The Chaos Walker

Water Changes Everything

Driving home, he turned on the radio. Normally he was too keyed up by stress at work or the moronic driving habits of his fellow citizens. Today, he found that the sugar-coated tunes and mostly braindead lyrics didn't bother him. Traffic flowed more or less the way it was supposed to, and he found himself tapping his left foot against the interior trim of his Audi.

The palm tree lined streets slid past like the backdrop to a classic movie where you were too wrapped up in the characters to notice the scenery. In spite of the rocky start to the morning, he was so satisfied with his day that any drama had evaporated. He even found himself smiling and waving to the pedestrians as they crossed in front of him at one of the red lights.

"Poor bastards probably think I'm high," he thought. He didn't care. High spirits like this had to be milked for all they were worth.

Before he knew it he was home. As he pulled up to the Key West style two story home where the four of them lived, his mood was unsinkable. He parked next to Sarah's teal Kia SUV and practically danced up the front sidewalk. She had already returned with the kids' from after school practice and the front door was open to let the afternoon breeze pass through from the intracoastal waterway behind the house. There was enough airflow to keep the ceiling fans spinning lazily even though they weren't turned on. The ever-present scent of sea water was particularly strong for some reason.

The sounds of seagulls squawking and kids laughing told him that Max and Ellie were out by the boat dock, feeding the birds. He tossed his keys in the stainless-steel bowl on the table just inside the door, set his shoes on the mat and went to look for Sarah.

A quick glance from the foyer around the open living room and dining area told him nothing. She wasn't there. He walked by the big windows at the back and could see the kids throwing scraps of bread to the diving, swooping sky rats. No Sarah there either. He lingered briefly to enjoy the scene before turning to the hallway that led to the bedrooms.

As he got closer, the steady sound of running water grew louder from the master bath. Sarah was taking a shower. The kids were occupied outdoors. This day just kept getting better and better.

He paused outside the bathroom door, the gentle steam curling under the frame reminding him of how long it had been since they had shared a moment like this. His mind drifted back to countless evenings where exhaustion had triumphed over desire. He thought of Sarah, her vitality sapped by Long Covid, and how he himself had been a swirling mess of emotions.

"Wow, there has been way too much water under the bridge to still be in this dry spell," he thought, a pang of longing mixing with the hope of seizing this unexpected opportunity. Even their trip to the lake had been marred by the incident with the other boat, the cramped quarters and paper-thin walls stifling any chance of "dances with no pantses." Now seemed like the perfect chance to set things right!

The frosted glass walls of the shower combined with the steam from the hot water only let him see a vague outline of Sarah's body but that was more than enough to get his juices flowing. His Jack Nicholas golf shirt rapidly joined his Dockers on the floor. There was a flutter of hesitation at the waistband of his boxer briefs. It had been a while, and he really didn't know how his girl was feeling at the moment. Anticipation could turn to awkward disappointment in a heartbeat.

He decided to seize the moment.

As Regis stepped into the shower backwards, the billowing water vapor enveloped him. Tendrils of steam twined over his body. He smiled as Sarah's hands gently traced patterns on his back, the warmth of her touch mingling with the steamy air. Her touch eradicated any doubt he felt about joining her. The rainfall shower head lived up to its name in creating a tinkling melody of droplets against the ceramic tiles beneath them.

He turned to face her, their bodies close, the water creating a shimmering veil between them. Her eyes met his, and for a moment, everything else faded away. He leaned in, their lips meeting in a kiss that was both tender and urgent. A tidal wave of emotion hit him broadside when she put her arms around his neck. He grabbed her hips and lifted her off the floor and tighter against him. They spun around in place, his feet backing them up against the wall under the flow of hot water.

As his head passed directly under the stream, the water cascaded over his head, blinding him completely for a moment. Somehow the flowing, streaming rivulets of water suddenly felt MORE flowing, MORE streaming in a way that his senses couldn't get a grip on. Everything went...squiggly. He blinked, droplets falling from his lashes, and found himself staring into the closed eyes of Sarah-ß, the pink stripe of now wet hair falling down the front of her face like a strawberry waterfall.

"Oh God, what the..." his brain recoiled, fighting for purchase on reality. "No!"

But his body was already too far into its rhythm to be reined back in, and so was Sarah. Her arms tightened their noose around his shoulders, and she buried her face in his neck. The falling water flooded over them, between them, through them. His rational brain switched off and his heart took over.

Water became touch, touch turned to liquid, liquid made waves, waves beat in time to unheard music. They had no concept of the passing of time but when release came, it felt like it had been just enough.

They stayed that way for a moment under the gentle rain before Sarah of the pink hair raised her head and smiled contently.

"I think I hear the kids coming back inside. I'm going to go start dinner." She brushed a hand down his cheek before wrapping a towel around her and walking out of the bathroom.

Regis' mind snapped back from wherever it had rocketed off to. He sensed, rather than physically felt, something hard edged in his left hand. He already knew what he would find when he opened his fist.

"Another damn puzzle piece." The words drained out of him like the good mood he had just recently been in. He sank to a crouch, the tiles at his back now chilly and uncomforting. "What do I do now?"