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Ishouldbeangrywith Joyce, but I’m not. Anna does need to socialize more and try new things, and maybe those art classes are worth a shot.
It’s the end of the day, and the wind brings the smell of rain with it. The dark clouds in the sky show that a storm is brewing.
I call it a day a few minutes early and get in my car, ready to go home. In this damn digital era, there’s no white noise on the radio anymore, so I choose a track from my phone and play it over Bluetooth. I’ve always found it soothing to clear my mind after a long day.
On the way home, I don’t need the white noise anymore because it starts to rain. I finish my drive home listening to the soothing sounds of the downpour.
I arrive at home calmer, almost peaceful, feeling like nothing can bother me.
Entering, I leave my keys and coat in the foyer, and head upstairs. From there, I see Anna’s door open, but hear absolutely no sound.
At this point I know something is up, so I decide to approach the room on tiptoes, only to find Joyce, on all fours, scrubbing the carpet and trying to remove a rainbow of a stain.
“What happened here?” I ask with a frown. I hold back a smirk when Joyce jumps at my voice.
She turns to look and me before replying, “Oh, you are home early! And well… Anna got excited with the art thing and asked to paint. I found supplies in her closet, but she bumped into the easel, the easel bumped into the paint table, and then this disaster happened.”
Joyce has a bucket full of warm water, a bottle of liquid soap, a brush, and some cleaning rags.
However, what I end up glancing at the most is her behind.
“And where’s Anna?” I ask. The house continues to be way too quiet and it’s then that I notice an old baby monitor on the desk which shows Anna drawing in the tub with her tub chalk.
“In the tub,” she points a thumb at it, “I hope you don’t mind that I used that baby monitor. I found it and thought I could keep an eye on her that way. Mary was too busy cooking to watch her.”
I can barely hear what’s she’s saying because I forgot we even had that baby monitor. The last time it was used, Andrea was still…
I grit my teeth and close my eyes and try and focus on Joyce’s words.
She continues, “Anyway, I gave her a bath and left her there to play a little. And stay out of the way while I clean up.”
Then she giggles, lightly like a drunken fairy. Instead of annoying me, it lightens my mood a bit now and makes me feel better. Despite all of this, she doesn’t stop working and doesn’t look like she is stressed. In fact, she seems cheerful and full of energy.
“Joyce…” I sigh, “Thank you, but you’re not the cleaner. Leave this here. Mary will get to it. If not today, tomorrow.”
“I'll take care of it, Mr. Bardin! It happened under my watch. I’ll clean the mess.”
She now dabs the moisture with a cloth, revealing more clean carpet underneath.
The angle I have of her is pretty good; her hips sway back and forth at each brush stroke, and her breasts jiggle when she dabs the water with the cloth. She is so focused that she doesn’t even notice I’m trying to avoid looking at her.
“Joyce, I want out!” Anna announces.
“I’ll go get her,” I say, but Joyce stands up and waves me away.
“No,” she lightly touches my arm, “It will only take a minute.”
Joyce rushes to the bathroom, and I’m left alone to inspect the stain and its source.
Luckily, it’s water-based paint and should come out easily. No need to hire carpet cleaners this time. But the way Joyce is doing it, it is only spreading the stain further, so all I need to do is…
I hear laughter, then look over my shoulder. Joyce has Anna in her arms, wrapped in a towel. Anna looks at me, on my knees and scrubbing the floor.
“Why are you cleaning, daddy?” Anna asks, confused, and I realize it is the first time she has ever seen me in a situation like this.
“I’m helping Joyce, baby,” I say with a small smile, trying to act nonchalant, but coming across a bit grumpy.
