Fred was still smiling as they drove out of the parking lot. "Thanks, Dora. I learned a new trade today," he told her.

"We both did," she answered. "It's not too different from cleaning houses." She added. "And you catch on to things fast. By the way, don't forget to pick me up a little early tomorrow so you can go by the office and get those clothes she offered. If Mrs. Brown is any example, they'll probably be expensive. You might even get something to wear to our class reunion next month, that is if you plan to go."

"I don't usually go to those things. Everybody probably looks so different that, even if you knew them in High School, you wouldn't recognize them now." he told her.

" I know what you mean but we did recognize Mrs. Brown, even if she was a grade ahead of us. We might know some of them." Dora really wanted them to go to the Reunion."

"I haven't gone to any of the other ones." Fred sounded like a little coaching would bring him around.

"Me either but this is the 25^th one. It would be sort of special. Maybe we could go together. At least we would recognize each other whether we know anyone else or not." Dora urged.

Fred was quiet for a while before telling her, "I'll have to ask the secretary for an advance. Mrs. Brown said we could do that. It would be nice to go together." He thought of all the dances he hadn't attended because he couldn't get a date. Maybe she should have asked Dora. "I'll drive, if old Maisie is still running."

"Good! And I'll ask for that advance, too. My bank account is getting pretty low. We both have to remember to send in our reservations." Dora suddenly felt happy because she had something to look forward to.

Fred smiled all the way to her house. He knew she would object when he got out to walk her to the door so he told her, "It's too late for you to go in alone. I'll just see you get in the house safely."

"Thanks," she told him as she made a mental note to the list of things she had learned about him in just one day. "See you tomorrow about 4. That should give us time to take care of things at the office."

"O.K. Four it is," He wondered whether it would have been appropriate to try to kiss her but she had gone in and closed the door before he got up the nerve.

As Dora leaned against the door she had just closed, she was already looking forward not only to the next day when they would be cleaning offices together but next month when they would be spending the Reunion together. What a great turn her life had taken.

The next day, Dora put on the best old clothes she had so Mrs. Brown would see that she was trying to be a good rep for the company. She had swept, dusted, cleaned, and rearranged everything she could to make the day go faster but 4 o'clock was still a half- hour away. She was rearranging the china cupboard for the second time when she heard "Maisie" pulling up in front of the house. When she looked at the clock, it was only 3:40. "Maybe Fred's day was a little too long, too," she thought.

She was already at the door when Fred knocked. When she let him in, she saw that his hair had been cut and that he, too, looked like he had found some of his better old clothes to wear. She smiled, "Looks like we both are trying to please the boss," she told him as she touched his hair. . "You look great, Fred."

"You, too," he told her. "And Maisie was raring to go this morning. By the way, I found some change in my shaving kit, I think it's enough for a snack before we go to work." He looked in the hall mirror before he said," I'm glad you like my hair. My landlady cut it. I cut her lawn. "

Dora smiled. She had learned that it bothered Fred to be indebted to anyone.

When they got to the office, they both went in. The secretary looked up. "Yes?" she questioned.

Dora answered, " We're the new cleaners. Mrs. Brown said you would give us an advance if we needed it."

The secretary got up and came to the counter. "Yes. Nice to meet you…Fred and Dora, isn't it?" She gathered up a bundle of clothes that had been piled up on her desk. "Mrs. Brown said that these would be for Fred. And she said, if you came early enough, to ask Fred to look into the vacuum cleaners in the storeroom. To especially inspect all the bags that held the dirt to see if there might be a small bottle of prescription medicine." She looked at Dora. "If you don't mind, I could use some help with the mailing I have to do. You will both be paid for your time. I could add that to your hours from yesterday and give you the advance before you go."

Dora looked at the suits that Fred was picking up. "Sure. We have the time, don't we Fred." After he grunted assent, she continued, "That beautiful dark blue one looks like a Reunion suit to me."

Fred picked up the sleeve. "Nice material," he said . "I'll put these in the trunk so I can lock them up. Do you have some newspaper I can put around them." When the secretary handed him some papers, he left with the clothes over his arm. He was still feeling the material as he went out the back door.

"I think he likes them." Dora smiled at the secretary.

The woman returned her smile."By the way, my name is Marge," she informed Dora. "And that blue suit is the one Mr.Brown had on when they found him dead in his car in the parking lot."

Dora's mouth dropped open. "Good Lord, don't tell Fred that. He probably would never wear it. And what was that business about looking for something in the vacuum."

The secretary looked toward both doors. "Mrs. Brown is out on business. I'm not sure she would like my telling you this, but Mr. Brown died of a heart attack. He was supposed to keep his medicine with him at all times but they never found any on him. Mrs. Brown said she had picked up his medicine that morning and given it to him but it has never been found."

Dora remembered a conversation from that first day. "Is that what's holding up that insurance policy? She mentioned it yesterday."

Fred came in the back door and called to them. "I'll take a look at those vacuums now. Shouldn't be too long." He closed the door to the storeroom.

Dora was glad. She wasn't sure Fred would want to listen to the gossip that she hoped would go on. "Why would she think the medicine would be in a vacuum bag?"

Marge shook her head. "I don't think she does, but they have torn this whole place apart. The car, too. I think it's her last hope."

Dora couldn't understand the importance of such a small thing as a prescription medicine bottle. Everybody loses them occasionally. She had often cleaned houses for old ladies who would lose their medicine in odd places.

