CARPET OF CLOTHES

After a quick knock on Alex's door, I peeked my head into his room. “I'm doing a load of whites. Do you have any laundry you need done?” I asked.

Alex was sitting at his desk working on his computer. “I'm not sure.” he said. “I'll check in a minute.”

Now, I know when Alex is working on his computer, when he says a minute, it could really mean hours. I looked at the carpet of clothes strewn across his floor. “Are these all dirty?”

He turned around to look at what I was talking about. “Probably.”

“Probably?”

He looked closer. “Okay, maybe.”

I reached down and picked up the first thing I came across. “So this still-folded sweatshirt is dirty?”

I handed it to him and he gave it a quick sniff before tossing it on his bed. “Probably not.”

I picked up a pair of tucked together socks. “I'm going to assume you don't match and fold used socks.” I handed them to him. “So these are clean too.”

He tossed them on the bed next to the clean sweatshirt.

I was beginning to get frustrated looking at all the dirty/clean clothes on the floor so, I got up and headed for his door. “I'll be in the laundry room. I'd like you to go through this mess and bring me anything that's dirty.”

“Sure.” he turned back to his computer.

“Oh, I mean now.” I have to admit there was a slight edge to my voice.

“Oh!” He quickly got up from his chair.

Once I saw he was picking up clothes, I felt it was safe to close his door and go back to my clothes sorting.

A few minutes later the laundry room door opened and about three loads of “dirty” laundry were toss on the floor next to my feet. “Here's everything I could find.”

I couldn't believe how much there was. “Are you sure everything in that pile needs to be washed?”

Alex looked surprised that I'd asked. “I guess I could check again.”

“That would be a great idea.”

I watched as he began picking through the pile. He took out one sneaker and a book that must have fallen off his nightstand. Standing back up, holding the two things in his arms, he smiled at me. “Okay, now I can say that what you're looking at is definitely just dirty clothes.”

I looked at the pile and sighed. It was still three loads of laundry. “Did you check the pockets to make sure there isn't anything in them that shouldn't be washed?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I'm sure they're empty.”

“Okay, but I have to let you know, my rule is, I keep any money I find in the wash.”

Alex dropped his sneaker and book and began searching through the pockets of his jeans.

Now it was my turn to smile.