It’s 19:55. In 5 minutes the guests will arrive.

A short story about vanity

The time is 7:55 pm. Last chance for a quick look in the mirror because the guests will be here in 5 minutes. Not everything on the table looks perfect but it is important to make sure that at least I look decent. And everything else will be arranged "live" in front of them. After all, live shows are trendy, and we keep telling ourselves that we have to be "authentic", to "be ourselves". I don't have time to put on make-up and I'm angry that I'm always leaving it for the last minute. I’ll go with just a little lipstick. Appearance - checked.

7:56 pm. Ah, if only I could put a "check" on the whole list of tasks for the preparation of this "guests’ event", which has been spinning in my head since early in the morning! But no, the roast is still in the oven, and I can only hope to win over a few more minutes with some appetizer before I have to cut the semi-raw meat with anxious movements. The salad is tasteless - I have an excuse for it: to keep it fresh, I will add salt at the last minute. There is much more left for the last moment: the dishes are on the table, but not distributed around it - and this will happen, of course, live in front of the guests. There are still untidy shoes in the hallway, which I will put away in the closet, when I rush to the front door to unlock it.

7.57 pm. I wander between the rooms just to find out how many other things I need to put in order. Right in the middle of the living room, literally next to the table, where I will invite the guests in just a few minutes, is my new vacuum cleaner, and next to it – its box. Freshly unpacked. It was delivered a few hours ago and I was able to turn it on for a quick spin. I promise myself on the next "course" through the living room to put it somewhere – whatever “somewhere" means.

7.58 pm. I realize I lost too much time, a whole minute in self-pity on the subject of why I always leave things for the last minute. Can I just turn off the lights so my dear guests don’t find me home and think that we agreed on today but we actually didn’t? It's raining outside - I hope they drive slower and arrive later than 8pm. Another minute lost in helplessness.

7:59 pm. The sound of the bell is piercing my ears. I hope I have sound hallucinations; it must be the stress. It rings again - everything is real. Well, how could they come so early! I'm making a last trip through the living room. Do you remember those moments in the movies when the actor, at the sight of an object, experiences shock? With each subsequent frame, the object comes closer and closer, and horror effect is amplified by a rhythmically repetitive sound, which with each subsequent frame becomes more and more penetrating. The sound in my case is real - the guests that keep on ringing. And the objects are the vacuum cleaner and the box, which stand peacefully next to the table, as if waiting for me to invite them to sit down. I sit on the couch; I need a minute to contemplate and reflect. The real guests are coming! Well, let them ring a few more times.

The vacuum cleaner is dressed in elegant green, exudes finesse and lightness. It stands in the center of the living room. If only it was delivered a day earlier! It would have certainly helped me clean faster. And I would not be in this stressful situation.

I hear the bell again. Another minute gone, and I am still sitting in the couch. I grab the new vacuum cleaner, then quickly put it on the docking station and move it to the corner, and the trash can start to empty automatically. Now I remembered: one of the reasons I chose the new Bespoke Jet from Samsung is that the so-called “All-in-One Clean Station” removes debris automatically and takes care of the charging. I don't have time for other thoughts. I run to the door.

8 pm. I open the door. Smiles, flowers, kind words. Everything is perfect. It was as if Maria and Ivan had forgotten that they had waited a whole minute in front of the door and rang the bell dozens of times.

8:01 pm. I welcome them into living room. The table is still messy. But in the center of the living room there is another surprise for me - the box from the vacuum cleaner is still in the middle. I hurry to move it like nothing is happening, but being all clumsy, I push the bowl of chips on the carpet (foresightedly prepared by me to save some time for preparing the perfect roast). Everybody loves chip. Not all around the carpet though.

8:02 pm. Chain of emotions: anger, apologies, laughter, vanity. I keep my cool and reach for the Bespoke Jet. Do you remember those moments when in a state of nervousness, you can't stop talking? Yeah, me too. And here I am, vacuuming the carpet and passionately explaining to Maria and Ivan what it won me over with: “Can you imagine - this is a multi-layer system that guarantees 99.999% air filtration when vacuuming. When the air is sucked in, the large dust particles are separated and then trapped in a filter with a metal mesh. Then the micro filter catches the fine dust particles, and finally the fine dust filter captures the micro powder that can otherwise be easily dispersed.” I feel like the heroine of a TV commercial. I notice there is chips on the chairs too. I lift the vacuum cleaner up to clean them. Maria shyly steps back, and Ivan reaches out to help me. "Don't worry," I continue, "It's very light." Suitable for cleaning furniture, walls, curtains, blinds. It also has a digital display that signals when the battery is low.”

I vacuum and wonder what I'm missing. Yes, I don't like stumbling upon cables, Bespoke Jet is wireless. At one point I realize that I vacuum so easily that I completely forgot that I have guests. I'm stopping, it’s done. In fact, it's only been a few minutes.

8:05 pm: We are at the table, laughing. Even the roast is ready. The chips still won me some time, albeit in an unexpected way. The vacuum cleaner is in the center of the living room again. And in the spotlight. And at the same time, it does not intrude, radiates lightness - 210 watts of power, stored in only 2.5 kilograms. From time to time, I think about the last 10 minutes and laugh inwardly.