Clyde and Ruth Revisited

The denouement of the Clyde and Ruth saga has finally arrived!

Quite a while back I asked our apartment management about the two dead flies in our dining room that no staff in any capacity seemed to be interested in addressing. I joked that they’d been there so long I’d given them names.

I was assured that something would be done, but nothing was, despite some little signs I helpfully placed next to the dearly departed pointing out which one was “Clyde” and which was “Ruth.”

That was two weeks ago. We had the next monthly community meeting with management yesterday, and I waited till the end to approach the building manager privately.

“Remember those two flies I told you about last month?”

She gasped. “You mean they’re still there!?”

I gestured to the two flies on the windowsill behind me, then took a conciliatory tone. “I believe I have had enough fun at your expense, so I—”

“I will take care of it,” she interrupted.

“—so I have brought down a vacuum and I will—”

“No,” she interjected firmly. “I will take care of it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I acquiesced.

About an hour later I looked into the dining hall to see one of my favorite servers scrubbing down all the windowsills like her life depended on it, and no trace of Clyde or Ruth remained.

Those windowsills gleamed when she was done. I made sure to tell both the building manager and dining hall manager how impressed I was.

I will apologize to her the next time I see her.