The Girl is happy, because today, she is doing laundry. It is strange how she finds such simple a task so comforting. She imagines it is the immediate gratification. So many things in her life had to be abandoned, left unfinished. Or else when finished abandoned her, and she doesn't know what came of them. Or turned out to be mistakes. She can see the good of doing laundry. The hamper is full and as she works it empties. She enjoys the heartbeat of the washer, the warmth of the dry clothes, the sense of accomplishment.

Yesterday she visited Samuel, her youngest brother, fresh from his latest round of incarceration. They laid on a picnic table and ate Girl Scout cookies. He is very sly and witty. Her baby brother makes her laugh. She has never seen in him the violence that sent him to jail.

(Well, that isn't true. Once she saw him try to kick someone to death. She doesn't remember the person's name, one of the many random guys their sister Vaeda has screwed. She also forgets his transgression: maybe he hit Vaeda; maybe he slighted Sam; maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who knows? She does remember that nothing much seemed to be going on. She and Sam and Vaeda were on the front porch, the two of them smoking. She was slouched in a chair, only half listening to her sister prattle on in her endless mania. It was hot. She didn't even look up when her sister paused, as a primer colored junk heap lumbered into the yard. It was The Idiot-Du-Jour. Vaeda's recent bad decision. Perhaps The Idiot said hi. She didn't look up. She was never polite to Vaeda's boyfriends. They weren't usually worth it and never stayed around for very long anyway. She might have been dozing..But Sam's, "FUCK YOU, MOTHER FUCKER!" caused her to open her eyes. How had things gone wrong so quickly? She sat up. Sam and The Idiot were squared off, chests puffed out, sizing one another up. "I'm not afraid of you, Sam" said The Idiot. She remembers thinking that was a mistake. Sam just lunged. None of that pussy shoving and pugilistic foreplay for him. Just BAM. The Idiot had 20 pounds on Sam, but Sam was all sinew and muscle. The Idiot hit the ground and Sam began kicking. The Girl can still hear the sound Sam's foot made when it crunched into The Idiot's face. He rolled over and the rest of the blows landed on his back and ass. She and Vaeda pulled Sam off. No easy task, since Vaeda weighed 103 pounds and The Girl was soft from a desk job. Sam finally exhausted his anger and Vaeda drove The Idiot home. No one discussed it that day or any other day. They had seen a lot of things in their lives and preferred to let things go whenever possible.)

Still, she loves Sam. Admires his gentle humor. And yesterday they ate a whole box of Girl Scout cookies. He told her about his dreams of finding work that pays well. He wants to buy a place that he and his little boy can live. It is a good and reasonable dream. The Girl is happy.