Slightly Suburban by Wendy Markham

Author:Wendy Markham
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780373895618
Publisher: Red Dress Ink
Published: 2008-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

9

Tomorrow is the long-awaited Closing Day on our brand-new Dream House.

Today is the long-dreaded Purge Day on our cluttered old apartment.

Jack and I have both taken a couple of personal days off from work for the move. Mitch wanted to do the same, but I convinced him it wasn’t necessary. Lately, he’s been hanging around even more than usual—if that’s possible. The last thing I want is him looking over my shoulder as I sort through my underwear drawer, trying to figure out what stays and what goes.

In the interest of a fresh start—and not inflating the moving company’s hourly rate by having them pack and transport a lot of stuff we don’t need—Jack and I have made a pact to throw away every single thing that is not absolutely essential.

That seems pretty cut-and-dried, doesn’t it?

It might be, if we had the same definition of essential.

Jack says essential is anything a person can’t live without.

I say essential is anything a person can’t live without and/or anything that a person once believed he/she—okay, mostly she—couldn’t live without.

This includes but is not limited to dog-earred Judy Blume books; mixed tapes dating back to middle school; Cipro antibiotics in case there’s another anthrax scare (label says it expired in 2003, but I figure expired Cipro is better than no Cipro at all); an old address book; lots of small hotel-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash, lotion and shower caps (no, I don’t use shower caps, but you never know when you might have a houseguest who will need one); three dozen take-out chopsticks in paper sleeves; two tall stacks of recycled plastic Chinese soup containers (I conceded and threw the third stack away); and certain trendy clothing items that will undoubtedly be making a reappearance in Glamour any season now. Leggings, anyone?

This collection excludes mementos of Will McCraw, whom I once believed I couldn’t live without.

Not only do I no longer think about Will, I no longer have the urge to keep anything that might trigger unwanted thoughts of Will. In the course of today’s purge, I’ve thrown away countless letters from Will, old programs from productions starring Will (though I did keep the hapless eye-candy review, tee hee) and even some old photos of me with Will, which I’ll admit were pretty easy to part with considering that I was a good fifty pounds heavier when I was dating him.

I have also dutifully thrown away a lot of candy and gum wrappers, stray socks without partners, expired credit cards and a few nearly empty containers from the fridge. Yes, I’ve kept many other nearly empty containers—like my favorite Abraham’s baba ghanoush, which I’m not sure I’ll be able to find in Glenhaven Park. And yes, I kept a few single socks, as well as a select number of partnerless earrings I plan to wear if A) their partners ever surface, or B) that asymmetrical-earring look ever comes back into vogue.

I’m not saying that would be a good thing. Just that if it does happen, I’ll be equipped.

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