is that the best you can do?

the woman
answers the door in her
nightgown.
pink with small flowers.
she's as old as my
mother.
she sways,
and bobbles in her
slippers.
blinks a glaze
from her gem blue eyes.
i'm not drunk, she says.
I have an inner ear problem
that makes me
lose my balance.
I help her to the stairs
where she points
to where the bathroom
is
that needs wallpaper
removed, stripped
clean.
how much, she says.
gasping for air,
blinking and hanging
onto my sleeve.
I give her a price.
she groans,
can you do it for less?
her cat hops onto the toilet
seat and meows,
staring at me.
I give her another price,
she groans again.
i'm old she says. i'm
on a fixed income.
I have this ear problem,
please,
is that the best you
can do?