It Was Another Day

On Saturday before the storm I took my car through the automated car wash. Spending $10 to clean my car doesn't seem the most economical thing but washing it without getting soaked is difficult for me because I'm not a tall person. Without fail when I try to wash the roof of the car, the front of me gets soaked.

After the storm on Sunday, my car was covered in dust and badly needed washing. While I might spend $10 a week to wash my car, I was not about to spend $20. So, after donning a tshirt and some old jeans, I filled my wash bucket full of soapy water, grabbed a sponge, dragged out the garden hose, and began washing my car. I always start with the roof first so that the dirty water doesn't drain down over the clean parts of the car. I'd just finished washing the roof and was walking around to the back of my car when I noticed the neighbor from Sunday walking by.

I'd like to say I was happy to see him, but the entire front of my tshirt was soaked and I'm sure my hair was a complete mess. Even though I'm not interested in him in a "let's go out" sort of way, few women want to look a wreck in front of any man. Additionally I was mindful of what a combination of a wet tshirt and a 70 degree temp with a bit of wind had done to the upper half of my body. I decided this was one occasion when avoiding eye contact was warranted as that might discourage him from stopping to say hello. I apparently underestimated him.

"Well hello there!" he called out as he turned to walk up the driveway. "Are you washing yourself or the car?"

I had to laugh because to be honest it was a fair question.

As we stood talking for a few moments about the storm, the neighbor with the head injury, and a few other things, he held out his hand and asked for the sponge. I protested that I couldn't let him do that - after all, he was dry and I was already soaked. He laughed and assured me that he thought he could finish the job without completely drenching himself.

I thought hmm - why not?

He finished the job while I watched. We chatted about a few things and sort of skirted around the questions from the other day. I could have directly addressed the subject and I get the impression he was fully confident enough to do the same. For some reason, I had the feeling that we were both enjoying dancing around the issue. I know I was.

As he worked, I noticed him glancing at me several times out of the corner of his eye. I wasn't sure if he was trying to decide whether or not to say something or if he was just looking at my wet tshirt. When he finished washing the car, he rinsed out the sponge and bucket, and put the hose in it's proper place. I gazed up at his face, carefully watching his expression, and laughingly commented, "Well aren't you well trained?"

He laughed and replied, "Not all men are untrainable."

After a few more moments of chatting, he remarked that he should leave and let me change out of my wet clothes. I thanked him and walked inside, all the while wondering.