Marge must have understood her confusion as she explained, "You see, if they can prove that Mrs. Brown didn't give him the medicine, they could probably charge her with murder. If she did give it to him, and he threw it away, they would have a good case for suicide. If either one could be proved, the insurance company would not have to pay of that million dollar policy that he took out before his heart got so bad."

Dora was thinking of all the news she and Fred would have to talk about over lunch.

Marge had put a stack of envelopes and some printed sheets of colored paper on a table in the office. She walked to end of the counter and pushed open the swinging door and motioned Dora in. "While Fred is doing his job, maybe you could fold these ads and stick them in the envelopes that already have the addresses printed on them. Mrs. Brown is really into running the business. These are ads for trying to get new customers. I had to be out yesterday so I didn't get the mail out."

"Yes. She said one of your children was sick." Dora remembered the lack of sympathy in Mrs. Brown's voice.

"I'm sure she wasn't very happy about it. But she has been under a lot of pressure lately." Marge sounded like she was trying to understand. "Of course, that nice Daniel Stethman is some comfort to her. He comes in quite often to see if he can help her out. He sold Mr. Brown that big policy. That's when Mrs. Brown found out that they had gone to the same High School." Marge lowered her voice as she continued. "I think they have been seeing a lot of each other lately. He even looked the car over for one whole afternoon in case Mr. Brown had dropped the medicine bottle in the car. We could see that he had turned everything over."

Dora felt like she had found out more than she had bargained for. She and Fred would have to discuss it all over the burger and drinks.

____________________________________________________________
Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here!

Emailing: THE CLEANERS

When Dora and Fred entered the insurance office, they looked around. There was a big outer office and on the sides were smaller offices with closed doors that had glass windows. The windows had names on them: "President," "Manager" then a couple with just names, J.Smithson, L.Sunderson. that were probably salesmen, Dora surmised.

"Where do we start?" Fred asked.

"Why don't we start with this outer office." Dora suggested. " What we learn here will help when we get to the bigwigs' offices. The girls that work out here probably won't be as fussy as the men in those offices. Let's start with the wastebaskets. You better go back and get the empty container in the equipment closet. I wondered what it was for."

"There's going to be a lot to learn," Fred told her as he went out the door. Dora knew that cleaning offices would be different but it was a job they both needed.

Together, Dora and Fred had a plan worked out by time they had finished the outer office and started on the smaller ones. She was pleased that Fred was a quick learner.

Dora did have to remind Fred to be sure to put things back when he had moved them to dust. "It may not make sense to us to put things in the place we find them, but I'm sure the girls that use the equipment have a reason. I know that, at home, I like the salt and pepper in the same place so that when I'm cooking, I don't have to stop and read the name on the ceramic container."

Fred grunted as he moved a small computer. "I don't think that other couple ever dusted under things," he told her as he swiped his finger across the area and came up with its tip covered with dust. Remembering Dora's house, he knew that when they left, everything in the office would have the same glow that her house had.

When they had finished the outer office to Dora's satisfaction, Dora told Fred that she would take the President's office and he could start with the ones that had just names on the doors. Fred had caught on more quickly than she had thought he would but she would look the rooms over before they left, just to be sure. Executives were probably more fussy than salesmen. She thought that she had better clean their offices. Looking around, she told Fred, "I'll take the President's and the Manager's offices. That will give us two each."

Before she started cleaning the President's office, Dora tried out the big chair behind his desk. She issued a few non verbal commands to her non-existent staff before she told herself she was here to clean, not pretend.

The office was no harder to clean than her own living room. She picked up the name plate on the desk. "Richard R. Stethman," she read. There had been a Stethman in their class but his name was Daniel. Dora wondered if they were related.

When she had finished the President's office and started on the Manager's office, she picked up the name plate on the desk there.

"Fred," she called so loud that Fred was there in a hurry.

"What's wrong? Are you all right? You scared me "

Her call to him had been magnified by the silence in the building. "I'm fine. Just surprised when I saw this." She handed him the name plate.

"Not scary," she told him as she punched his arm. "Daniel C. Stethman! You remember. He was in our graduating class." She saw the lack of recognition in Fred's expression.. "He was that tall good looking one who always got the lead in the school's plays."

"Oh, him. Yeah. I got up the nerve to try out one time for the same part as he did. I never had a chance. But I could never see why he got all the good parts."

"Yeah. I know what you mean. I tried out a couple of times but I guess I was too tall. I always lost out, too. Now I remember,… it was to Susan Whatsername, 'Mrs. Brown'. " Remembering that Fred had sounded a little jealous, she patted him on the shoulder. "The drama teacher that directed the play probably had a crush on Dan, like all the silly girls in our class. I do have to admit that Susan and Dan made a handsome couple." She told him as she picked up the name plate. "I think President of this company is Dan's brother. That's probably how he got to be manager," she told him. "Maybe Dan's the one who sold Mr. Brown that policy that his wife seems to be having trouble collecting on. Come to think of it, Dan and Susan were an item in high school. Maybe, now the Mr. B. is dead…"

Fred turned away. "Better get back to cleaning. We've got more offices to clean after this."

Dora watched as he left. He wasn't one to spend time gossiping. She was learning more about Fred all the time.

When they had finished cleaning all the offices in the building, Dora was satisfied with the job they had done in all six. As they put everything away in the first floor equipment closet, Ben came over to them. "You finished?" he queried.

