Cleaning the Refrigerator

One summer when I was eleven and my brother Mike was six, we were helping our father at his feed, seed, and farm supply store in the small central Texas community (population 640) about three miles from our farm. Occasionally we would have to stay at the store to wait on customers in case our father had to step out for one reason or another. He had recently bought a refrigerator for the store to stock vaccines and medicines for animals, but they did not take up very much space, and so he decided to stock cold drinks (soda water) as well, which was delivered by the same distributors who serviced Dooley’s Grocery Store across the street. This way, Mike and I would not have to go across the street to get a drink. Sometimes customers would buy sodas, but usually we drank them ourselves or our father gave them to customers.

In the summer, because it was particularly hot and there was no air conditioning, Mike and I would sometimes put Dr Pepper in the freezing compartment to make it chill down faster and get colder, but occasionally we would forget to check on it, and it would freeze and explode, causing quite a mess inside the refrigerator. On the day in question, our father noticed how messy the refrigerator was getting and said, “I have to go do some errands, and while I’m gone, I want you and Mike to go over to Dooley’s and buy some napkins—put it on our account—and clean out the inside of the refrigerator.”

I said, “Okay,” and Daddy left. I didn’t ask any questions because I didn’t want any more specific instructions than what he had already given to me. I realized that this was going to be an opportunity for me to shop unchaperoned, and I was very excited about this prospect.

After Daddy left, I took Mike across the street to Dooley’s and went straight to the aisle where the Kotex napkins were. I had been curious about these ever since I had learned to read, and Mother would never buy them for me—usually giving me the excuse that they were too expensive. I was intrigued by the “feminine napkins” description on the box, which I thought sounded pretty, and I was anxious to find out what pretty, expensive napkins looked like, especially since I couldn’t see through the box. I picked up a box of Kotex and took it to the counter and told Mr. Dooley to put it on our account. Mr. Dooley said, “Are you sure you want to buy these?”

I replied, “Yes, my father told me to get them.” So, Mr. Dooley put the package on our account, bagged it for us, and Mike and I took it across the street back to the feed store to open it up and begin cleaning the Dr Pepper off the refrigerator.

I very excitedly opened up the box and was rather amazed to find inside large paper packages that also had to be opened. When we opened up the paper package, I said to Mike, “This doesn’t look like a napkin to me, and I don’t think it’s very pretty. I wonder how we’re supposed to use them at the table.” I was also wondering what type of tablecloth one would use with it and what kinds of dishes. Mike was of course equally perplexed. We tried to open them up further to find out how they turned into dinner napkins, but we only succeeded in making a mess.

Since the napkins did not look attractive for dinner use to me, I did not mind using them for the cleaning project. I knew they were going to work well, because the package said they were “super-absorbent” although I had usually associated that quality with paper towels. Daddy could have told me to buy paper towels, but since he specifically said “napkins” it seemed like I had made the right choice. Mike and I got a bucket of water with a bit of detergent to use to dip the Kotex in and then started to wipe the Dr Pepper off the sides of the refrigerator walls.

After about 30 minutes or so, we had gone through quite a few of the napkins, which we piled up soaked with Dr Pepper beside the refrigerator. About this time our father came back, saw the pile of napkins, and became almost speechless for a moment. He stuttered for a bit and then started to ask, “Why did you buy this? I told you to buy napkins!”

I pointed to the box, and said, “It says ‘napkins’ right here! And these are super-absorbent, even though they’re not very pretty.”

Daddy said, “Well, Mr. Dooley should not have sold these to you. You’re too young to buy these!” And then he made me swear not to tell anyone what had happened, although he did not explain why I was too young to buy napkins. He seemed rather agitated and nervous but never would explain what the real problem was. I couldn’t tell how much the cost upset him, but he didn’t mention that part of it, and so I didn’t either. I think he told my mother when he got back, but it was kept a deep dark secret, and I was not punished. After all, we did get the refrigerator clean.