She had been waiting for this moment all day long.

As soon as her husband walked through the front door, she wanted to run into their bedroom, lock the door and crawl into bed.

But she waited. Patiently.

She waited until after kissed her softly on the cheek, changed out of his suit and grabbed himself a beer.

He plopped down on the couch next to her and she proceeded quickly to fill him in on the day’s activities, which weren’t much different than the day before or the day before that. Then after a long pause she said that she needed some time to herself.

She explained that she couldn’t even remember brushing her teeth that morning or if she ate. With the indirect mention of food, she apologized for there being no dinner on the table again tonight and then exclaimed what she really wanted was a hot shower. And a glass of wine.

“Of course”, he said and scurried off to the kitchen, opened a bottle of her favorite Cabernet and poured her a glass.

With raised eyebrows and a smile, she took it from him when he returned to the living room.

“I’ve got this, go have a shower, enjoy your wine and try to relax,” he urged.

These were the most beautiful words she had heard all day. Perhaps the only words she had heard all day.

“Really?”, and before he could give it a second thought, she tip toed down the hall to their bedroom and once safely inside, closed the door behind her and heard it click.

She waited and listened.

Silence.

Setting her wine on the wide lip of the porcelain sink, she turned the hot water on in the shower and as the bathroom filled with warm steam, she felt her body slowing start to relax.

She stripped off her worn out khakis, underwear, stained oversize sweatshirt and threadbare nursing bra; stuffed her hair in a shower cap and stepped into the shower.

The water felt warm and inviting, reminiscent of a hug.

Such a simple pleasure, a shower.

Without really thinking about it, she pulled the shower cap off her head and let her long blond hair cascade down her back. Too much of an ordeal to dry it, she hadn’t intended to get her hair wet at all, but she couldn’t help herself, the water was beckoning, breathing new life into her and she wanted nothing more than to wash this day away. It had started far too early and had gotten increasingly difficult as the hours wore on. Every part of her body ached and she was exhausted. She let the water do it’s magic.

There was one thing missing. Longingly, through the foggy shower door, she stared at her full glass of wine. Oh well, she thought, a shower was what I really needed.

She scrubbed her body with a loofah, used the fancy French lavender body wash her sister-in-law had given her for her birthday, shaved her legs, washed and conditioned her hair, applied a face mask and brushed and flossed her teeth. It’s amazing how much good a shower and a little personal grooming can do, she thought.

After what seemed like an hour or more, she rejoined her husband back on the couch with her still full glass of wine in hand and felt refreshed and calm.

“How did it go?”, she whispered.

With a hand gesture, as if presenting his most prized possessions, he said, “Not a peep.”

“Good. I needed that. I’m feeling human again. So, why don’t you tell me about your day?” She was about to enjoy her first sip of wine and connect with her husband for the first time in what seemed like days when…one, two and then three tiny cries, one from each of the bassinets in front of them demanding her attention.

She knew it had been two hours since their last feeding, so with a heavy sigh, she murmured, “Maybe later?” and they both stood up to attend to their triplets.

This post is fiction and was written for The Red Dress Club’s writing meme, Red Writing Hood. This week’s prompt was to write a short piece – fiction or non-fiction – inspired by one or both of these statements: Water gives life. It also takes it away.

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