Bill was glad his wife was asleep. He took off his sneakers before he went into the house, crept in quietly, got himself a beer from the refrigerator which he took with him into the shower. He’d made it almost all the way through the shower before his wife came into the bathroom. She was quiet too. He didn’t know she was there until she pushed the shower curtain aside and stepped into the tub with him.
“I have to pee,” she said. She reached up to kiss him and started peeing at the same time. “Thought I’d join you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Bill said. He handed her his beer, watched her take a sip, stepped to the side so she could get into the water spray.
“Rough day?”
“The day was easy. The night was very busy. More than ever before. New records all over the place, for the night, for the week. Maybe new record volume sales.”
“You are off tomorrow, right?”
“Yes ma’am. Last one maybe for a couple of weeks. Lots of banquets. The Falstaff Room is doing great. I’ll make the money while I can. After the new year it slows down.”
“We’ll do a leisure day then. Sleep in if you want. I don’t have much shopping, but I do need to do laundry. We can do it over my parents’ house.”
“That’s okay with me,” Bill said. And it was okay because his wife’s father was a good drinking buddy, always a willing partner, always ready to fix them a good triple gin and tonic. Not only did he fix the drinks, but he kept them coming too. He would keep them coming all afternoon and evening, and if Bill had too much to drink, it was no problem because his wife could always drive them home. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Bill and his father-in-law did not always get along well. His father-in-law was dead-set against the wedding, and they were complete opposites politically. Bill was a hippie, not so much a lefty as an independent, someone interested in seeing that America did the right thing. His father-in-law was a conservative, a senior cost analysis man for a major steel company. He was also a WWII vet, not that he actually saw combat. He was a pilot and a pilot trainer stateside.
Once they were married, once Bill was a son-in-law and was gainfully employed and working hard for his daughter, his father-in-law eased up on him some and they became more than cordial. Their political discussions, though heated at times, were interesting and even fun. The more they drank the more friendly they were. The more times they drank together and saw each other, the closer they got.
So going over there tomorrow was no big deal, was in fact something for Bill to look forward to because he knew he would be drinking lots of gin and tonics and probably watching the Cleveland Browns play football.
His wife handed him back the beer bottle and he set it on the rim of the tub. She shifted so they could both be under the spray of the water. There, they hugged and kissed and held each other and stood a long while. They kissed and they kissed some more and then they kissed even more.
“I love you,” his wife said to him.
“I love you too,” he said.
“No,” his wife said, “I really love you.”
“I really love you too,” Bill said.
He held her tight against him, hugged her, began there in the water kissing her all over. He started with her face, went down her neck and then over her all over on top. When he was done with that, he took up the soap and told her to turn around so he could wash her back.
His wife gave no objection. She turned happily and made sure he washed her exactly where she wanted to be washed.
