Lesson 12 – You Mess, You Clean

The two superbikes turned into the drive of the house on 7^th Street. The time was after midnight. The two riders switched off and put the bikes on their stands.

Candy removed her full-face helmet. She took off her gloves and found the keys in her leathers’ inside pocket. Sticks removed his full-face helmet and unzipped his leather jacket. He pulled his leather gloves off and placed them in his helmet.

Candy took Sticks by the hand and led him down the side of the red brick house. She opened a metal door, put her hand around the frame, switched on the light.

The room was a converted garage with its concrete floor. Sticks recoiled at the stale smell of fish and cat pee and stayed in the doorway. He stared into the room.

Down the side under the curtain-less high window was a three-quarter bed, unmade. Against the opposite wall was two fold-up steel chairs with a small cracked glass top round table. In the far back corner was a small bar fridge used as a work surface next to a wooden cupboard. A small silver microwave, a silver kettle, and a silver toaster were on linoleum on the cabinet. A single washbasin, attached to the wall next to another steel door. Sticks assumed this door led to the bathroom. The washbasin still filled with dirty plates and cups.

The single light bulb from the ceiling in the centre of the room cast shadows everywhere. It focused on a large black cat sitting on the bar-fridge eating leftover fish, cat food and pellets, not in a dish but sprinkled on the fridge.

Candy removed her leathers and dropped them on the bare floor next to the bed. She crossed to the fridge, pulled the door open and brought out two bottles of beer. Smiling, she turned to Sticks.

“Beer, Sticks?”

“No, thank you. It’s late, and I’m working in the morning.”