right side and then some papers and stationary on the left. After placing the sweaters in the same box as the drawer before, he then turned his attention to the papers. After searching for a smaller box to place the contents, Mike gingerly lowered himself to the floor and began emptying the drawer.

Much of what he saw were old greeting cards that dated back to Jeannie's childhood. There were cards from Helen and him for every birthday neatly stacked in chronological order. Mike smiled as he looked through the collection beginning from Jeannie's first birthday, but noted as he came to Jeannie's 14th birthday that Helen's typical signature wasn't nearly as strong as years before. He frowned at the realization. And then, sadly, for her fifteenth birthday, the card was signed by Mike only. He sat there and stared at the card for minutes as his eyes began to water. It had been over eight years since Helen's death, yet at certain odd moments, it seemed so recent.

Mike placed the cards into the box and decided to move on with the other papers. There were report cards, graded essays and book reports of which Jeannie was especially proud. He took some time to review grades and the work. This bottom drawer certainly felt like a time machine.

All was cleared except for a small stack of cards carefully tied with a red ribbon that had been tucked in the corner in the back of the drawer. Mike picked up the stack and noticed the cards were all from the same person to Jeannie's college address in Phoenix. He looked closely at the return address and froze.

Counting the cards - there were eight all together - Mike checked the postmark dates that went back to December, 1970. Mike tried to put the time in context. Steve began working for him earlier that year. He recalled when Jeannie and Steve met - they hit it off like gangbusters, but when it was time for her to go back for her sophomore year at Arizona State, Steve had wished her well and had given her advice as his own college experience was not that far behind him.

Mike opened the card and read the contents. The card was a beautiful Currier and Ives winter scene which had a pleasant verse inscribed inside. It was signed, "Merry Christmas, Steve".

The next card was dated in October, 1971. The outside showed an adorable dog wearing a party hat. When Mike opened the card, Steve had written: "Happy #20 - Take a break from your studies and enjoy your day!"

Mike smiled and shook his head. There were more cards and Mike's curiosity was piqued. It felt wrong to look through Jeannie's mail, but he rationalized his nosy behavior by telling himself that he was educating himself on what 'young people' selected when it came to the store bought greetings:

- April, 1972: When Jeannie had fallen off her bike in a race and sprained her wrist, Steve sent her a Get Well card. "Hey, you can't get hurt! That's my job! Be careful, Steve"

- October, 1972: The card had a bouquet of flowers on the front, which looked romantic, but the message inside was anything but: "Finally 21 and legally able to do everything I've been doing since 16. Just don't tell your dad! Steve".

- December, 1972: "Merry Christmas and see you soon! Take care, Steve" This card was different because there were two x's and two o's under his signature. Mike quickly returned the card to its envelope.

- February, 1973: A Valentine's Day card! Mike's eyebrows quickly raised. He opened the pink envelope and found written, "You will someday find what you never knew you always wanted...Steve." There was a happy face under his name that seemed a bit out of character. Mike thought back for a moment and remembered that Jeannie had broken up with a young man she had dated for six months. She had met him in college and had considered bringing him home for the holidays, but for reasons he never knew, the young man decided to go home to see his own family. Jeannie was heartbroken and now Steve's message made sense. He was trying to cheer her up.

- Near the end of 1973, there were two cards: One in October, another Happy Birthday card signed, 'Love Steve'. And a Christmas card that was sent before finals in December with lovely poinsettias and a religious saying. 'See you soon, Love, Steve'.

Mike sat quietly for a moment and then decided to place the cards back in order and rewrap the ribbon which had earlier encircled the bundle. Lost in thought, he had not heard Steve enter the room.

"Hey, looks like you got everything unpacked," Steve commented.

"Oh, yes, yes. I think we're all ready to go!" Mike commented as he too quickly tried to get up. His aching body was not used to sitting on the floor as long as he did, so tossed the ribboned bundle near the edge of Jeannie's bed and attempted to stand.

"I think I hear your bones creaking. Is that painful?" Steve teased.

"I'll creak your bones, Buddy boy," but as he used the bed to straighten himself into a standing position, the bundle of cards fell on the floor.

Steve reached over and picked them up. "I saw you reading these. A red ribbon...what are these love letters?" he joked before he saw where they came from.

And then he saw the return address: it was his own on Union Street.

"Oh," he said. "I didn't know, um,..."

"Didn't know that she kept them?" Mike asked, studying the reaction on his partner's face.

"Yeah, I guess," Steve conceded as he felt his cheeks burning. "I mean, when I get greeting cards, I keep them for a bit, but then throw most of them away after a couple of weeks."

"Well, you know women...they keep everything," Mike countered. Steve never struck the older man as someone sentimental enough to greeting cards. Further, the idea that Jeannie had transported them from Arizona and kept them tucked away in a drawer made Mike realize his daughter's feelings for his partner. He added, "She's quite fond of you."

Steve nodded quietly and squirmed uncomfortably. "Look, I...uh...Jeannie and I are friends. Good friends. I hope you don't mind."

Mike shook his head, "No, I think I can handle you two exchanging greeting cards. Does she ever send them to you?"

The younger man shrugged his shoulders trying to not show his embarrassment. "I'm sure I got one or two from her. Like I said, I tend to throw most cards away..." Steve answered as he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.

Most of them...Mike thought. But I'll bet there's a nice little stack of cards in your dresser drawer as well.

Mike grinned at Steve's discomfort.

"What?" Steve asked. "We're just friends," he repeated trying to convince his partner that all was on the up and up. "You know, we do have a lot in common..."

"Oh, like what?" Mike asked still grinning.

"Well you, for one. We figured a long time ago that it was best to have each other as an ally..." he responded cheekily.

"Uh-huh, an ally for what? Afraid ole' Iron Mike will crack the whip with you both?" Mike reached out as Steve ducked his swipe.

Steve grinned with relief as he reacted to Mike's teasing, "That is indeed the reason."

"Okay, I get you, Buddy boy." Mike changed his tone and became serious. "Look, I never would have gone into Jeannie's private things, but I figure it was okay since I'm surprising her with this new furniture. Still, let's not tell Jeannie about any of this. If you can keep quiet about this, I can too."

"So no more teasing? No famous Stone glare coming my way?" Steve recoiled.

"No, none of that, although I can think about a few more spring cleaning chores I might have you do while you are here..."

finis