Punished by Divorce

Cleaning

Naomi

I didn’t see much of Alastair, but Atticus rarely left my side. I had been staying up at the house with the brothers while Atticus and I worked through the cottage. We had gotten started upstairs, in the bedroom and the bathroom. Atticus had taken the bedroom since there were still a few personal items that belonged to his Nana. I, on the other hand, had tackled the bathroom. It was quite small and as I scrubbed and washed the tiled floor, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the small tiles were beautiful. At first, I hadn’t been sure if the tile was white or pink, but as I rinsed and washed off the foam from the soap, I smiled.

“White with pink marble,” I murmured as I lovingly touched the tile. It was a small thing, but it made me happy. This was my bathroom. My tiles. My cottage. Once I was done with the floor, I started on the walls, which had been tiled from ceiling to floor in the same small white tile with pink marble. It was so soft and pretty, that I couldn’t help but wonder who had chosen the tile in the first place. Once the tiled walls were clean and spotless, I turned my attention to the toilet. The toilet was fitted onto the wall with a round bowl. It was a toilet. Nothing special, except it wasn’t white as I had originally thought. The layers of dust had been a disguise for the soft pink color of the toilet. I glanced over my shoulder and eyed the basin and shower. I smiled as I got back to work on cleaning the toilet. I kept up a steady pace as I moved on from the toilet to the basin. The basin, as it turned out, was also pink. The rounded bowl sat perfectly on top of the small white cabinet. I took my time cleaning the basin, the cabinet, and the vanity mirror. By the time I got to the shower, I was sweating. The bathroom was hot, and I swiped my forehead as I took down the shower curtain.

“I can change that, you know,” Atticus remarked from behind me, and I smiled as I looked over my shoulder at him.

“Change what?” I asked curiously.

“I mean, I can put in shower doors…that way you don’t have to use the shower curtain,” he said, and I turned my attention back to the shower. There wasn’t anything special about it. After all, the bathroom was simply a bathroom.

“I’ve never showered with a curtain before,” I said truthfully.

“All the more reason to have it changed. Trust me, the curtain is a nightmare,” I frowned as I once again turned to him.

“How so?”

“The slightest breeze and you’ve got the wet curtain hugging your wet body…” his voice got deeper as he spoke, and I noticed he was blushing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…” he said as he waved his hand. I had no idea what had just happened, so I simply nodded thoughtfully.

“It doesn’t sound very pleasant, so yes, I’d like it changed,” I decided. Atticus nodded before he hurried out of the room. I got back to cleaning the shower, and I was happily tired when I was done. The bathroom looked spectacular. I could use it without worrying about a dust bunny joining me in the shower. I headed for the bedroom, and I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw how things were going. “I have to say, I’m disappointed,”

“Oh…um…” Atticus shrugged as he looked around the room. It wasn’t very big, and he had pushed all of the furniture against the one wall. What he had done was wash down the other three walls and that meant I could see that it was a soft ivory color. The floor was a light sandy color wood and was only partially clean.

“No, offense, but you were supposed to sort out the dresser and cupboard,” I pointed out.

“Oh! I did,” he said as he pointed at three boxes that I hadn’t noticed. “By the way…I’d suggest investing in some new furniture,” Atticus suggested. I kept my face neutral as I shook my head. I wouldn’t tell him, but I couldn’t afford new furniture.

“I like it,” I said, and it wasn’t a complete lie. The double bed frame and headboard were classical vintage dark wood with matching side tables, a dresser, and a cupboard. It wasn’t terrible, a bit outdated, but not terrible. I could live with it.

“At least consider getting a new mattress,” he suggested, and I nodded. I would have to invest in a new mattress. I decided that instead of heading downstairs, I would help Atticus. After all, I didn’t want to spend another day at his house. I may have failed to mention just how much junk had been cleared out of the bathroom and bedroom. Upstairs alone had taken us three days, and I wasn’t about to postpone it for another day. An hour later, the floor was done, and the furniture was in place. Atticus had taken out the boxes and the mattress. Which meant I needed to go shopping.

“I think I’m going to go and buy a new mattress,” I told Atticus when he returned. He eyed me carefully for a moment before he spoke.

“Is that your way of telling me that you aren’t going to spend another night with me?” he questioned, and this time I blushed. “I meant…at my house,”

“I don’t want to impose,” I argued softly.

“You aren’t. You are more than welcome to stay as long as you want or need…there isn’t any rush here, Naomi. You can take your time,” he said, and I nodded. I didn’t want to be a burden, and I was eager to begin my new life in my new home. Then again, there was still quite a lot of work to do, and maybe it would be better to simply sleep elsewhere for now.