Preparing to collect Maxie from the airport

There was eventually only one job left before leaving to collect her from the airport. I got out the vacuum cleaner, bucket and a broom to clean the bakkie. Water restrictions limited what I could do with the exterior, but I had no excuse for dirty seats.

She'd felt like a soulmate last Saturday, but a lot had happened in the few days before seeing her off, and a lifetime had dragged by since then. So:

While her three Xs might be only a trope, I took heart from them; a glimmer of hope.

But ungrounded expectation can prove a slippery slope, and I didn't want to be the dope

Left twisting in the wind; left dangling from a rope.

With nothing to do about that now, all that remained was to try to cope,

And do what I still could with my bucket sponge and soap.