When both Dora and Fred said, "Yes."

Fred looked his watch and saw that they had been there more than eight hours. "Maybe we were a little slower than the other couple but it was our first time."

Ben wrote something in a small book he had taken from his pocket and wrote in it. "Nope, you're faster. They never got out of here in less than nine hours. I think they used to take a nap in one of those big chairs in the execs offices. I never said anything to Mrs. Brown 'cause I didn't actually see them."

Dora exclaimed, "Nine hours!! We could have cleaned another whole office in that amount of time and we did a good job of the ones we cleaned."

Ben smiled, "I know. I checked the big insurance office. It looked better than it ever did before. I intend to tell Mrs. Brown so."

Fred reached out and took Ben's hand. "Thanks, Ben." He looked at Dora and grinned, "Guess we better be going."

____________________________________________________________
Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here!

The Cleaners

THE CLEANERS

Joyce Peterson

Dora and Fred had graduated, in the same class, from Haynes High School in 1983. They knew each other existed but that was all. It was 25 years later, when they met in an unemployment line, that they recognized each other and began the usual conversation between two people who think they do, but don't really, know each other. Actuallly, it was Dora who started it.

Dora had never had trouble talking to anyone. She looked at the man standing in line behind her, and asked, "Aren't you Fred Sommers?"

The man looked like he wanted to run but stammered, "Yeah! Why?"

Dora practically yodeled her big laugh, "Don't worry, Freddie. I thought I recognized you. We were in the same Class at Haynes High. I'm Dora Dinkledorf. Remember?"

Fred took a second look, maybe a third, before he responded by nodding his head.

Dora could see he wasn't sure. "You used to carry a bit more weight on that tall lanky body of yours. Isn't your wife feeding you enough these days?"

"No wife." Fred made it sound like he only had a few words to spare and would rather save the others for something more important than a conversation with someone he was trying to remember. He did remember the name Dinkledorf, nobody could forget a name like that, but this heavyset woman in front of him looked nothing like that beautiful girl in his class. She was almost as tall as he and had big brown eyes and long brown hair. Of course, she had been a little on the plump side, just the way he had always liked girls. Remembering the question, he added, "Never had one".

Dora saw he was trying to place her. "I am a bit heavier now, Fred. Time changes us all doesn't it? I never married either. I cook for myself. You can see I really like things that don't keep me thin." She laughed again. She hoped the gray in her hair didn't make her look older than she was. It was held back in a braid. She had been told that her eyes closed when she laughed. She opened them wide to look at him.

Fred remembered the laugh. When something funny had happened in classes they had together, her laugh would drown out all the others. He had always wished he could find life as amusing as she had. His life had not been easy. Both parents had died when he was young and he had been raised by an aunt who had left him with the feeling that she took him out of a sense of duty, not love. He had taken after both his parents with the height and slender build. How often his aunt had ridiculed his tall, thin body when she told him "It's too bad you had to be so big and skinny like your mother and father. Maybe that's what makes you so awkward. 'Course that wavy black hair and green eyes might get you some place. Just wish there was a better looking face to go with them. You're not good looking, that's for sure. I certainly hope you are good at something when you get out of school. Your looks will never help you get ahead." His aunt's words were always in his memories.

Looking up to see Dora staring at him, he told her, "You look fine. A little weight never hurt anyone." .

Dora nodded at the window ahead of them. "Looks like we're both looking for jobs. The economy is really in the dumps now and things look like they're going to stay that way for a while." When he still didn't say anything, she asked, "What do you do?"

"Can't tell 'til I see what they've got." Fred didn't want to tell her that his skills were so few that he seldom could take what was available.

"Me, too," Dora told him. She didn't want him to know that all she had been good at since graduating was cleaning houses for other people.

When Dora got to the window, the girl told her that there were jobs available with a company that cleaned office buildings at night. "O.K.!!" she exclaimed. Looking at Fred she said, "It's a job. What more could I ask for?" Again, she laughed one of those big laughs.

Fred said, "Good for you."

Dora looked back at the girl behind the window, "You said jobs, didn't you?" When the girl nodded, Dora pulled Fred up to the window. "What about him?" she asked

Fred tried to back away, "I don't think…" but Dora held him in place.

The window girl told them, "Yes, there's another place available if he…"

Dora laughed again, "Of course he can. Come on, Freddie. It's easy. You can do it."

Fred wasn't sure but Dora's enthusiasm was catching. "All right, miss. I'll try that one?"

"Fine," the girl told them as she handed each of them a slip of paper. "Go to this address this afternoon at three o'clock. Give this paper to Mr. Brown and tell him Lynn sent you."

They took the slips of paper and made a quick exit. On the sidewalk outside, Fred felt like he needed to sit down. There was a bus rider's bench at the curb. As soon as he sat, Dora took a seat beside him. "You Ok?" she asked.

"I don't know why I took that paper. I don't know anything about cleaning offices. Please don't laugh at me." Fred didn't want her to laugh and have everyone looking at them.

Dora had been told not to laugh, too many times in her life, not to know why he asked. "I'm sorry, Fred. I just find fun in everything. I've never cleaned an office building either but cleaning other people's houses has been the only way I could make enough money to keep myself going since my folks died and left me nothing but their house and a big mortgage. I've kinda hit a rough spot lately. With so many people out of work, a lot of them have to do their own cleaning. Office buildings can't be any harder than tidying up after some people I've cleaned for."

