attic

There was a time awake at five, it was still dark outside.
Now it is light, and it is nine, and it is Saturday.

All is well, the bed is warm.

Get up, put on day clothing, and make a small breakfast, just for one. The cat is attentive, but all she gets is her head stroked.

In the cold hallway, pick up the plastic chest of wet clothing, washed yesterday, but not brought up to the attic because of the lack of lighting up there. Now that it is daylight, go on up to hang up those clothes. The attic is long, and dimly lit by two windows and some glass tiles. The flooring is partly rotten, old planks now over one hundred years old, planks that give way if carelessly stepped on.
There is an old medical trolley up there, that is good to put the plastic contairner on, Wheel it all the way down to the bottom end of the attic, there are clothes lines stretched all the way from back to front of the attic.

Start to hang the clothing up, still heavy and damp, cold now after having spent all night in the hallway.

The clothes will dry over the weekend, and then they can be put back into the wardrobe.
All the T shirts and jeans.

All ready for the next early starts, about another three hundred days of work.

A long time.

Then take the empty chest down, with two towels that had been hanging up there and were dry.

Put the chest by the bed.
Put the towels on the hook beside the bathtub.


Make another cup of coffee.