Page 19 of Holding On

She disappears outside again and returns with a bucket and cleaning solution.

"This is for the tile in the bathrooms," she says. "I'll use a spray mop for in here. We have a special solution for laminate floors."

"Yeah, that's fine."

She laughs to herself. "Sorry. I don't know why I told you all that."

I shrug. "Shows you care about your job."

"Not really." She picks up the spray mop and begins mopping the floor. "I shouldn't say that. The job is fine. It's just not what I thought I'd be doing."

"What did you want to do?"

She stops mopping and looks at me. "Never mind. I shouldn't be bothering you. I normally don't talk to my clients like this. Usually they're not home when I come over so I never even meet them. I only know them by the photos they have sitting out."

"I don't mind if you talk to me. I don't get a lot of visitors so..." I trail off, wishing I hadn't said that. It makes me sound lonely. Pathetic. Things I probably am but don't want to admit.

She's staring at me and I have to know why.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." She shakes her thoughts away and gets back to work.

"Is it the wheelchair? Does it bother you?"

"No. Why would it bother me?"

"Sometimes it makes people uncomfortable."

"Then they need to get over it." She sprays the solution on the floor and continues mopping. "People should really mind their own business."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Ethan Baxter," she says, her eyes remaining on the mop as it moves back and forth over the floor.

"So you know about the accident?" I'm nervous just bringing it up. I don't even know why I did. I never mention it, even to my parents. We all like to pretend it never happened.

"Everyone knows. It's a small town, and you're kind of a big deal." I see her bite down on her lip, like she regrets saying that last part.

"You follow football?"

"No, but my brother does."

"Does he go to Laytham?"

"He didn't go to college. He joined the Army after high school."

"Has he been overseas?"

"Yeah." She stops mopping and glances at me. "But he's back now. We share an apartment." She returns to mopping. "You have brothers?"

"No, I'm an only child. So you never said what it was you'd rather be doing than cleaning houses."

"It doesn't matter." She scrubs a spot on the floor.

"I'm just curious. Were you in college?"

"Community college. In Cincinnati. I was getting my associate's degree in nursing."

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