Looking at the paper in his hand, Fred still wanted to back out. "I'd better go back and give the girl this paper." However, when he stood, Dora pulled him down.

"You don't want to do that. We can do this together. Why would it be any harder to clean an office than somebody's messy house? Surely, you clean up your own house." Dora was determined to get Fred to that interview this afternoon.

Fred wanted to set Dora straight. "Don't have a house. Have an apartment. I clean it up once in a while." Fred thought of the messy place he had left this morning. "Every month, at least," he added.

Dora couldn't help but laugh but stopped as soon as she saw the look on his face. "Sorry, but I've cleaned up apartments for a few men. They dirtied every dish and left them for me to wash. Even if they had a dishwasher, I had to put the dishes in it. Laundry the same way."

"I don't think I'm that bad," Fred told her, but thought of the dirty dishes waiting for him at home. "I just don't think I would be a very good cleaner," he added.

Dora started to answer when she saw her bus coming. "This is my bus," she told him. She stood up to let the driver know to stop for her.

Fred was glad to be able to get up without being forced back onto the bench. "I'm walking these days," he told her. "Maybe I'll see you this afternoon."

Dora knew he was planning to take the slip of paper back to the girl in the office. She grabbed his arm. "Tell you what. Come home with me. I think I have some boloney in the fridge. I'll make us some lunch and we can go to the interview together." She kept a tight grip on him. When the bus stopped and the door opened, she pulled him in with her and dug out enough change in her purse to pay for both of them. "We'll have time enough to catch up on whatever happened to us in the past 25 years." She held his arm until they found a seat together in the back of the bus.

Fred had decided to go along with her until he could get away without making too much fuss. Besides, a boloney sandwich sounded pretty good, especially if someone else was going to make it. If she laughed, while they were on the bus, he'd try to look away and pretend he wasn't with her.

"I don't want to be too much trouble for you," he told her.

She started to laugh but thought better of it. "A boloney sandwich is no trouble. It will be good to have company. You can tell me what has been happening to you since graduation."

"Not much to tell." He stated, flatly.

Dora could see he didn't want to talk. She decided she might have better luck getting him to open up when he had a sandwich, a cup of coffee and a cookie in front of him. No, she didn't have any cookies, but there was some chocolate cake left from the one she made yesterday. Home made chocolate cake would be even better than cookies. She had given half of it to Mrs. Gately next door. Her husband was out of work and Dora was sure the three kids would love the cake. Between dinner and a late night snack, Dora had eaten more than half of the other half. She was sure that there would be two pieces left.

Fred was glad to go the rest of the way in silence. He was used to silence, but conversation with any other human had never been one of his few talents. He knew it had been the reason the employment office had had trouble finding jobs for him. He did like to tinker with things and had gone on a few interviews that seemed like they might be something he could do but his lack of communication with other people had been the one thing that had often left him jobless. When Dora got up, he realized they were going to get off, even before Dora took his arm and pulled him up.

"We're home, Freddie," she told him. He wished she hadn't made it sound like it was his home, too.

After they departed the bus, Fred was glad she didn't take his arm to make sure he was going with her. "Nice neighborhood." He told her.

"Not as nice as it used to be. I was raised in the house my folks left me. It was all paid for but Mom got sick and their Health Care Insurance couldn't cover the cost of all the things that had to be done for her, so Dad had to take out a big mortgage on the house. They both died a couple of years later. I was an only child so I got the house and the mortgage. I found out that the only thing I could do very well was to clean house. It's been pretty steady work until lately. At least, I could keep my head above water. Here we are," she said as they entered a well kept yard. The house looked like it could stand a new coat of paint. It had been a tract house, a nice one for a young family, but had seen better days. The whole neighborhood had the same look. "When I get enough money, I'm going to have the house painted," she explained.

Fred didn't say anything but followed her into the house. He was surprised at the difference between the outside and the inside. He could tell that all the furniture was old but everything seemed to shine. The lace doilies on everything were such a pure white that they seemed to give off a glow. He looked around. "Nice house," he told her. That word "nice" was beginning to sound too repetitious even to him.

"Thanks. Mom certainly taught me to clean house. Good thing, since it's all I really know how to do. She always thought I'd grow up, get married and have a big house with servants that I would have to teach how to clean my mansion, properly." She couldn't help but deliver one of her yodeling laughs. "I wonder what she would say if she could see me now."

Fred wanted to tell her that there wasn't anything wrong with her then or now, but the words stayed back with a lot of others that had been unspoken over the years. He followed when she started for the back of the house. Everything on the way had the same shine and glow. Then he noticed the vacuum cleaner sitting in a corner. It looked out of place. If he had the nerve, he'd ask about it later.

Dora saw Fred taking in every piece of furniture. He looked as if it was hard to believe. She wondered what she would be thinking if she had been walking into his house…er, apartment…for the first time. She knew what she would see, if other bachelor apartments had been any example.

Fred thought the shine on things in the kitchen was even brighter. "Nice kitchen," he told her but wished he could put his real feelings into better words. 'Nice' didn't cover what he saw. The refrigerator was old but well cared for. The stove, too, was shiny and clean, no grease marks, no crumbs. There was even a checkered tablecloth on the table.

"Have a seat. Boloney sandwiches and coffee, coming up, " Dora told him as she opened the refrigerator door.

