The French Lady Always Rings Twice

Those of you who know me well know that I am a slob. When I lived with roommates, I was a lot neater, but when there's just me in the house, I don't particularly care if the dishes stack up in the sink. When I walk in the door and strip off coat, scarf and shoes and let them pile up over the course of week, who's there to see it but me? Dust on the furniture? Dirty floors? Not my highest priority.

Yeah, that one came back to bite me. I'd gone out this morning but felt feverish and not quite well, so I came home, threw on my grubby clothes and took a two-hour nap. Under covers. I heard the phone ring, but I was comatose, so answering it was out of the question. (Side Note: My so-called "voicemail" tells me how many calls I missed and at what time; there are no messages, nor does it record the number of the caller. Very helpful.)

I finally dragged out of bed, thought about doing the dishes but instead proceeded to spread out all my school materials across three rooms to start getting ready for school next week.

The doorbell rang. My heart froze in my chest. I decided to ignore it. It rang again. I took a deep breath and answered (via phone), but no one was there. Whew! Close one! As I walked back across the filthy living room, I thought how mortified I'd be if someone had actually been there. What a nightmare. Then I sat down at the dining room table to get back to work, glanced out the window, and saw Cake's friend Mado staring back at me.

DANG IT!! Well, what could I do? I leaned out the window and asked if she wanted to come up, then scrambled to find a bra and shut doors while she made her way up the stairs. I felt like a total and complete jackass. I was wearing gym clothes, for crying out loud, I had major bedhead and-- this is particularly mortifying since I didn't realize it until after she'd gone-- I had some crusty white zit paste on my chin.

Sigh. Not my finest moment. I had to scramble to offer her something to drink, then bachelor wash a cup to serve it in. She's as nice as can be, but I can't say I ever really settled down and enjoyed the mercifully brief visit.

I hope people don't make a habit of this around here.