Page 39 of Jackson
“I beg to differ. That dress is a classic, and so are you. The skirt should be short, and you have great legs that you hide under all those pantsuits. I don’t see these flaws you claim to have. The sweetheart neckline shows off your cleavage to perfection, and it does not make you look trashy at all. You look fabulous, and you’ll wear it when we go to the club next time. Definitely no Spanx.” Jackson helped her with the zipper and had her out of the dress before Paula could think too much about the prospect of wearing the dress in public. “Now put your sweats back on, and we’ll get to work in the living room.”
Paula dragged her feet as they went down the stairs. Even with Jackson’s help, she was afraid of the task ahead of her. She wasn’t sure she was ready for him to see the skeletons she’d been keeping in boxes instead of closets.
At Jackson’s direction, Paula produced several dustcloths, a few markers, a box of garbage bags, and two empty boxes. “Do you have any file folders so we can have something to organize the papers?”
Paula gave him a sheepish look. “I never thought of that, Sir. I just put them in different piles.”
Jackson chuckled. “No wonder your desk at the precinct looks like it does. You really do have trouble with this. We’ll start a list. In the meantime, let’s see what we have.” He moved to the first convenient box and opened it. Inside was a mishmash of items, some carefully wrapped in newsprint and others thrown loosely in. He raised an eyebrow. “Yours, I presume?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Time for the boxes and garbage bag. I have a simple system. First, are you a garage sale person or a donate to charity person?”
“Donate, all the way. Garage sales are a pain in the ass.”
“Okay. This box is ‘Keep,’ this box is ‘Donate’ and the garbage bag should be obvious. Each item comes out of the box, and you decide where it goes. When the ‘Keep’ box is full, we take it and put everything away. ‘Donate’ boxes get put in a designated area, and again, garbage is obvious.”
“What about recycling? The newsprint doesn’t belong in the trash.”
“Good catch. Another garbage bag will do for now.”
Miscellaneous didn’t begin to cover the variety of items in the first box. Paula vaguely recognized some as things she had struggled to organize when she had packed up in St. Louis. Paula began with plastic clothes hangers scattered randomly through the box. Those were useful, and she was low on them. Keep. Next was a pair of geode bookends. She hesitated over them. “What’s the problem, Melda?”
“I’m trying to remember who gave these to me.”
“Do you need bookends?”
“Maybe?”
“You can’t remember where you got them or who gave them to you. You don’t know if you need them. You’ve survived without them for how long now?”
“Okay.” She gathered her resolve. “Donate.”
“Good girl.”
They continued through the box which also contained a collection of coffee mugs with various slogans on them wrapped in t-shirts with other slogans, most of which she put in the ‘Donate’ box. The most incongruous item they found at the bottom, a small wooden carved cat. “I don’t even like cats,” Paula said. “Where could that have come from?” She started to put it in the ‘Donate’ box, but Jackson stopped her.
“That’s quality work. Let’s put it with your grandmother’s stuff for now. It might be worth something. Some of her things may be valuable, too. She wasn’t the only collector around.” Hepaused to look about them. They’d taken half an hour to empty one box. He was clearly pleased there was more in the ‘Donate’ than the ‘Keep’ box. “I think we can stop for today. You’ve made it through one box, and now you know how it’s done. I expect you to continue at a rate of one box every other day until your own things are done. Then I’ll help you evaluate your grandmother’s things. Let’s put the stuff you’re keeping away, you can grab a shower, and we’ll go get that lunch.”
“That sounds good, Sir.”
Jackson crossed his cutlery on his plate and dabbed his mouth with a paper napkin. Paula was astonished at how long he took to eat. He seemed to savor every bite he took and had chosen their food with care after asking about her likes and dislikes. She frowned at his ordering for her, but refrained from commenting, trying to accept it as part of their new dynamic.
“So, Melda, let’s discuss your decision to hide the state of your house from me.”
Oh, let’s not!
“Honesty and openness are important for every relationship, but even more so in one like ours.”
Paula stared down at her plate. See, she was bad at this.
“Luckily for you, our kind of relationship has a very straightforward way of dealing with problems.”
She looked up at him in surprise. What on earth did he mean by that?
“Let’s go back to my place.” He stood up and held out his hand. Paula looked from his hand to his face, with no idea of his mood. “Melda?”
She was reluctant to continue, but she let him lead her to the car.
