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Linda went ahead and washed the rags. When they were done, she carried the trash bag out the front door and onto the driveway.
On my way. A text from Blake read.
She supposed her only hope was to, somehow, find the cigarette butt, or any cigarette butt, in the dark with only a porchlight to see by somewhere on three acres of property where nobody smoked. She had no idea how this was going to work out.
Focusing on one thing at a time, she opened the lid on the trash can and a face inside it said to her, “Surprise.”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” was Linda’s appropriate response as she slammed the lid down hard onto someone’s head and then instinctively kicked the can as hard as she could with her boot, sending it toppling over. She ran a few yards away and then turned to see what was crawling out of the can.
She saw a thin figure propped up on its elbows halfway out of the can and a single dreadlock bobbing around on its head.
“Fairy-“ Linda interrupted herself. Screaming at the top of her lungs had not caused her embarrassment, but before she spoke her next two words she scanned her surroundings very carefully for any ears that might be listening. “Fairy godmother?” she whispered, not knowing what else to call the woman.
“Help me pick the can back up.”
Linda, upon hearing her voice and knowing for sure who it was, returned to the can.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ll just crawl down inside and you pick the can up, otherwise I’ll never get back in here.”
The old woman crawled into the can so that her weight was at the bottom. “Okay... but do you need to be...” The woman remained crouched in the can, silent. There was garbage in the can too. Linda didn’t bother questioning it and went ahead and lifted the can up with the lid open.
Once the old woman was comfortable inside the can, tucked down inside out of sight, an excited smile appeared on her face. “I brought you something.”
“How do you know where I live? Did you go through my mail?”
“Just look at what I brought you!”
For part of a split second, Linda entertained a brief hope that the woman would have something exciting to offer her, but it was quickly lost. The old woman slowly raised a plastic bag filled with something that was probably aluminum cans and held it out to her, very proud of what she was offering.
“I don’t need those, thanks.”
“You don’t even know what’s in it.”
“I’m pretty sure I know.”
“Just open it.”
Reluctantly, Linda took the bag and opened it. It was full of aluminum cans.
“Oh... good.”
“They’re not yours, they’re from your neighbors.”
"Even better," Linda said with dry, disappointed sarcasm, wondering if she herself had lost her mind.
“The one with the cinders.”
“The cinders?” Linda asked, and just then noticed a particular smell coming from inside the bag. She saw, on the rim of one of the beer cans, a small trail of black ash. Setting the other cans on the ground, she removed the can with the ash and shook it. A crushed cigarette butt popped out and she caught it in her hand and held it up in the porch light to see it better.
Quickly, she hid the butt in her hand and turned to make sure no one had seen it.
“This is perfect! How did you have any idea I need this? Why did you come here?”
“Haven’t I answered that? Why don’t you just go inside and finish getting ready.”
Linda didn’t know what to say. She didn’t have a lot of time however, and decided to just go with it.
“Okay but...” She still had the bag of trash from the house she was supposed to take out, “I need to put this in there.”
“Yeah,” the woman said as if that was a given. She held her arms out to receive the bag of garbage.
Linda reluctantly handed it to her, confused, but somehow still compliant as usual with the strange woman.
“Okay, go,” the old woman said as she shrank down into the can, holding the garbage.
"Are you...?" She watched as the old woman struggled to close the lid on herself, and then did. "Okay," Linda said.
When Linda re-entered the house, she behaved as if nothing was out of the ordinary. After a few minutes, a truck pulled up out front and Blake, like a gentleman, got out and walked up to the door and knocked.
As Linda approached the door to answer it, Emily and Caroline looked desperately to their mother to put a stop to it. She motioned to them to stay out of it.
"Linda," her stepmother said firmly, "do not open that door." Linda turned around with her hand on the handle. "Did you forget something?" her stepmother asked, her two sisters smiling delightfully.
"No, I don't think so," Linda said innocently.
“Let me remind you then. Before you leave, I still need you to find that cigarette butt on the front lawn.”
“Oh, I did. I put it in the dish outside your door just like you said.”
Furious, her stepmother kept her cool and responded. "You didn't mention it."
“Oh. I must have forgotten.”
Linda turned the knob and opened the door, hiding a cheeky smile from her stepfamily.
“LINDA!” her stepmother shrieked, shaking the house again and starling Blake half to death, who was standing on the other side of the open door.
Linda turned around to see what she had to say. Seeing Blake, her stepmother’s demeanor became very pleasant again. “Be home before midnight. I would hate to stay up all night worrying about you,” she said insincerely, and then disappeared down the hall.
At the door stood Blake, wearing nice boots and a clean hat and holding a handful of wildflowers, smiling. He saw the two fuming stepsisters in the hall.
“Everything alright?” he asked.
“Let’s go,” she said and walked past him, leaving him smiling at her two sisters.
“Wow, how old are you? Like thirty?” Emily asked.
Blake, offended, answered, "I'm twenty-seven."
Caroline looked at the makeshift bouquet in his hand. “Did you get those off the ground or something?” she asked.
“Where else would I get wildflowers?” Blake responded and turned to follow Linda up the driveway.
Furious, Caroline slammed the front door.