Madeline by Florence Wetzel

Author:Florence Wetzel [Wetzel, Florence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781462059614
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2012-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Living Together

Living together was wonderful. Being with a man she loved in a nice, clean apartment was heavenly, and Madeline thrived as never before, which made her think that all those men who saw her as a cozy domestic partner had not been totally off base. Not that she had become particularly domestic in terms of housework or—God forbid—cooking; David took care of all those things, and did a much better job than she could have. No, it was more that living in a sane, loving environment was exactly what she needed. She had such a life at Bella’s, but there Bella was mistress of the house, and Madeline more like a child. But now Madeline felt that she was living as a mature woman, and it felt wonderful: she was strong, happy, sure of herself.

The first time Madeline was alone in the apartment was the Wednesday after she moved in. She had worked on Monday and Tuesday, had spent both evenings at 821 Washington, then met David at his rehearsal space. Wednesday morning she and David spent in bed, then at eleven o’clock he went to Maxwell’s. Madeline had planned to write while he was gone, but instead she decided to explore the apartment. It was not a big place, but there were drawers and cupboards and closets, so much to look at and get familiar with. She started with the kitchen, opening each drawer and cupboard, learning where David kept the potato peeler and scissors, balls of twine and extra light bulbs. She touched the matching mugs, the plates with the triangle design around the edge, discovered a set of pots and pans, saw two vases tucked behind a pressure cooker. She left the kitchen and moved on to the hall closet, and as she was opening a box in the corner she asked herself, Am I snooping? But no—how could she be snooping if she lived here? Anyway, all the box had was a scarf, two wool hats, and a pair of mittens. No harm done, Madeline thought as she carefully replaced the lid.

As she worked her way through the hall closet, the bathroom linen closet, and the big bedroom closet, as she saw how tidy and organized everything was, Madeline decided that David was very mature. Despite the pot smoking and late hours and whatever associations of flakiness she might have about rock musicians, she realized that David was far more self-sufficient than she was. She asked him once how he kept everything so clean, and he said it was simple: every day when he got home from work he put on some music, smoked a joint, then just did whatever had to be done. Discipline, she thought; he’s got discipline. Madeline was disciplined about her writing but, in truth, not much else. She was the type of person who waited until she was wearing her last pair of underwear before she did laundry, and even then she might borrow a pair of Bella’s, or just wash a few pairs by hand.

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