I've binged enough TV series for what feels like a lifetime. I don't want to count how many bags of flour I've gone through to make bread. And...
"SUSAN!"
--And I feel like I've actually grown tired of hearing my name yelled by my husband.
"SUSAN!" David called out again to me last week. It might have been what drove me over the edge.
"What is it?" I asked as he stormed into the kitchen. The chocolate pudding I was whipping up splattered on my white shirt when he startled me. I tried to stay calm.
"Were you messing around down in the basement again?" David asked in contempt.
"No... why would I do that?" I tried not to stoke his fire. A month ago I moved one little tool from his work-bench down there and it was a whole ordeal.
"I thought we agreed we would 'respect each other's space' you know, 'these days'." David added with air-quote fingers. The quarantine was weighing on both of us at this point.
I don't think I have ever spent so much time at home, let alone with my husband. Don't get me wrong-- he's fine as he is, but when you spend too much time together... well, it can drive a lady crazy. Typically he would be at the construction site working long hours and exerting all that energy on the job. And I would be on a long shift at the hospital, doing the same.
"I didn't go down there and mess anything up." I replied calmly. "What's wrong anyway?"
David pouted at the pivot. "It's the damn water, pressure isn't coming out right." He pointed up towards our bedroom. "I'm trying to take a shower and it's just dribblin'."
I put my hands up. "I didn't touch anything." I tried to put on the most innocent face that I could. David took a look and stormed off down to the basement. A few minutes later, he came back up, passively stomping on each step up.
"Nothing looked out of place down there." He said sheepishly with some frustration. Of course I wasn't going to be given the satisfaction of being honest.
"Well should I call someone to fix it?" I asked, recognizing this would be a problem that affects both of us and I didn't want it to linger. But I failed to recognized the emasculating effects.
"Call someone?" David looked at me incredulously. "I could do it myself."
I picked up the phone and shuffled through the search results for a plumber. "Really?" I looked up at David and back at the results, tapping on Brinks Brothers Comprehensive Inspection and Repair. The call connected on a ring. "Do you know what you're going to have to fix?"
There was that incredulous look again and he shrugged at my sentiment. "What?" David pointed to the phone, just as the called picked up.
"Hi yes." I held up a finger at David. "Yes, I'd like to request a plumbing service." I saw David turn at my words and waved me off as he walked back up the stairs. "Oh of course, I understand." I listened to the explanation about safety and social distancing. "That's fine, I'll sign whatever we need to sign. We haven't had any cases in our home."
I went up the master bathroom to tell David about the appointment. When he wasn't in there, I found him seething to himself on the bed watching a sports new cast.
"Can you believe it?" David held his palm out to the TV. "First they cancelled the season and now the players are refusing to come back. Don't they know those owners paid good money for those players to play?" I didn't say anything. "Acting like the bunch of baboons they are."
"That's awful." I replied, trying to make myself feel better about calling him out on his racist remark. But I felt like David took it in agreement.
"Yeah." He turned to his focus on me, still harboring a little anger. "So what is it?"
"I scheduled a plumber to come out tomorrow afternoon to check out that issue." I braced myself for his rebuttal but David was quiet for a minute.
"Tomorrow's no good. I'm watching the game." He said. I was thankful he wasn't throwing a fit.
"I thought they were all cancelled?"
"They are." He said, "But they're doing reruns of the championships and I'm gonna watch."
"Okay." I said, managing to leave it at that.
He wasn't the only one frustrated in the house. Usually most of my frustrations happened at work. In those cases, I had the luxury of locking myself in my office. Since I moved off the hospital floor and into medical billing, I could afford the privacy.
I would draw the blinds on the door, turn off the light. I'd double-check the lock, turn my task chair back the opposite way and lean back in it, letting my hand find itself between my legs. Just a little personal time to get my wits back before I went back to work. Nowadays I'm stuck doing this behind the bathroom door, on my toilet.
And some how, even with the change of scenery, with my hands busy, my mind still wandered back to work. I thought of Dion. Of all the things to fantasize about, I thought this oaf.
Dion used to work on the same floor as me before I switched departments. He's tall, dark, and not handsome. Some of the other nurses would say what he lacked in looks, he made up with muscles. I have to admit, he did have a very sculpted black body... no where near anything David could achieve. But Dion's face was... in a word... goofy. Buck-toothed, bald, and expression-less most of the time.