Fred could see that the inside of it was as neat as the rest of the house. He thought of his old refrigerator with all the moldy stuff he had intended to throw out the next time he cleaned it.

Dora put sandwiches, coffee and two pieces of chocolate cake on the table. She knew Fred didn't talk much but his facial expression told her more than words. "Hope you like chocolate cake. I made it yesterday." She had seen his eyes widen when he saw the cake.

"Love chocolate cake." Fred couldn't remember the last time he had such a rare treat. Cooking was just another thing at which he was not very good. Frozen dinners, when he could afford them, and anything canned were his main fare.

Dora was, for her, unusually silent as she watched Fred eat. Maybe she could improve his table manners if they worked together and ate together. She had not had another person to care for since both of her parents had gone. She was enjoying the experience. When Fred had seemed to inhale all the food in front of him, she had just started on her cake, but put her fork down beside the plate. "I don't feel very hungry,"she told him. "Maybe you could finish this for me." She pushed te cake toward him.

"If you're sure," he said as he picked up his fork. When she nodded, he tried to eat slowly. "Nice cake," he said. The little voice in his head told him, "There you go with that word "nice"again but he silenced it with the next swallow.

Dora waited for him to finish before she said, " Why don't we go in the living room and catch up on all those lost years." She stood up. "Don't worry about the dishes," she told him as she saw him already heading for the living room.

Fred stopped and looked back at her. "Huh?" He asked.

Dora knew there was no time like the present to begin teaching Fred some table manners. "The dishes," she said. "We can just leave them on the table this time. I'll take them to the sink later."

"Fine with me." Fred wondered what was so important about dishes going to the sink. Maybe he should have put his dirty dishes there. Dora sure did a lot of things differently than he did. His aunt had always told him to get out of the kitchen, that he was only in the way and besides the one time he tried to help he had broken one of her best bowls.

On his way to the living room, he saw the vacuum again. "Something wrong with the vacuum cleaner?" he asked.

Dora, who had followed him, answered, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Nothin' else much is out of place. It is. Mind if I have a look?" He went to the cleaner and picked it up. He saw a plug and plugged it in. A grating noise caused him to stoop, quickly and unplugged it. He had noticed that everything in the house had been in, what looked like, a place it had occupied for years. He reasoned that the vacuum being out of place was because it was broke. "Mind if I look?" He asked again.

"I suppose it would be all right." Dora wasn't quite sure. "I was going to call someone when I could afford to have it fixed. I left it there to remind me." When she saw Fred start toward the back of the house, she said, "Where are you going?"

"Thought I'd take it out to the back porch, if you have one. My aunt always made me do my tinkering out of the house," he explained.

Dora felt like she was beginning to know his aunt better. Perhaps, even Fred. "There's a porch, but you could do your tinkering in the kitchen." She laughed at what she had said. "The linoleum cleans up easily. Do you think you can fix it?"

Fred shook his head, "Won't know until I get it part. If all the parts are still there, I can get it back together right. You want me to, or don't you?"

She was beginning to see Fred's problem. Maybe he needed encouragement. She started to nod her consent, then, she thought she wouldn't be able to afford a new sweeper if he broke this one. What the heck, Fred was more important than any vacuum. She could always sweep the floor for a while. She saw the hopeful look on Fred's face and nodded. "Go ahead. Sounds like you like to tinker." She laughed again.

Fred felt like a kid with a new toy as he took the cleaner to the kitchen. " I could use a screwdriver and a little wrench, if you have one," he told her.

"I have all the tools that belonged to my Dad. I've had to use them myself when I didn't have anyone around to fix things after he died. I'll see what I can find," she told him as she headed out the back door for the empty garage in the back of the house that now held everything except a car.

"Too bad we didn't know each other before this," Fred called after her. He heard her laugh. It was beginning to be pleasant to hear.

When she came back with the tools, she stood and watched as he pulled the sweeper apart. He had set up in the largest empty corner of the kitchen.

He wasn't comfortable having Dora watch. "Maybe you should go and take those dishes to the sink. If I need anything, I'll call you."

He had always taken things apart and put them together again. He didn't know how he did it but they usually worked when he got done. If he got done. When his aunt caught him, she would make him clean up the mess or pick up what he had been working on and throw it away. He had tried not to let her see him. He loved to take things apart and put them together again.

He hoped the sweeper would work. If it didn't, he knew, somehow, that Dora would not be mad . She would probably just laugh one of those big laughs. "Dora liked to laugh," he thought, "nothin' wrong with that."

"OK," Dora told him as she went to the table to gather up the dirty plates. As she took them to the sink, she saw that he was so engrossed with his job that she didn't think he noticed her. She tried not to watch him. After the dishes were in the sink, she started toward her bedroom. She gave one last look at him and realized she liked looking at him as he worked.

"Maybe I'd better change clothes. We may have to clean some place this afternoon. I'll see you in the living room when you're finished." She wasn't sure he heard her.

Whenever she went to the unemployment office, she always wore her best dress, the blue one, and black patent leather shoes. If they had to go on a job this afternoon, she better put on her gray sweats and her old tennies. She knew she would be looking pretty tacky. Fred probably wouldn't notice but maybe she'd pull the braided hair up into a knot on the top of her head. That might make her look a little classier.

