Acedoc (One-shot) - The Shower

The Shower

Murdoc stood under the heavy, steady stream of water in the shower. He relished the hard pressure of the hot water as it hit his tense back and tight shoulders. He sighed and drug his fingers through his slick, soaked hair. He was alone, but he felt surprisingly nice.

He wasn't a huge fan of showers. To him, they were more of a chore than anything. Hot, boring, constricting, and lonesome. He tended to avoid extended periods of time where he was alone with his thoughts, but at least the shower was imbued with some mundane purpose. His idle hands were kept busy going through the motions of washing and rinsing. The sound of the rushing water filled his mind, and the hot steam surrounded him in a pleasurable warmth.

And even though he tended to procrastinate and put off actually taking a proper shower for days, once he got in, he occasionally felt something...pleasant. Sometimes, there was a rare, delicate feeling of peace here that he hardly experienced in any other place. Maybe he felt it when he was alone by the sea, or sometimes he felt it in the quiet hours after a good romp. The shower, though, was a small pocket of time where he didn't have to brace himself for anything unexpected. He could lower his defenses. He could allow his busy mind to quiet down.

So, when he actually slipped into one of these rare moments of tranquility, he easily lost track of time. Showers either were avoided for a week or lasted almost an hour. There was hardly any in-between with him. Today, he felt good.

And while he always preferred a long bath over a shower, there was a bit of a time constraint this morning. Band practice was at noon, so a quicker shower had to do.

He glanced at the time on his water-proof clock radio. The little plastic box was stuck to the teal shower tiles, held up by two suction cups. It sat aloft over Ace's collection of shampoos and conditioners, currently playing an upbeat Patrice Rushen song through its staticky speakers.

There was a large assemblage of items in the cramped shower space. When Ace moved into Murdoc's flat a few months ago, he brought with him a whole salon's worth of products, half of which Murdoc didn't fully understand. He went weeks wondering why there was a jar of coconut oil (moisturizer) or a funky little rock (pumice stone) sitting in the shower area. Ace's items were collected neatly in the hanging metal shower rack while a few additional bottles were lined up like an audience along the walls of the porcelain bath.

One corner of shelf space was always cleared off for Murdoc, though. It was where he kept his mug of coffee. He picked it up and idly sipped while standing under the water. It had gotten pretty cold at this point, but he didn't mind. It was more the ritual of drinking coffee and listening to music that mattered, not actually enjoying the bitter taste or deeply focusing on any one song.

Enjoying a moment of reprieve from any serious cerebral activity (and attempting to distract himself and limit any personal, existential wanderings) was also why Murdoc usually stashed a trashy celebrity gossip magazine in the shower. Again, he fully recognized reading wasn't a typical shower activity, but he didn't care. When he wanted a long shower, he stayed put. The flat's monthly rent included his water bill, so he was going to stand there and use all the hot water he wanted as long as he damned well pleased.

And even though these gossip magazines were usually about singers and soaps and movies that he found wholly insufferable, in some way it was cathartic to skim the pulpy articles with loath disapproval. To scoff at the drivel that the masses enjoyed. To hate read something casually and idly. He found some pleasure watching the corners of the cheap paper get soggy from the shower, and if he came across a particular celeb he really didn't care for, he could let his wet fingers slide across the page, soaking the paper and warping the colorful ink.

When long shower days actually happened, they were shockingly nice. No pressure to think or do anything important. An excuse to retreat. A time to do absolutely nothing.