He did his job well, doing transport within the hospital. I never had any qualms with him. Although he did catch me once in a moment of privacy that I needed. Since they he had added a few raised eye-brows to his expressions towards me. But I'll never forget one shift with him.
It was the end of the shift and we were all chatting at the nurse station. "It's Friday night y'all." One of the younger nurses got up and started dancing in celebration. They looked to me as a spinster, even though I'm only 32, but one of the senior staff members. "What you got going on tonight Dion?" That nurse asked him.
"Uh..." Dion replied. "Not much I guess." His voice was so monotone. "Going out with my girlfriend at a bar. That's about it."
"Girl friend?" Two of the nurses said simultaneously and reserved a smirk of skepticism between themselves.
"You never said you had a girlfriend Dion." said the dancing co-worker.
"Yeah." He said, no change in tone. "She's picking me up tonight."
As soon as he had shared the information, a redhead in a curve hugging body dress came on to the floor. She waved to Dion. "Hey!" Strutting and bouncing, gathering everyone's attention. "Are you ready to go babe?"
"Yeah." Dion grabbed his coat and didn't even seem to register everyone's surprise as he went around the counter. "See y'all later." The redhead put her arm around his bicep and waved us off.
"I know right?" A co-worker commented on the disbelief on my face. "Last week, he got these scrub pants that were a size too small and didn't leave anything to the imagination." She turned back to typing to her keyboard. "I know she's going to have some fun tonight."
And since that day, there's always been something nagging at the back of my mind about it. It would always creep back in just when I found myself really enjoying my private time.
"Susan!" David knocked on the door, bringing me back to reality. I huffed at having to stop enjoying the small solace I had.
--
The following afternoon I took the necessary precautions to make sure everything went without a hitch. I made sure to have a nice spread of snacks for David to munch on while he watched the games. I turned down the blinds a little bit because I know he'd complain about a glare on the screen. I even put on his favorite team colors to add to the ambiance.
"Mmmhmm." David wandered into the kitchen. "Smells delicious in here." When he was hungry and grateful, he was like a different man. "Oh and look at you." He pulled up behind me and held my waist, leaning to my ear. "Got my favorite titty tank on." He grabbed and squeezed my breasts.
"Oh shoo." I knocked my head on his, shrugging him off. "I ought to throw this thing away." I looked down my cleavage. "I've had this thing since we met in college. Look how much it faded."
David didn't need to be told twice to keep looking at my chest. "No you can't do that! You were wearing this when we met. You could say it introduced me to you." He leaned forward again, kissing the top of my cleavage, "Danke," he kissed the left one, "Danke," for the right one, "Can't do without my Double Ds." David beamed as he took a chip off the tray.
"Here," I offered the whole plate up to him, "Go on already. Isn't it time for kick off?"
"Oh yeah." David grabbed the tray and slipped off to the living room. "Thanks."
I tried to savor the few moments of quiet before he turned on the TV to blaring sports sounds. But before he had the chance, we both heard the door-bell ring. "Can you get that?" I called out to David.
"Nope!" David yelled back. "Already sitting down!"
I shook my head in frustration. I made all this stuff for him and he can't even answer the door. I looked through the peep-hole to see a small figure standing just off the porch. Blue shirt, navy pants, a clipboard, and a mask waved back. Of course, it was the plumber.
"Hello!" I opened the door and realized I wasn't wearing my own mask. I slipped behind the door for a second and put it on. "You must be with Brinks." I looked at my watch. "Perfect timing."
"Yes ma'am." The man stayed his ground and waved back. "Gotta be punctual. I'd shake your hand but... you know how it is these days."
"I totally understand. Please come in." I replied and stepped back a few feet to let him in. His stature didn't change, he was short even on equal footing in our foyer. I'm 5'7'' so I would guess he was probably 5'2''. "Thank you for coming, especially during these...--"
"Unprecedented times." His eyes crinkled behind the mask. "I know, hearing that a lot. Glad to be here. Tony Brinks, nice to meet you."
"The problem is downstairs." David said coldly, breaking the conversation. "Come on, I'll show you where." He led the way and Tony followed. "Sooner you get the job done, sooner we're good." He could've easily been David's shadow, given how small he was and well... dark.
