Day One Hundred Seventy-Two: "The Staircase" by Connie Mae Fowler

Pride.

A young black woman cleans house and spends most of her time and effort polishing a wooden staircase. Interestingly, while a huge source of pride for her, the act of cleaning offers this young woman a way to engage with those around her in a way they are unaware. She hears their stories, their secrets, and she carries with her their fear and their hate and their lies but she wipes it all away. She is there to do that as much as to actually dust the wood itself.

This was a lovely story set in the South with language and dialogue to match. I thought it was a very authentic read.