Sheets
– Fiction by Abiola Regan –
Honorable Mention in the Dreamers Flash Fiction and Nonfiction Contest.
Jane raced around her apartment leaving chaos in her wake. She was like a whirling dervish of manic energy. She always worked herself into a state right before her parents came to visit but this was next level. She knew she should slow down and be more methodical so she would not have to clean up a new mess as well as her apartment’s usual messiness. But she could not stop until everything had been accounted for and then properly relocated.
Her parents weren’t particularly conservative but she still was not ready for them to see her Strawberry Shortcake bong, her cupboard that was chock full of weed or the remnants of whatever edibles she had decided to try that week. Since marijuana had become legal, Jane had been able to indulge until her heart’s content without having to visit any of the shadier places she had resigned herself to frequenting pre-legalization. Even though her parents claimed to have been in favour of the legalization, she was not sure they would be in favour of their precious daughter partaking so freely.
She glanced at the clock. “Okay, I still have two hours. This is doable. I can do this. Do not freak out.”
She opened the door to her guest room. Good, she had remembered to vacuum the carpet in there. She had remembered to leave out the soap and towels that her dad loved. She had even tracked down a couple of the cigars that her mom took pride in smoking with her daughter as a way to unwind after a busy day touring the city. Then Jane looked more closely at the bed. “Shit!” She had not remembered to change the sheets after Kyle had come over and things had heated up the night before.
Jane reached for her phone and texted Maggie, her best friend. She always knew what to do. “SOS. I need sheets for the guest room bed. Can’t let parents sleep on sex sheets. Washing machine broken. Are you home?”
Maggie texted back immediately. “Calm down. Not at home, running errands. Sale on sheets at Homesense. Will pick up a set and drop off on my way home. Pay me back later.”
Oh, thank God for Maggie! “You are an angel. A literal angel. Thank YOU!” Jane texted.
Jane ripped the sheets off the bed in the guest room and took a deep breath.
She puttered around her apartment dusting and cleaning as needed, lighting incense and dancing around to the songs on the Spotify playlist she was trying out.
A little over an hour later, her answerphone buzzed. “Maggie?!” Jane exclaimed. “No, it’s your parents. We know we’re early but surprise! We’re here now.”
Jane paused to look around her apartment before buzzing them in. She had hidden the Kyle sheets on the floor of her bedroom closet but she knew her parents would start asking questions if they walked into a sheetless guest room. She would just have to stall them until Maggie arrived.
Her parents walked into her apartment and immediately engulfed her in their hugs and exclamations of how much they missed her and how happy they were to see her again. Jane let them fawn over her for a few minutes then broke free from their embrace.
“Make yourselves comfortable on the patio, I’m going to take your bags to your room. There’s scotch in the cupboard and chilled Pinot Grigio in the fridge.”
Jane breathed a sigh of relief as her parents actually did what she had asked. Her phone beeped in her pocket and she quickly retrieved it.
“I’m outside with the sheets,” Maggie’s text read.
“How’s your throwing arm?” Jane responded, popping her head out the guest room window which looked out over the front of the building.
Maggie looked up and saw that Jane was serious. “Here goes nothing!” she whisper yelled up at Jane. Maggie heaved the package up as hard as she could. Shockingly, Jane was able to lean far enough out the window to catch them on the first try.
Maggie laughed at their ridiculousness then waved before walking away.
“Text me later,” she messaged Jane.
“Thank you for the Homesense bed sheets!” Jane texted back with several cry laughing emoji.
About the Author – Abiola Regan
Abiola Regan is an emerging writer who enjoys exploring relationship dynamics between individuals as well as the relationship with one’s self. Her academic background in psychology and love of pop culture are evident in her storytelling. Abiola is also a proud member of Hufflepuff House.
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**This story by Abiola Regan received an honorable mention in the 2019 Flash Fiction and Nonfiction Contest.
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