The kitchen curtains were open. Sunshine somersaulted in doing Jackie Chan kicks off of the drying china. Kendall cast a discerning eye toward the dirty floor. It would be best to wait until after she came back in the house.

She trudged outside and the screen door banged behind her. Kendall took a rake to the leaves beneath the bedroom window. She made long sweeps with first her right arm and then her left one. She liked to develop her muscles evenly. She was a Libra and balance was important. The swirls of leaves looked like an Old-Fashioned in a tumbler.

After the leaves were bagged, she returned to the kitchen floor. The dust pan, broom, and Swiffer were engaged as she sang “Hammer and a Nail” by the Indigo Girls, just loudly enough.

Tossing the bottles in the recycling bin, she saw that soil had been knocked loose from the peace lily the night before. She grabbed the Dirt Devil.

Mary stormed in from the bedroom and her hangover. “Leaves, dishes, vacuum! Are you trying to wake me up!?”

“Sorry.”