Fred had, indeed, noticed her. She was looking more and more like that girl in his High School classes. When she had pulled him around at the unemployment office and onto the bus, he started to think she was too much like the aunt who, unwillingly, had raised him. Now, he could see, she was entirely different. She had even given him her piece of cake. Then, she let him tear the vacuum apart in the house on her kitchen floor. Now, if only these parts would go back together right, it might pay her back a little bit.

When Dora had dressed, she went back to the living room and sat down on the couch. Maybe Fred would come and sit beside her when he finished. She picked up an outdated magazine and started to read but soon heard the contented whir of the vacuum coming from the kitchen. Suddenly, it stopped. Damn, it didn't work. She waited a while, but there was no more sound from the vacuum. She was planning what to say to Fred as she went to investigate. She determined not to hur his feelings. However, when she got to the kitchen, she saw the sweeper sitting in a corner and Fred, on his knees with a wet paper towel in his hand, trying to clean up after himself.

Fred looked up and said, "All fixed." He continued scrubbing with the wet towel.

"How did you do that?" Dora couldn't believe that the sweeper would work.

"I got some dirt on the floor. My aunt always told me, 'You don't leave a mess and expect me to clean it up.'" Fred kept scrubbing away.

Dora went to him, pulled him to his feet and threw the dirty towel in a nearby wastebasket. "I meant the vacuum. How did you fix it? Besides, if you fixed my equipment, I can clean up a little dirt."

Fred was beginning to like the feel of Dora's hands on him. He hadn't realized it before but she had a very gentle touch, something he had never had from anyone. He remembered the feel of his aunt's hand, slapping him across the face, when she thought he was sassing her. "Oh," he answered , "the vacuum. I don't know how I do things like that but I've always liked to take things apart and put them back together."

Dora felt the change in Fred. "What was wrong with it?" She asked him, gently.

"I don't know. I just took it apart and put it back together like I always do. Most of the time, they work." He wished he had had a better answer, but he didn't.

"I'll have to think of some way to thank you. Maybe I'll make you a chocolate cake in a day or two," she said.

"That would be nice," he told her. His little voice kept yelling in his brain "Nice, nice, nice, you graduated from high school don't you know some other word than 'nice'" He felt Dora's gentle touch, leading him toward the living room.

Dora had put her arm through his when she realized that, taking him by the arm felt more…more… exciting this afternoon than it had this morning. "Let's sit down and talk for a while. I'd like to hear more about your aunt."

Fred felt his knees grow weak. Was it her touch, he wondered, or just the thought of having a real conversation with another human being? He had never wanted to talk about his aunt. He had been grateful to have a place to live when his parents died, but there were too many things he wanted to forget about some of the cruelities he had suffered. He realized they were mostly emotional but he knew that many of his problems stemmed from those same thoughtless acts.

He looked up to see a wall clock. "It's not 12:30 yet," he said, then had a thought, "We don't have to be there until 3 o'clock. There's plenty of time," he continued, "Why don't I go home and get the car? I'll come back and pick you up. We can drive to that interview."

"You've got a car?" Dora questioned. She hope she didn't sound like she didn't believe him.

"Yeah, it's just an old 65 Chevy. It was the only thing my aunt left me when she died. Everything else went to one of her charities. She made me learn to drive so I could take her places. She always sat in the back seat. I was as supposed to look like her chauffeur. I've kept the Chevy in pretty good shape but can't drive much. Gas prices are too high." Fred felt out of breath from making such a long speech.

Great," Dora said as she picked up her purse and pulled out some change. "You fixed my sweeper and now you're going to give me a ride to the interview. The least I can do is pay for your bus fare to go home." When he refused to take it, she pressed it into his hand. "Please."

"I'll keep a record and pay you back as soon as I get that job." Fred told her.

"OK," she answered as she patted him on the back. "You better go so we don't miss that 3 o'clock appointment."

At her touch, Fred felt such a sudden surge of emotion that all he could do was stammer,"Beee right baaack,"as he went out the door.

Fred felt like he had made it home in record time. It was only 1:30. It had taken only 45 minutes. The car was parked in a garage next to his apartment.

He had always called it an apartment but it was only an attachment that an old couple had built onto the garage when their son was growing up. They wanted him to have some privacy and learn to take care of himself before he went to college. Fred had been able to rent it because the son had grown up and moved away. It was comfortable enough for one person. It had a bathroom and a small kitchen. The old couple had let Fred take care of the yard and even gave him some other house chores to pay for his rent. They let him keep his old car in the garage.

He opened the garage door and got in the car.

"Well, Maisie, don't let me down," he told the car as he put in the key. When he stepped on the gas, all it did for the first couple of tries was gurgle. Fred called it a few curse words he occasionally used. They must have worked because on the next try, it started. "Good girl," he said.

Fred remembered that Dora had changed clothes. He left the car running while he went in and found some old jeans and a dirty sweat shirt. He sniffed at them and decided they weren't too bad. He put them on. He put the same shoes back on. They were the only ones he had.

When he got back to Dora's, he knocked and called out as he entered, "We're here." When he heard the vacuum running, he found Dora sweeping in one of the rooms. "Runnin' OK?" He asked.

Dora hadn't heard him. She jumped at his voice but when she saw him, she looked him over. "You look like you're ready to go to work. This old vacuum has been working ever since you left. It was ready to go to work, too." She saw Fred almost smile.

"We'd better go, it's after two." He told her.

When they got in the car, it started immediately. "Good girl," he told the car again.

