Living alone was okay. It was quiet and peaceful. Caden went to bed when he felt like it and woke up when he felt like it. He ate when he felt like it and cleaned up when he felt like it. Except that he never felt like it. Dust was so thick under the furniture, you could no longer see the floor. In order to look out a window, Caden had to rub off a little spot.
He’d started buying paper plates because all the dishes were dirty and he didn’t feel like washing them. In fact, if he got tired of looking at his mess, he’d just go out in the yard. This worked fine until he began to get interested in courting Marge, the widow across the street.
One morning,he got up and went to the hardware store and bought a mop, a broom, and a bucket. “Cleaning up, eh?” asked Roger, the clerk at the hardware store. “Got to do something. Can’t have Marge seeing a mess like I got.” laughed Caden, “Reckon you gone need some cleaning solutions, too.” suggested Roger. So Caden bought a bottle of Mr. Clean, some Ajax, and a bottle of ammonia.
“Better get some bleach, too. Can’t beat it for the johnny!” Roger commented as he was adding up the purchases. So Caden added a bottle of bleach to his supplies. “Now what did you say this here was for?” Caden asked, holding up the Ajax. “You ain’t never scrubbed a tub before?” asked Roger.
When he got the stuff home, he took a look at the dust under the furniture and sat down. While he was sitting down, he looked at the piles and piles of clutter that were stacked all around. In fact, the chair he was sitting in was the only one that didn’t have something piled up in it. When he finally got up, he went into the kitchen and looked at the dirty dishes in the sink, on the counters, and completely covering the kitchen table. He sighed and took the Ajax and the bleach into the bathroom. He set it down and walked out and sat back down in his chair. Beside the door was a five-foot pile of old newspapers. On the sofa was a pile of old lamp parts, a television that needed a tube, and a moldy heap of dirty laundry. Then, he got up and walked into the yard.
The next day, Caden returned to the hardware store. “Need some more cleaning supplies?” asked Roger. “Reckon I need some instructions.” answered Caden.
So Roger explained how to put water and Mr. Clean in the bucket and mop the floor. Then, he explained how to wash the windows with ammonia. “Wait a dern minute - I ain’t got that far yet.” interrupted Caden. “What do you mean? What do you need to know?” asked Roger impatiently. “Well,” Caden began thoughtfully, “where in the heck do I START?”
