KN, p. 121 “Is that a body behind the bookcase?”

 

I don’t often get rattled by stuff going on in the house. Sheila and I share the upkeep duties and over the years, we’ve settled into a routine about our likes and dislikes with the household chores. I take care of the cars and painting and she chooses the new furniture and carpeting when something needs replacing.  We take turns on the things that annoy us both – like cleaning the garbage cans. I’d rather just buy a new one when the outside can starts to stink like a dead body, but I know that’s the coward’s way out.

 

But, this week? I am not happy. My office needs a facelift and I’ve been putting it off for longer than I care to admit. Sheila chose the new carpet and it’s going to look great with the furniture in here. Thing is…I’m the one who does the painting, and I just don’t want to.

 

The plan always is: paint the walls before laying the carpet. That means I have to empty the space before painting. Take down the travel photos, move the bookcase and other furniture, box up the books and supplies, put away the computer, take apart the electronics, lay down the newspapers. The painting part is fine – it’s the getting-ready-to-paint part I hate. After all, there might be a body behind the bookcase.

 

Maybe the 8 year old paint really will be okay for another few months.

 

Maybe the 15 year old rug really isn’t that ratty looking.

 

Right.

 

Sheila is rolling her eyes.

 

Sigh…

 

Sheila just plopped paintbrushes and a paint tray on the desk. She’s not worried about the body.

 

I rolled the handcart out of the garage and noticed the store label – the one that tells the model number.  It said “Model 185.” Does that mean it can handle a 185 pound body? Hmm… Good to know just in case I need to move something heavy.

 

*Photos by Patti Phillips

*Thanks to author Rebecca Jeanne Antley for giving me the idea for the title.  I wonder if she’s ever had a body behind one of her bookcases…  🙂

 

 

 

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6 thoughts on “KN, p. 121 “Is that a body behind the bookcase?””

  1. It’s always the prep work that takes the most time and is the least fulfilling. However, you can’t ignore it. Ever walk into a room and notice that the paint was slapdashed onto the light switch covers or splattered on the baseboards? As for the body, I bet there are plenty of those, metaphorically speaking, on your bookshelves and in your filing cabinet. Keep ’em coming – we love Kerrian!

    1. Hi Nanci! I wonder if there is a neighborhood young person that Kerrian could hire – just to do the prep work… 😉
      As for the bodies… there may be one (or two) under the deck. Have to check into that…

  2. None behind the bookshelves, but I lived in a house that had this “half walls” that were filled with dirt that then stretched to the main walls of the outside of the house. They says it’s done for moisture, I maintain it was the perfect place to hide bodies. No that I ever did or anything, 😉

    1. LOLOL!
      Hi Lisa,
      Last season on “Hawaii 5-0,” a show featured bodies in the walls, found when somebody started renovating. The bodies had been there for a very long time. Ya never know! 😉

  3. Patti, I share your feelings about painting. Getting ready is worse than the painting. I need to do it too–my office looks like the setting for a horror movie.
    Maybe you can think up a new murder plot while you work. Seems appropriate.
    Post pictures when yours is done, especially of the body. 🙂

    1. Ellis, maybe you could do a before-and-after of your office right around Halloween. 😉
      As for mine, I’m keeping the camera close at hand. lol

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