The Missing Sock

"Wash day, how I hate wash day. First, you spend time in the washer, spinning around in soapy water, almost drowning, and then you get thrown into the dryer and tossed around and blasted by that awful heat.

After that comes the worst part, at least for me, it's the worst part, since I am a sock, just a white sock, and you never know who you will be paired up with for the next week. I hate being paired with Fred, as all Fred does is talk nonsense 24-7. That guy never shuts up."

"Well, here I am in the laundry basket, just out of the dryer, waiting to see who I get paired up with this week. At least today, I am on top of the pile and have a view."

"Oh shit, I am starting to slip. It's too bad I don't have any hands, or I would grab onto something. Too late, here I go; I am falling from the basket onto the floor. Damn, I am getting too old for this. That fall hurt. I'm not sure if I will need any stitches."

"That's just great; now I have to sit on the floor and wait for Pete to return and find me. How long will I have to wait here? I will now be the last to be paired up with someone today. I don't know how this day could get any worse."

"I might have spoken too soon, as here comes Rover, our dog. Please don't come near me, as I don't want to get your hair on me. Just my luck, here comes Rover as he sees me. And now he picks me up with his slobbering mouth. Yuck, now I will need another wash."

"Where are you taking me Rover? And Rover, washing your mouth out would help, as it stinks in here."

"Okay, now where am I? Rover dropped me off, but it is dark here, and I can't see anything. Hello, is anyone there?"

"Who said that?" said a female voice

"I said that; I am Steve, one of Pete's socks."

"Oh, Hi Steve, I am Angela."

"Hi Angela, I know you. You are one of Shirley's pink socks. We haven't seen you for a few days and wonder what happened to you. Your twin Jessica has missed you."

"I know Rover kidnapped me, and I don't know how long I have been here."

"Where are we, Angela?"

"We are in Rover's dog house. Unfortunately, it is rare to have someone other than Rover come in here."

"So, you are saying we could be stuck here for a long time."

"Yes, I don't know how long it will be before we get rescued."

"Well, it is better to be stuck here with a pretty sock like you instead of an annoying talker like Fred."

"Oh yes, Fred the talker, even us girls know about Fred. Even though you boys are in a different drawer, we can sometimes hear Fred talking nonsense. Socks like Fred make me happy I am a twin and never have to worry about who I will be paired with each week."

"I envy you, Angela, as I always dread who I will be paired with. I am sorry for what happened to you, but I am glad you are here with me, as I wouldn't want to be alone here with Rover."

"I am glad you are here with me now, too. At least I have someone to talk to. Rover is not much of a talker. When I try to speak to him, all he does is slobber all over me."

"Yuck, I hate how Rover is such a slobbering dog. I hate it when Rover comes up and licks Pete's socks. I am usually happy when he chooses to drool over the other foot instead of the foot I am on. I can't think of anything worse that can happen to me."

"I don't know if I should tell you this, but the other day, I heard Shirley talking to Pete, and she told him she was pregnant."

"Oh no! You are telling me there will be a baby joining the family. A smelly, messy, mumbling baby living with us. I always hated wash day, but now it is going to be a lot worse being stuck with messy baby clothes."

"Yes, us girls were discussing how things will change once the baby arrives. The baby will become the number one priority for Shirley and Pete, and I have heard stories that baby clothes are very snobbish as they feel they are better than everyone else."

"Oh great! Baby clothes that think they are better than the more mature and wiser adult clothes. I know there has always been this rivalry between women's and men's clothing, but once the baby arrives, we will need to team up to ensure the baby's clothes know that they are not superior to us."

"I agree with you. We need to show the new kids on the block who is in charge here."

"If we were to accidentally, on purpose, throw a few of the baby's clothes onto the floor where Rover could find them, that should put them in their proper place."

"Great idea! Spending the last few days here with Rover taught me a lesson."

"It is settled then; we have a plan to deal with the baby's clothes once they arrive. We just need to figure out how to escape from Rover's dog house."

"Yeah, how are we going to get out of here? Oh oh! I hear someone returning. It is probably Rover; sorry to say this, but I hope he is tired of me and wants to drool over the new guy."

"That's okay; I understand how you feel."

Just then, the cover to Rover's dog house started to lift, and then both Angela and Steve could see that it wasn't Rover but was Pete. Pete looked inside and saw Angela and Steve.

"Well, here's my missing sock, and look, that is Shirley's pink sock that she was missing. Rover, did you steal both of these socks?" Says Pete as he looks back to Rover, who only shrugs his shoulders.

Pete grabs Angela and Steve, smells both, and says, "I think these both need to be washed." So he takes them to the empty laundry basket and throws them in.

"Well, we have been rescued." Says Angela

"Yep, and since we need to be rewashed, we get to spend the next week in the laundry basket without having to be put on those stinky feet." Says Steve

"Hopefully, Rover doesn't come back here looking for us?"

"Don't worry, if Rover returns, I will protect you from him."

"Oh, my hero, thanks."

"No problem, now let's start planning how we will tell everyone our plan on how to deal with the new baby and her entourage of pretentious clothes."