Princess of St. Vincent

Chapter 10

Vada had never done her own laundry.

Vada had never done any laundry- at all. Should I repeat it? It's true. She'd never had the need, she never even really been in a laundry room except to collect something from a basket that she was too impatient to get back. She was completely ignorant of what detergent to use, when to put in fabric softener, she didn't know if you sorted colors from darks, delicates from cotton or what temperature she should be using. She was so ignorant of domestic work that she didn't even know that certain things didn't go in the wash but were mean to be done by hand.

So she looked it up- she made notes and she double checked everything before grabbing her basket and heading down to the laundry room on Sunday morning. She knew that as they girls all had the same days off that Sunday would be the to go laundry day, but she also knew that by getting there before noon, she would beat the crowd. 

"Hi." Vada said politely, finding herself with Gina- the short but beautiful redhead who had been the opening dancer most of the week. 

Gina was sitting on the folding table, her legs extended and a magazine in her hands as she chewed gum. 

"hey." She said, without looking up. 

Vada moved towards an empty washer and set out her things, including her notebook. She opened it to the folded page and began to read, ensuring that everything was in order, then she began to toss her colors into the machine.

"What are you doing?" Gina asked, noting how she kept reading from the notebook. Vada turned. 

"Just double checking." She said, looking back.

"Double checking?" Gina asked, tossing her magazine and slipping off the table. 

"The instructions." Vada muttered, concentrated on what she was doing and not really paying attention. 

"For laundry?" Gina asked, moving closer and looking over her shoulder. Vada suddenly realized she had made a stupid mistake. 

"Yeah- I can be real ditzy and so I write everything down." Vada said, upset with herself. 

"I'm guessing your mom did most of the laundry at your house." Gina said, glancing towards her basket.

"Yes." Vada replied, turning red. "It's embarrassing but yes." 

Vada tried not to laugh at the thought of her mother doing laundry. Nora was not the type of woman to get caught up in housework although she did like to cook and always demanded her children clean up after themselves. 

"La Perla?" Gina said, lifting up a rather nice bra at the top. Vada smiled. 

"It's my favorite." Vada said, she was very fond of the brand. 

"I've never heard of it." Gina said, inspecting it. "But it's so nice." 

"They're comfortable too." Vada said, closing the washer. Gina tossed it back into her laundry basket. 

"I would probably suggest you wash those on the delicate cycle." Gina said with a smile. 

"Thanks. I was wondering if that's what delicates referred to." Vada said, jotting it down in her notebook. 

Gina looked at Vada for a second, noting how clear her handwriting was, the way she always had perfect posture, or the fact that she sometimes wore that bracelet that seemed a bit pricey. 

"Where you from?" Gina asked, leaning against the folding table. 

"New York." Vada said, turning to face her. "you?"