The Laundry Day Cleanup: The Aftermath
The laundry room door swung open to reveal Summer and Marcus looking like they'd survived a soap-bubble apocalypse. White suds clung to Summer’s hair like a foamy crown, while Marcus had a perfect soap ball balanced on the tip of his nose.
Their parents stood in the doorway, mouths open looking at the disaster in front of them.
"It's not what it looks like!" Summer blurted, frantically wiping soap from her eyes.
"What it looks like," her mother said, grabbing a mop, "is that you two can’t keep y’all hands off each other and flooded the laundry room... again."
Marcus's father tossed him a towel. "Son, I understand young love and all, but you have to control those urges. The security deposit on this place doesn't cover 'detergent soap avalanche.'"
"Urges? What urges?" Marcus responded, soap sliding down his face. "The machine just—"
"Oh please," Summer’s mom interrupted. "We heard everything. It's like y’all forgot we were even here!"
Marcus and Summer exchanged horrified glances.
"Heard... everything?" Summer spoke softly.
"Yes, everything," her mother continued, dramatically mimicking Summer’s voice. "'I'm all wet, my knight in shining armor.' You don't say?"
Marcus's father snorted, barely containing his laughter as he wiped down the walls. "And you, Romeo—'Need a hand my lady?' Explicit, real explicit."
"Dad!" Marcus said, his face now redder than the laundry detergent bottle.
"Y'all just can't keep your hands to yourselves for two minutes?" Summer’s mom continued, shaking her head. "At least pick a room that doesn't have dirty laundry clothes and leaky laundry bags in equipment."
"It was the washing machine!" Summer protested. "I overloaded it!"
"That's what they all say," Marcus's father chuckled. "Back in my day, we at least had the decency to be discreet."
"Are you kidding me?" Summer’s mom shot back. "Remember that time at Summer’s fifteenth birthday party when you two disappeared to 'check the cake' and came back with frosting in your hair?"
The parents burst into laughter while Summer and Marcus stood mummified, while water continued to drip on the linoleum.
"I wish the machine had actually exploded," Marcus mumbled.
"Maybe next time don't put your entire wardrobe in at once," Sumner whispered back.
"Next time?" He raised an eyebrow, a smile forming at his lips despite the embarrassment.
"There won't be a next time if I have anything to say about it!" Summers mom spoke out, her superhuman mom-hearing picked up on some of their whispering. "From now on, laundry duty will be supervised!"
As they all scrubbed at the soapy floor, Marcus leaned over to Summer. "Worth it," he whispered, and despite everything, she couldn't help but agree with a big kiss.