Hidden Meaning
Schmutz. I put the mug on the counter and did my best not to analyze what might be stuck inside, though at a quick glance, I detected coffee grounds and a crusty creamer ring. Funny how the dishwasher powers out all the food and nastiness, really blasts it, maybe 95% of the time. Those other oddball times, though, you’re left with “Ew.”
I couldn’t exactly find fault with the dishwasher, since the same can be said for my dealings with the spirit world. Straightforward most of the time, but that hinky five percent? It’s a doozy. Like spirits, the next mug in the rack was likely to be unexceptional, nice and clean and coffee-ready, exactly what I expected. Except…it wasn’t. Yuck. I set it on the counter.
“Why’re you unloading the dishwasher?” Jacob asked, wuzzy-voiced, as he shuffled toward the bathroom in his morning fog. “I didn’t run it yet.”
Oh. I turned on the tap and began soaping out a mug. My brain attempted to stretch the ghost analogy to include the idea that it’s helpful to actually run the appliance, but I’d lost my momentum. No biggie.
Not everything needs to be rife with meaning.
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Interesting Links
The Secret Life of your Dishwasher - what actually goes on in there, how to load it most effectively, and more
The Drabble Protection Society - what I hit upon when I was looking to see if a 200-word drabble was even a thing
Definitions for "schmutz" at UrbanDictionary.com
The Newest PsyCop Gear
(Kindle kickstand case!)
At the official JCP Gift Shop at Cafe Press