Page 25 of Rune
“What are you doing here?”
“We didn’t finish our talk yesterday.”
“I told you all I plan on telling you. Now leave so I can clean this place.”
“This already clean place?”
“What can I say? The guy has issues.”
“Why are you using a manual brush?”
“What?”
“For the baseboards. They make little handheld rechargeable brushes that do the work in half the time and twice as well.”
“Are you giving me cleaning tips?”
“Seems like you need ‘em.”
“I own a cleaning business.”
“Which means you should be up on the latest innovations.”
I thought I was. I did use a much larger rotating scrubber brush for the showers, especially in new clients’ homes because the soap scum was usually out of control. But I’d missed the mini handheld brush revolution, it seemed.
“It’ll save you the arthritis cleaning like that all day is gonna cause.”
“Am I going to live long enough to get arthritis?” I shot back.
“What made you get into house cleaning?”
“It was good money as a side gig. Then it became the whole gig. Why do you care?”
“Is it a one-person operation?”
“No.”
“You a boss?”
“Yes.”
He nodded at that as he picked up the bottle sitting on the counter, then winced at the strong bleach smell. “This is gonna eat through the marble.”
“The client doesn’t care. It has to be bleach.”
“Expensive little obsession he’s got.”
“How do you know so much about cleaning?”
“I like to do it.”
“Youliketo clean?”
“Yeah, don’t you?”
“No, not really. I mean, it’s good when you’re anxious or overthinking things. But I don’t actually like doing it.”
“Then why do you do it?”
