Tuesday, August 31, 2010

city living

late last night i entered the basement laundry room at precisely the same moment as an unacquainted neighbor. silently, we surveyed the situation. then, he outed the elephant:

him: there's only 1 washer open.
silence.
me: wanna rock, paper, scissors for it?
him: best of three?
me: yup. are we doing "rock, paper, scissors" or - ?
him: "rock, paper, scissors, shoot."
me: k.
we play. i lose.
me: all yours.
him: thanks. (examining the machine). ugh. it's one of those high efficiency ones.
me: huh?
him: the machine. i think it takes a special kind of detergent.
me: oh. uhh...i dunno. (scanning bottle for instructions). you're welcome to use my detergent. if it's the right kind.
silence.
him: nah. you can have it. i'll just wait. thanks though.
me: you sure?
him: yeah.
silence.
him: nice playing with you.
me: oh. likewise.
he silently exits. i load laundry as the elevator announces its arrival with a "ding".

6 comments:

Elizabeth Downie said...

Ha! I love that story! Thanks for sharing - I needed a laugh this morning. :)

D said...

Like.

Maxine Parrish said...

Have I ever mentioned how much I heart you? Only you would manage an awesome situation out of a potentially awkward one. Brava!

Tiffany said...

perfectly perfect.

Amanda Rudd said...

Awesome!

Preethi said...

Belated love. :)