Closet Confidential by Mary Jane Maffini Read Free Book Online Page A

I’ve adjusted to it. Anyway, this is the real me. Sort of normal.”
    “I got your name from Rose Skipowski. She was a pal of my mom’s, and she speaks so highly of you. She said you solved the second biggest problem of her life.”
    “Rose is a good friend. Makes great cookies, too.”
    “Oh boy, that reminds me. I whipped up some ice tea for you and lemon squares, too. Please come in and have a seat.”
    I would have liked to take a peek at Wendy’s kitchen. Sometimes you get an idea of how the household is run by checking that, but I am well aware of the etiquette of waiting until asked. People need to keep their dignity when allowing someone like me to see into their darkest organizational problems. It also pays to see their living rooms. Wendy’s was a celebration of her family. A wedding picture of a much younger Wendy and a huge grinning groom sat on the mantel. It shared space with larger framed photos of three boys who took after their father: big lads with oversize grins. All of the photos seemed to involve sporting events or graduations.
    The coffee table held magazines: Woman’s Day , National Geographic , and Sports Illustrated.
    Wendy was back in a flash with a glistening pitcher of ice tea and lemon squares that looked like they’d melt in my mouth.
    “I am so nervous,” she said, putting the plate of lemon squares on the Formica coffee table. “This is a big deal for me.”
    “Please don’t be worried.”
    “I know I’m going to feel pretty goofy when such an organized person sees the state of my closets.”
    “If it’s any consolation, I could no more make lemon squares like these than I could fly.”
    “They’re as easy as pie.”
    “I can’t make pie, either, although I could eat one all by myself.”
    Wendy passed me a napkin with the image of a golden retriever. I had a feeling there would be more retriever icons around the place. I wasted no time in testing the lemon squares. Perfect. The ice tea was perfect, too. I made a bet with myself that Wendy was a woman with firm priorities and that she herself came well down the list of those priorities.
    I said, “These are fabulous, so tangy.”
    “One other thing that’s kind of embarrassing,” Wendy said.
    Of course, I’d popped my second lemon square and my mouth was full. I lifted my eyebrows to indicate that she should go on.
    “I, um, don’t have a lot of money for this project.”
    I nodded.
    “Money is tight because we have three boys in college.”
    This time I managed to say, “Expensive time of life.”
    “They all work part-time during the term, and Seth is able to live at home, but Aaron and Jason are at Cornell. Jason has a scholarship, but we’re scrimping. I’m not complaining. I think it’s the best investment we could ever make, and our boys deserve everything we can do for them.”
    I nodded again. Nodding is a good way to keep the conversation going.
    Wendy continued. “What I’m trying to say is that my hubby and the boys chipped in to give me a hundred dollars and told me to get as much closet advice as I could for that. Is that nuts?”
    “Not at all.”
    “I realize now that I should have told you this before. You probably charge that much to look at a place.”
    “Well, I sure won’t be charging you for the time and opportunity to eat these fabulous squares. But let me have a look at what we’re dealing with, and I’ll give you the best value I can. You may have to do some of the groundwork yourself, but we’ll make that one hundred dollars go as far as we can.”
    “Thank you! I’ll throw in the recipe for the squares, if that helps.”
    “Sure does.” Maybe I could talk Sally into making them.
    I smiled and raised an eyebrow at Wendy. “Let’s have a look. If I stay here any longer, I might even eat the plate those squares came on.”
    “All right,” she said, “but I’ll be holding my breath.”
    The bungalow had three bedrooms, and it must have been bursting when those boys were