nearly a creature of habit

[launderedlace]

Some more historical observations, with a spot of speculation

For a while, I shared an office with J, who was a regular handkerchief user; also in the office was H, who I only spotted using a handkerchief on two occasions

J's go-to was that classic of ladies' handkerchiefs: all-white, with embroidered pink flowers in one corner; she most likely had a set of them. I believe she began each day with a fresh handkerchief: although I never saw her unfold a tidily-ironed one, the appearance on most occasions was almost clean, albeit crumpled, as she pulled it from her sleeve. There would be a brief, somewhat snotty, blow; a cursory wipe, then the handkerchief would be pushed back out of view 

Before going to two observations of J that were different from the norm, let me mention H. For each of those two instances when I saw her use a handkerchief, the performance began with her pulling open neatly-laundered folds. One instance featured a slightly larger than average handkerchief, mostly white with a deep pink printed border: when she'd fully opened her immaculate cotton square, H carefully pinched and wiped her nose with it before crumpling it into her pocket

Back to J: the only time I witnessed her using a handkerchief not featuring embroidered flowers, she didn't blow into it either. Intriguingly, it was identical to H's: white with a wide pink border, but particularly crumpled with perhaps more of a hint of grubbiness than was usual for J. Strangely, J used this handkerchief in almost the same way as H: pushing the fabric into her nostrils, but fairly forcefully, just staying on the acceptable side of nose picking. Could it be the same handkerchief, borrowed, and she felt compelled to use it in a style resembling that of H?!

For my other non-standard observation of J, she flourished a handkerchief which was surely just one discrete use removed from pristineness: it was minimally crumpled, and its white fabric sparkled. Most noticeable, though, were its decorarative features: all four sides were embellished with variously-coloured embroidered flowers; at intervals along each edge were inserts of pretty lace. All this seemed not to matter to J: in a perfunctory manner, the gurgling blow she then inflicted into her loveliest handkerchief was perhaps the snottiest I ever heard from her! 

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by launderedlace

[Hankysneeze]

Beautifully described