"Thank you,I try," Dora replied.

"I was talking to Maisie," he explained. "I call the car Maisie." He could hear Dora's disappointment when all she replied was, "Oh. Nice to meet you…Maisie."

Dora was the only one who talked on the way to the interview. When they arrived at a small white building in the center of the downtown area, she realized she had told him all about her loving parents, about their skills and her lack of them as she had tried job after job with no success. She had taken typing in school but was too slow to hold down a job.. Her parents had always given her everything she needed. She couldn't complain about getting a house with a mortgage. Fred had listened to her and had almost missed the address they wanted.

When she saw it, she told him, "Must be parking in the back."

Fred was able to turn down a driveway beside the building and turn into a parking place behind it. He felt like he knew a lot more about the woman who sat beside him. He liked all of it. "There's a back entrance," he said.

As they entered the back door, they could hear a woman's voice. " I told you never to call me here. Thank goodness my secretary was out today." She put the phone down in a hurry. When she looked up and saw the newcomers, she apologized "Sorry. One of the customers wanted to complain. What may I do for you?"

Dora knew the woman was lying. "Lynn sent us. She said to ask for Mr. Brown. We're the cleaners she sent."

When Fred saw Dora take her slip of paper out of her purse, he pulled his from his pocket and held it out. As he handed it to the woman, he thought she looked vaguely familiar.

Dora had taken a second look, too, and recognized her. "Susan? Susan who graduated from Haynes High School? I forget your last name." Susan Whatsername had been in the class ahead of Fred and Dora. She had always been the most beautiful girl there. She still was beautiful.

"Tall but not too tall like me," Dora thought.

Susan was a blonde, blue eyed girl who always dressed elegantly, even in high school.. She still did. Her tailored black pant suit with the cerulean blue blouse showing at the jacket opening was certainly expensive. Her stylish blond hair clung to her shoulders. Her makeup accented the blue of her eyes.

As she took the proffered slips of paper, she looked at Dora, "Sorry, do I know you?" she asked.

Dora laughed. "Probably not," she said as she pulled Fred up beside her. "I'm Dora Dinkledorf and he's Fred Sommers. We were in the class behind you."

"Dinkledorf? I do remember that name, but you're Mrs. Sommers now?" Susan asked.

"No, no, no. I'm still a Dinkledorf. Fred and I just got reacquainted in the unemployment line this morning. The hard times has hit us both." Dora explained ,but she had liked the sound of "Mrs. Sommers". "Is there a Mr. Brown here?"

The woman in front of them failed at her try to put a sad look on her lovely face and took a few seconds before saying, "I'm Mrs. Brown." Her harsh emphasized the name. "My husband died about a month ago. I've been trying to run the business by myself. I guess my secretary forgot to tell them at the unemployment office about Arthur's death." She sounded displeased with everyone and everything.

Dora knew all about grief and she didn't feel any grief in this room. Mrs. Brown might have been sad at her husband's death but it certainly didn't show.

The woman explained, "My secretary usually handles all this but she's off today. One of her kids was sick." She sounded as if she were sorry she had hired anyone with children.

Fred moved in a little closer."Do you have children, Mrs. Brown?" he asked.

Mrs. Brown answered flatly, "No."

"Too bad," Fred told her.

Dora had been surprised at Fred's question. However, when she looked at him, she could see a hint of a smile on his face.

Mrs. Brown gave another sigh . "You must be the two people that the unemployment office called about earlier. She said that the woman had a lot of cleaning experience but the man had had only temporary jobs doing other things. She gave you both a good character recommendation." Looking at Dora, she asked. "You do clean offices, don't you?

Dora took over the conversation before Fred had a chance. "I've been cleaning everything I could since times have been so bad. And I know that Fred is good with the equipment. He even fixed my vacuum this afternoon, Mrs. Brown." She followed Fred's example by calling the woman by her Mrs. Name. "I can teach Fred everything he needs to know about cleaning."

The woman gave them both a critical look . "I suppose you'll have to do. The other couple whom you'll be replacing left the area. We never had one complaint about them and I will expect the same of you" Mrs. Brown said. Looking down at the slips of paper, she looked up at Fred. "Fred, since you are good with equipment, maybe you could check the back up vacuums we have in the storeroom…when you have time of course." Dora could have sworn that she almost smiled at Fred.

Mrs. Brown took a card from a small card wrack on the counter and wrote on it. She passed it to Fred. "Give this to the building's night guard. He'll know you're new. He's the one who told me the other couple wouldn't be back. I guess they were in a too big a rush to tell me themselves. I'm sure they'll have time to tell me where to send the money we owe them." She had almost spit out the last words.

Dora wanted to get to the job. She was having second thoughts about working for such a woman. But, right now, a job was a job. "Did you say these offices were in the Madison Building?" she asked.

"That's right." Mrs. Brown seemed to prefer directing her answer to Fred. Dora could tell she was a woman who would, given the chance, flirt with any man in the room. "The building has it's own equipment but occasionally there's a problem and we need to send a vacuum or other equipment along with you. You do have a car? You came in from the parking lot, didn't you? The job requires a car."

Fred answered. "WE have a car."

