She stood at the big picture window in the front room of her house and looked out at the gray, cloudy morning. It had been raining for days, and today looked like more of the same. Her slippered feet carried her tired old body into the kitchen, where she made herself some toast and a pot of tea. The kitchen hadn’t been updated since she moved into it with her husband in the year of our Lord, 1939.
The wallpaper was lightly patterned and peeling where it met the scuffed countertops, and the oven was the same one that had come with the house. The floor was cracked, dented, and marked with the growing footsteps of the nine children she had raised there. None of them ever came to visit her, and with the passing of her husband eight years ago this November, she was truly alone. She buttered her toast and nibbled at it while reading the paper, just like she had done every morning since Nancy, her youngest daughter had gotten married and moved out.
She took her tea and went back to looking at the gray skies through the window in her front room. She was trying in vain to remember the feel of her husbands arms around her, being enveloped in the smell of his Old Spice aftershave and tobacco smoke, but time had eroded those memories, and she could barely even touch her fingertips to them. As she tried to bring them back, a long finger of sun broke through the clouds, then another, and another. The sun finally pushed gloriously through the clouds, almost as if the rays had pried them apart. It burst through and filled the house, as well as her heart with warmth. She smiled broadly as the memories of a house crowded with children and a loving husband came flooding back.
She could se it all so clearly, the parties, the birthdays, the Christmases and big Easter dinners. She saw her children running, smiling, playing. Her husband singing as he played the upright piano in the front room…
As quickly as they came, the memories faded again. The clouds reenveloped the sun, and the rain began to tap on the windows and roof of the old house. She headed back into her kitchen for a broom to sweep up the remnants of the delicate china cup she had dropped in her momentary bliss. The remembering had become just another fading memory, and she went back to her usual daily routine.
After cleaning the house and a modest lunch, she settled down to read. She was not much of a television watcher, but since she had been young she had always been able to lose herself in books. She was rereading this particular one, but to her it made no difference. To her, books were old friends, and why shouldn’t one call on old friends occasionally to see how they were getting on? The rain had started to pound the windows and walls by now, and she pulled her shawl tighter around herself to ward off the cold.
The doorbell rang, a sound she was so unaccustomed to that she almost did not recognize what it was. She moved slowly towards the door and opened it to see a scruffy looking man in a rumpled brown suit and a beat up old hat. He tipped his hat to her and began speaking very quickly.
“Hello young lady, is your mother home?” he chuckled softly as he pushed his way out of the rain and into the house. She smiled politely but again he started talking before she had the chance to respond.
“My name is James Carling and I must say you keep a lovely home, but wouldn’t you like it to be even cleaner? I’m sure your husband, and even your children would really appreciate it.” he smiled a quick broad smile full of brilliantly white teeth. “now, I’d like to talk to you about a new, more powerful vacuum cleaner Mrs.…ah I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name..”
She stared at him with bewilderment. A door to door vacuum salesman? She hadn’t seen that in almost forty years, and even then never one as pushy as this man was.
“Uhm, it’s Mary, Mary Cafferty, and I’m sorry Mr.…Carling is it? But I’m really not-”
“Cafferty! I’m assuming your Irish, I’m Irish myself, and the least you can do is listen to a fellow countryman’s sales pitch now couldn’t you? Some tea wouldn’t be amiss either.” he smiled that quick, broad smile again.
“Yes, I suppose but really, I have a lot of things to do around here and I really should be getting star-”
“Nonsense Mrs. Cafferty! Plus, with the new, futuristic vacuum I’ve got here, your housework can be done in half the time! Let me just give you a quick demonstration” he plopped himself down on the couch, set his briefcase on the coffee table and opened it. He hummed “Heart and Soul” quietly to himself as he removed the parts and began assembling them. Mary walked slowly and somewhat nervously into the kitchen, uncomfortable with the idea of such a pushy stranger invading her home, solitude and reading. If she was honest with herself though, she would admit she somewhat enjoyed the attention and company, it made for a nice break in the monotony of her life.
“I just can’t wait to show you how well this thing works Mrs. Cafferty,” she could almost see that obnoxious smile through the walls. “I also can’t wait for some of that tea, it’s awful cold out there today, and my dear grandmother always said nothing warms the body and soul better than a cup of tea!”
She groaned to herself at the thought of having to entertain a man like this, but again, the break in the loneliness, speaking to another person, it was worth sitting through the sales pitch.
She loaded the tray with milk, sugar and a few slightly stale cookies from her nearly bare cabinets. She took a deep breath and put on the happy hostess smile she used while entertaining in her younger years, and started back towards the living room.
“Here’s the tea Mr. Carling, and I brought out some cookies for you as well.”
