Routine Counting

She wakes at 6.00am every morning to the same radio station, which plays on a retro sixties radio, angled so precisely, that it is the first thing she opens her eyes to in the morning. She lies on her back listening to the improvised spiel of the DJ, chuckling quietly to herself, at the jokes and the atrociously staged phone conversation he is having with a supposedly random radio listener. After ten minutes she gets out of bed on the right side. Getting out the wrong side isn't an option. It did happen once long ago and she is still reeling from the shock. She taps the snooze button six times exactly, to ensure the radio is switched off.Time is always measured in periods of ten multiplied into six, six ten second periods in one minute, six ten minute periods in one hour.

Wearing only her knickers she makes the journey down the stairs to the bathroom, one step at a time and not one step beyond. No one in the house ever gets up before her, there is a mutual agreement that she always goes first. Leaving the bathroom door open, not liking to touch the handle, she relieves her bladder. Almost like a card game, a number one is worth three wipes and one flush, whilst a number two requires three wraps, nine wipes and three flushes. It's all about division and balance anything else leads to disharmony, which in turn leads to chaos. Not all card players are gamblers, some card players can't risk to lose so they play the safe game, the game of numbers.

The right hand tap of her wash basin is marked with a blue disk embossed with a capital C, it provides hot water, the left hand tap is marked with a red disk and embossed with a capital H, it provides cold water. It's been that way since the plumbers fitted the new bathroom suite. She wished she had noticed this before they had finished the job, because it's too late to change now. She turns the hot tap, to run the cold water first, two turns exactly, before cupping her right hand and taking six sips of water. She runs the tooth brush under the cold water and places one squeeze of toothpaste on to the brush before cleaning her teeth. The dentist she visited as a child had taught her how best to brush her teeth. 'You must brush for five minutes morning and evening' he had said, 'in circular motions front, sides and back, for at least 5 minutes' or three full circuits of the teeth.

Routinely before going to bed each evening she places her facewash back on the shelf to the right of the wash basin, along with her other wash basin products. This morning however, her facewash is still by the side of the bath, amongst her bath products. She hesitates, her hand wavering above the rim of the wash basin, before taking the facewash and running it repeatedly under the hot tap, till any trace of leaking soap from the lid or down the plastic side of the bottle has been washed away. Then placing the face wash on the shelf above the basin, she stands still for a few moments as her finger taps against her bare thigh ten times. With a small sigh she then reaches for the facewash and squeezes one measure of the soap into her left hand, before washing her face in six circular hand movements, rinsing twice with hot water and twice with cold water. She reaches for the clean towel she placed on the radiator the night before, and checks that it hasn't been used overnight. It's better to get another clean towel than have to wash her face again, so nowadays she always checks it is clean before drying her face.

On the way back upstairs to the bedroom she fills the kettle up with fresh water and flicks the power button on, checks that her mug is clean - which it is today - and places a tea bag in it. However, at the stairs she turns uncertainly, before retracing her steps to the kitchen to ensure that she has indeed switched the kettle on. Once upstairs she gets dressed in clean clothes she prepared the night before and placed on a chair making sure they didn't trail on the floor. Whilst changing, her partner has got out of bed and gone downstairs, the light patter of her son's voice follows him, chatting about something he watched on television the night before. She waits five minutes before following them downstairs. By this time her partner is in the bathroom and her son has made his cereal and is watching cartoons as he eats. She pops her head round the lounge door and says hello to her son, before going to the kitchen. She switches the kettle on and boils the water again, checking her mug is definately clean before finishing making her tea.

Tea in hand she sits at the dining room table smoking a cigarette, keeping one eye on the clock. Her partner and son join her as she finishes drinking, bantering with each other loudly about Manchester's performance against Arsenal the night before, her partners yorkshire accent contrasts with her son's london accent, her son vocally denigrating his beloved Manchester in favour of Arsenal who won the match, much to her partners disgust. She interupts with a smile for her partner, as she checks that her son is washed, dressed, fed and wearing clean shoes, before asking him to get his coat on ready to go. Her partner brushes a kiss against her lips and with a parting hug leaves to catch his tube train. Before leaving the house with her son she checks that everything is turned off and the windows closed, first, upstairs then downstairs, before rejoining her son at the door. Half way down the drive her son stops and waits as she returns to the house to double-check that everything is switched off and all the windows closed. She locks the door and turns to face her waiting son, who slips his hand lovingly into hers as she smiles. 'All done'.

After dropping her son off at the childminders she takes a leisurely stroll back past the house and down to to the tube station, popping just once into the house to check that everything is switched off and all the windows closed. She glances at the clock as she leaves the house once more, she's running on time. She stands in her usual spot on the platform, as her tube train pulls into the station. She knows exactly where to stand so that as the doors open she is opposite the left hand tube door. From this door, her regular seat is easily accessible. As the 7.00 am tube train grinds to a halt she see's someone else is sitting in her seat. She takes a step back, to allow the passengers behind her on to the tube train. It doesn't matter she'll wait for the next one, there is one every ten minutes on this line, thats six trains she can choose from in one hour. The earliest gets her to work at 8.00am the latest at 9.00am. She can count on the fact that she is always on time for work.