After a long day out on the farm, in the mines, fishing… dabbling in all the arts you usually do, you find yourself entering your home once more. It’s silent, oddly so for your husband, Elliott. Normally you could hear him mumbling faintly at his desk, or see him in the kitchen.

But nothing today. You call out his name and get a response from the upstairs west of the farmhouse.

“In the bath, dear!”

You head up the stairs and just open the bathroom door — he was your husband, you had seen each other in worse conditions, right? You just walk straight into your washroom.

Elliott turned around in the tub, resting his arms crossed on the lip of it. His hair is damp at the top, some of it floating in the water. His head rested atop his arms, smiling softly at the sight of you. “Sorry I didn’t wait. To share the bath, that is. It is still warm if you wish to become one with the water with me.”

An innocent offer, if you had ever seen one. The water was soapy, a rubber duck floating in the back next to another. His eyes said nothing explicit as you stared at him.