Mrs. Brown gave Fred a long look before she said, "Good. And I hope you don't mind my saying so but you could use a haircut. Get rid of the pony tail. Maybe you could both find something in your wardrobes that doesn't look quite so grungie. After all, when you go to these places, you will be representing our company. We don't want them to think you are destitute, working for us." She waited a moment before saying, " Fred, my husband was a big, thin man like you. I'll bring you some of his things. He won't be wearing them any more, poor dear." Dora could have sworn that the woman almost smiled but put her business face on as she continued, "Stop in tomorrow before you go to work. My secretary will give them to you."

When Fred saw Dora's eyes get big as she opened her mouth, he secretly grabbed her arm as he answered, "I'll think about the haircut, Mrs. Brown."

Mrs. Brown smiled . "Good." She smiled at him again as she continued, "There are mostly business offices in the Madison Building. One is a big Insurance company who seems to be holding up payment on the last policy my husband took out." She stopped short. Dora felt like she had said more than she had intended, too. "Ben, the night watchman, will let you into each office and lock it up after you're done. He'll show you where to find the cleaning equipment. He will also keep track of the time you are there."

Fred looked at her, "I forget. Did you tell us how much you pay?"

Dora thought, "Yes. Is it enough so we can dress like Mr. & Mrs Vander Bilt to clean offices?"

Mrs. Brown told them, "Ten dollars an hour. We pay once a month on the 15^th. If you're short of money, when you come in before you go to work tomorrow, tell my secretary. She will give you some money to tide you over for the next two weeks." Mrs. Brown went into, what must have been her private office, and closed the door without another word.

Dora looked after her and whispered, "Of course, Your Highness," and stuck out her tongue.

Fred took her arm and started to lead her through the hall toward the back door. When they passed a door marked "Storeroom", Fred said, "I'll have a look in there when I have time."

Dora, who had taken a thorough disliking to "Mrs. Brown", sneered, "Don't do her any favors."

Fred thought Dora was unusually quiet on the trip to the Madison Building. He hadn't seen this side of her before. Probably a "woman thing" that would pass.

When he saw a fast food place, he pulled into the lot and parked. "Maybe we should get something to eat before we go to work."

Dora heard the concern in his voice and wondered if her feeling about the new boss was noticeable. "Sorry if I sounded like a dumb ass, back there. But she had some nerve telling you about your hair and she sounded, too….bossy through the whole thing," she explained.

Fred understood. "She did remind me a little of my aunt," he told her.

Dora felt better. If Mrs. Brown reminded him of his aunt, Fred must have shared some of her own feelings. "Dora Dinkledorf," she rebuked herself, "You sound like a jealous botchup. Knock it off." To Fred she said, "This will be my treat as long as it's just a hamburger and a drink. I'll go in and get the food and we can eat in the car."

"I'll add it to what I already owe you. You can't keep on "treating me"." Fred tried not to owe anybody anything since his aunt had died. She had reminded him so many times how much he owed her for raising him that he felt he could never get caught up with the payments.

Dora smiled. "OK. We'll just put it on the tab." She got out of the car.The line in the fast food place was short so Dora went back in a few minutes with a bag of food and a tray of drinks. The smell of the food dominated the air of the car as they ate in silence.

Fred noticed Dora looking at him every once in a while. When the food was gone, he asked, "is there anything wrong?"

Dora knew he had caught her looking at him, "I was just trying to see what you would look like with a haircut."

"Should I get it cut?" he asked.

"Only if you want to," she told him. Although she didn't want to agree with Mrs. Brown, she secretly thought that Fred would be almost handsome with a different hairstyle.

Fred reached back and took the pony tail in his hand, "I think the only reason I grew it was to spite my aunt. The nice lady I rent from has offered to cut it any time I want. She always cut her son's hair." He looked at his watch. "We'd better check in with that nighwatchman. It's 5:30."

When they got to the Madison Building, the parking lot was almost empty. They saw a heavy set African- American man standing at the door, holding it open for people who were leaving.

Dora and Fred waited until the egress crowd was gone. Dora smiled at the man who was still holding the door open for them. "Thanks," she said. "You must be Ben. We're the new cleaners."

Fred pulled the card from his pocket and handed it to him. The man looked at it carefully.

"Mrs. Brown," he read. "How is she?" he asked. "How is she taking her husband's death?"

Dora looked at Fred before she answered, "She seems a little upset. Having the couple who used to clean here just up and leave, hasn't helped. Did they say why they quit so abruptly?" She wanted to tell him how she really felt about "Mrs. Brown" but her mother's voice came in loud and clear. "Spreading evil will only come back and smack you in the head."

The man told her, "They got another job. It seems that Mrs. Brown was different after her husband died. They thought they would be better off elsewhere. They asked me to tell her. I hope she didn't think I had anything to do with it."

He sounded so sincere that Dora bit her tongue as she told him, "No, No. She spoke very highly of you." She thought, "Well, she didn't say anything bad about him." He seemed like such a nice man. Besides, a little praise never hurt anyone.

The night watchman smiled. "Nice lady." He commented as he led them to a room at the end of the hall. He opened the door. "You will find every thing you need in here. I'll unlock the first door on the right on this floor. It's a big insurance company's office. I hope they aren't giving Mrs. Brown any trouble over some policy. She's been in there a couple of times and she looked pretty mad when she came out."

Dora started to open her mouth when she saw Fred shake his head. She mouthed "What?"

Fred told Ben, "We all have our own troubles, don't we?" He started to pull a vacuum out of the small closet. "You said it's the first office on the right? We'll get started right away."