I HAD KNOWN HER for years, but I didn’t ever think it would come to this. I would suppose that she was an attractive woman. She was older than me, by a decade at least, and had shoulder-length brown hair. I’m sure she was quite the catch back in ’86 or ’88. But it was 2024. I don’t even remember how I even wound up at the house. Her husband was away. Her children were all grown. She was in the bath when I arrived. I told her I could wait but she invited me in, and that’s when I saw those long legs poking out of the water. It was steamy in there. The walls were dripping wet. It sounds sexy, I know, but it wasn’t. It had all the allure and sensuality of old motel wallpaper. But I was weak. At least, that’s what they call a man like me when he does a thing like that. So weak. I was the softest there was. That’s what they said.
When her husband Kalle arrived back home, we were already drinking tea in the kitchen. He had been on a business trip to the UK. I marveled at his English-language proficiency. He didn’t seem to think anything was amiss. He told us about his various business meetings as he removed his tie and set his briefcase on the table. I wasn’t sure how I felt. Not every feeling has a name. After Kalle left, she went upstairs and drew the bathwater, disrobed and climbed in. She asked me to join. There is something comforting about being told what to do, especially after shouldering so many responsibilities, but I couldn’t shake that ugly gray betrayal feeling.
Poor Kalle. What a dope! Was I really responsible for this? “Come and get in the bath,” she said.
north! 