Relieving boredom

One ~

Suzanne flipped though the channels, surfing at an alarming speed, taking in exactly what was on in the half second it flashed on the screen. This was a self defense move. If the TV landed on The Siege for more than one second, Tom would pounce and it would be another evening of Bruce Willis.

Not that there was anything wrong with Bruce. Suzanne loved Hudson Hawk . But after the hundredth time this month, even she could recite The Siege line for line. And really, it was such a guy flick.

The screen flashed black and white before flipping on to something animated. Suzanne halted her mad race upward on the channel search and backtracked. Nick at 'Nite, Mr. Ed . Excellent. She hadn't seen Mr. Ed since she was 13. It was rare for the cable network to show the black and white shows. At some point, classic TV had become 70's TV. In Suzanne's opinion, this was a huge waste of airtime. The only classics that ever made it to the reruns it seemed where Lucy and Beaver. She hated Beaver. Beaver was a wimp.

"Why don't they ever play the reruns of Patty Duke or Donna Reed?" Suzanne wondered out loud.

"Who’s Patty Duke?" Tom asked as he logged onto the computer to avoid the black and white show. Tom had no use for "The Classics".

"She was a 60's actress. She played a twin I think - or something like that. I just remember that I really liked the show."

"You're not old enough to have watched that show." Tom answered absently. He was already deep into the jungles of the latest war game.

"I used to watch Nick at 'Night all the time when I was a kid." Suzanne protested.

"Come on Wilbur" the horse on the screen pleaded. Suzanne smiled absently at the familiar voice, but her mind wandered.

"Do you think that those T.V. wives were representative of the era?" she asked Tom.

"Which wives? Which era? What are you talking about?" Tom turned to look at her, brow furrowed.

"You know, Donna Reed, Mrs. Cleaver. Those wives. Do you think that's what wives were really like?"

"Yeah, right. And father actually does know best" he quipped. "Face it babe, no one is that perfect. Those shows set impossible standards of an idealistic life that never actually existed." Tom promptly turned back to the battle at hand.

"That's why I love you. You have such a clear grasp on reality." Flipping the TV off, she wandered over to the radio, turned it on and headed into the kitchen.

Tom glanced up briefly. "Where ya goin?"

"I'm going to do those dishes. They're getting out of hand again" Suzanne said, disappearing into the kitchen.

"I thought we agreed that I'd do them in the morning since I don't work until two." Tom had to shout to be heard over the running water.

"I know, but I'm bored, so I thought I'd tackle them tonight. It's always so much nicer to wake up to a clean kitchen" Suzanne yelled back.

Tom shrugged and went back to the game.

Two~

The water continued to run as Suzanne ran the soap dispenser attached to a sponge over the dishes. This was her version of doing dishes. The apartment she and Tom were renting didn’t have a dishwasher and rather than fill up the sink with soapy water, well, this was just easier. It got the dishes just as clean as soaking them in a sink of water. And your fingers didn’t turn all prunie this way. In theory, the dishes shouldn’t stack up as badly either since washing was just a matter of turning on the water and grabbing the sponge.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t always the case. Especially on nights when Suzanne went to the effort of making a real meal – like spaghetti. Sure it was from a jar, but that was two pans - one for the noodles, one for the sauce; a frying pan for the hamburger and a strainer. Plus the plates. At least she didn’t have to deal with a cookie sheet for the garlic bread. That toaster oven was a real life saver! But spaghetti was so messy. And such a pain to wash off after it’s sat on a plate or in a pan all night. She would know, she’d done it often enough.

Tom’s hands slid around her waist and she gave a little yelp.

When had he snuck in? Suzanne wondered, forgetting her disgust at the grease from the frying pan.

His hands headed north and he lowered his mouth to the back of her neck.

“Mmmmmmm” Suzanne purred. She reached out and turned off the water with one hand while the other reached up to cup the back of Tom’s head and make sure he didn’t quit what he was doing.

“I know of a much better way to alleviate your boredom” Tom murmured in her ear.

“I just bet you do”. A wicked grin pulled at the corners of her mouth. Dishes could defiantly wait. She grabbed his hand to pull him to the bedroom, but he resisted.

“Uh-uh” he said shaking his head. “I want you right here, right now.”

Suzanne looked at the kitchen floor. It looked awfully hard and uncomfortable. “Here?” she asked incredulously pointing at the floor.

“No. Standing.”

“But I’m too short” she protested.

“I don’t think so.” A hand slid around to her backside. Had to watch those hands. “Please. Can we just try?” The other hand slid under the waist of her shorts and headed south. “If your right we can go into the bedroom.”

He looked so sweet and besides, his hands had been pretty busy. He lowered his head for a kiss and she caved. All for the best as it turned out. Guess she wasn’t too short to do it standing after all. Hmmmmmm.