“Oh excellent, thank you Mary, can I call you Mary? Because if I can, you can most certainly call me Jimmy, all of my friends do.” he said with a little too much enthusiasm.
“Uhm, why yes I suppose you can call me Mary” she said with trepidation.
“Excellent! Alright Mary, prepare to have your mind blown, this little vacuum is going to be the wave of the future, just you wait and see!” he set his cup of tea down and plugged the vacuum into the nearest wall outlet, all the while smiling that smile of his.
He began vacuuming the floor, keeping a steady stream of comments about how it worked going all the while. She had to admit that the stupid vacuum did seem to being doing wonders for her carpet. It seemed brighter and fresher, and it looked almost new.
“Well Mr. Carling, Jimmy, I’m sorry, it does seem to work very well, but it’s just me around here and unless it’s very cheap I don’t really need a new-”
“Well Mary” he cut her off again. “before we talk about price or anything like that, let me at least show you all the attachments, and a little bit more about how much easier this thing can make your day, but before we do that-”
“Please, Jimmy, I really don’t have the need for a new vacuu-”
“Mary, think of how much happier your husband will be if he comes home to a house as clean as this vacuum can make yours.”
“Mr. Carling, please, my husband pass-”
“What’s the lucky mans name then? If he’ll be coming home any time soon, we can ask him what he thinks, I’m sure he’ll love it.”
“His name was Michael but-”
“Michael Cafferty! A good strong name that’s for sure.” Carling said with great enthusiasm and that same smile.
She suddenly seemed to remember a lot more about her husband than she had in years. The memories were no longer just out of her reach, but seemed to be firmly in her grasp. Her memories of her children seemed to be startlingly clear, all of them bursting into the house with a chorus of “Hey ma!”s and rushing right downstairs to catch the westerns on television.
“You have beautiful children Mary, a real handsome group. Your daughter’s are going to be breaking hearts real soon that’s for sure.” For a moment she thought the man had somehow invaded her memories, but she realized he was looking at the old photos that covered the piano. Even the piano looked newer, it was amazing to her the difference a clean carpet could make.
“Thank you Jimmy, they’re older now, but they really were beautiful children.” she said. Again it was funny, she could sworn she heard them all downstairs playing and yelling and singing the theme songs to all those old westerns. She smiled a bit sadly and asked
“So Jimmy, what are all these attachments for?”
“Ah, well I’m glad you asked Mary, this one here is for drapes, this one works on all your tile and hardwood floors, and this one is new, specifically made for cleaning furniture. They sure seem to be having a great time down there don’t they?”
Lost in her memories she responded “Yes, you know how kids love their westerns. So, do I get another demonstration?” she realized she was leading the poor man on a bit, but she felt younger, happier and lighter than she had in years. The stiffness of old age seemed to melt away as the memories came back.
She had to admit, the vacuum was working wonders, again with it’s treatment of the drapes, sofa and kitchen floor, everything seemed to look brand new. The house hadn’t looked so new in any recent memory, and it actually did make her feel better. For all his faults, this man at least was trying to sell her a decent product.
“Jimmy, everything really does look fantastic, it hasn’t been this clean in years.”
He flashed that quick broad smile again and said “I told you so Mary, so I’m guessing I can expect you to be using one of these from now on?”
“I’m sorry Jimmy but I can’t, I’m on a very tight budget and I really already have a decent vacuum.” she said with a polite but sad smile. She hated to disappoint the man, but her husbands pension check didn’t really allow for extraneous spending.
“Ah, right” he said sadly “well, it was an excellent afternoon, thank you for the tea and your time.” he smiled that smile again and headed for the door.
As she reached to open it for him, he grabbed her by the sides of her face and kissed her squarely on the forehead. She was momentarily scandalized, thankful that her children were downstairs so they wouldn’t see that kind of behavior. At the same time, she felt strangely comforted, even in the face of such outrageous behavior. She started to say something to him but he cut her short with another smile, but this one different than before. This one was wider and brighter and seemed not to light up just his face, but her house and her heart as well.
He tipped his hat to her and headed out the door, passing her husband as he did so.
“Howdy, Mike”, smiling the familiar, quick smile she had become used to.
“Uh Hello sir” her husband responded with confusion. “Hey Mar, what’s for dinner? I’m literally starving, and who was that guy?” her husband looked down as her and smiled the same smile that she had fallen in love with so many years earlier.
As she stood on her front steps, very confused, but very happy, she watched Mr. Carling smile and tip his hat again before heading down the street with his briefcase. As she looked up at her husband, the sun again pried its way through the clouds, it’s rays touching and warming her to her very soul. In that instant, she knew there would be no more rainy days.
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