CLEANER: Chapter Three - Part Six

The kitchen took me a long time.

I had been very careless over the past two days and there was plenty of mess. I cleared away the empty wrappers first and piled the pots ready to go in the dishwasher then wiped down the tops, tipping the crumbs into my cupped palm. There were plenty of bits on the floor. I fetched the broom from my cleaning cupboard...

...my cleaning cupboard...

... and set to work brushing them into a neat pile, then I got down into a crouch and swept them onto a dustpan.

I wondered if it would be harder to crouch down like that if I were as fat as Melissa. Surely the extra folds of fat round my belly would restrict my movement and the extra weight itself would make everything a terrible strain. How much did she weigh? It had to be an enormous amount compared to me. Was she one and a half times my weight? More?

Some of the containers I'd left out contained food. There was a packet that had contained six chocolate éclairs when I'd bought it. There were only two left now. I'd scoffed the others in front of the TV last night. Glancing toward the door, as though I might get in trouble if Melissa found me out, I pulled one out of the packet and pushed the end of it into my mouth. I kept pushing, squeezing as much in as I could before I bit so that chewing it was laborious but provided a massive dose of delicious flavour. I’d barely swallowed that when I put the second piece in, forcing it again so that it pushed my cheeks out, until it was all in my mouth; a whole éclair in two mouthfuls. I ate like a bird usually.

Then I got back to work, still chewing.

I was about to load the dishwasher, but it struck me that the plates would come a lot cleaner if I did them by hand. And it was only right that I do a good job. This was important. I had my standards. I didn’t want to let my employer down.

I filled the sink with piping hot water, pulled my marigolds tighter and started on the pile, humming to myself.

I felt so at peace; totally relaxed; thinking only of the task before me.

It was wonderful.