I Need A Shower

"It's going to be bad."

"How bad can it be? What's wrong?"

She said it so quietly I almost couldn't hear her. "I need to poop."

When it finally dawned on me that she was embarrassed that I'd be walking back into the bathroom after she'd pooped, I nearly split a gut. I could not contain my laughter.

"I don't know what you're worried about. It can't be as bad as what I do!"

She looked defeated and I tried not to laugh. I failed miserably.

I tried to cheer her up and said, "Look, let's get this taken care of and then I'll tell you all about the month I spent in a logging camp in the Oregon woods." We took care of her problem easily enough, I told her about bathroom hygiene in the logging camp, and she was never quite as critical of her own bodily functions again.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday minus the hospital and by Sunday night we were cuddled on the sofa watching a ridiculous chick flick.

"This is a side of you I never expected."

"Shush!"

"I always thought you were more of a Sean Connery type."

"Are you going to talk all through the movie?"

With that, I decided I would keep my mouth shut. I don't know what it is about those movies, but when you have a woman cuddled up next to you, they almost start to make sense.

I took Monday off. Gerri wasn't ready to be on her own, yet. I had this mental image of her wetting herself on the sofa or somewhere in the middle of the floor because that's as far as she could make it. Plus, she still needed someone to prepare her meals. I suppose the hospital needed the bed for more urgent cases, but how could they expect her to go home when she couldn't even walk across her living room? That got me thinking about something I had never considered before. It seemed to me that living alone when you're young is lonely, but you're fine otherwise. Living alone at our age you're perfectly content, but there are times when you need help. The young ones talk about friends with benefits, but at my age a "friend with benefits" means a friend who will pull you off the toilet after you pee. You can't ask that favor of just anybody.

It was midafternoon when things came to a head. We were sitting on the sofa as had become our custom and she said, "I have a problem!"

Well, we'd had several so far and managed to work through them all. "What's the problem?"

"I need a shower."

I spoke without thinking. "We can manage that!"

She gave me a look that was far too complex for me to decode.

"We'll just... I mean, we can... Suppose we..." Every solution I imagined involved a lot of nudity. By that point, I was enjoying the mental images, but I didn't expect I could sell any of them to her.

"I could run your bath and then you could sit on the side of the tub. After I leave you can undress and slip into the tub." Truthfully, I wasn't confident she could maneuver her legs over the edge of the tub and slip into the water without falling backwards.

"I need to wash my hair. I haven't washed it since I went into the hospital."

"Well..."

"I can't wash my hair in the tub. I hate that. And I can't stand while I wash my hair in the sink."

I was thinking hard, but I had nothing.

"I need to take a shower."

"That won't work. You can't let go of the bar long enough to wash your hair. I suppose you could hold on with one hand and wash with the other."

"I haven't felt very stable when I'm gripping the windowsill. I don't think I can manage a whole shower."

I thought for a long time and there was only one solution I could come up with. I was very nervous about mentioning it. The truth be told, I was enjoying these days together and I didn't want to hit a sour note.

I took her hand and I looked in her eyes. "You know, we aren't kids anymore."

"You're saying I'm old?"

"I'm saying we aren't kids anymore. There is a solution that works, but it means asking if we are comfortable with each other."

She was giving me that look again that I could not decipher.

"We could shower together."

She thought for a moment. "I need to get clean. I can't be wearing a bathing suit in the shower."

"No, you can't." I waited for a reply, but she was silent. "Gerri, I'm suggesting that we get naked and shower together." I waited for the face slap, but it never came. "It's going to be very intimate. You need to lean against me for stability and I can't promise I won't enjoy it." I gave her a moment to decode that sentence and tried not to smile too much. "The question is 'Do you trust me?' If you do, then it's just a question of modesty. If you don't, then we need to find someone who provides a service." I honestly didn't have a practical solution other than our showering together. I was guessing some kind of nurse might have a solution.

"You know I'm sixty-one, right?" I could see the nervousness in her face.

"Yes. You know I'm sixty-three, right?"

"I'm not a Barbie hard body. I never was."

"My six-pack is more like a keg now."

"Things sag that should be perky."

"I sat on my own balls last week. It was both embarrassing and painful." That got a small laugh from her. "Gerri, take a shower with me. I'm not going to promise that I'll stay on the far side of the shower from you. There's going to be a lot of very personal contact. If you have any doubts that I'm male, you won't have those doubts for long. All I can promise is that you can trust me."

I still couldn't read her face. It seemed a lot of time passed until she said, "Okay."

I confess I was momentarily shocked. Then I'm fairly certain a smile lit up my face because I saw the smile on hers. I don't know if I crossed the line, because I had promised she could trust me, but with that smile I kissed her. And she kissed me back.

After we broke our kiss and we spent just a moment looking at each other, she said, "Jim?"

"Yes, Gerri?"

"I really do need that shower."

"Okay." And with that, I helped her stand, and we danced our way to the bathroom.

"I'm going to need clean clothes after we shower."

"Okay. What do you want?"

She told me, I fetched them, and then I fetched clean clothes for myself. I did all that while she sat on the edge of the tub. Gerri had a one-bedroom condo, but the bathroom was far from minimal. It had a spacious whirlpool tub, a very comfortable walk-in shower, an oversize vanity, and of course the toilet. It even had a small table where we could pile our clean clothes.

"Gerri?"

"Yes, James?"

"I'm not closing my eyes this time." That earned me a big smile.

"I'd be insulted if you did."

We showered slowly being sure to lather up the washcloths and massage everywhere. Our early attempt at modesty gave way to foreplay as I soaped her breasts with the cloth and again with my bare hands. All the while she leaned against me, her cheeks pressed against my groin until my erection was pushing firmly against her bottom. She was breathing deeply now and gently moving, then grinding, like a woman who was no longer worried about losing her balance. Still, I kept one arm around her waist as I soaped her with the other hand.

I worked the soap and scrubbed gently, slowly, down her torso, across her stomach, and then to her mound. She let out a quiet moan and I began working my way down her legs. As she held the rail on her shower wall, I gently scrubbed her legs working from outside in and back up until I was again standing. Pulling her to me, I gently reached between her legs and massaged her sex with a soapy cloth. She moaned louder and slowly spread her legs while trying not to fall.

I slipped the washcloth from my right hand to the left that was holding her steady, and then I reached back to massage her sex gently, tenderly, lovingly, as I kissed her neck until she threw back her head, stiffened, and began to shake almost violently. Her orgasm overtook her as I steadily coaxed a series of deep spasms to the surface.

In time her orgasm subsided, and she lay against me, resting, with her hand reaching back behind my neck.

"I think I died a little."

"No. I think we are both finding life again, a greater life now than either of us has had in a long time."

"James, I've not let anyone close for a very long time."

"I know. I've just been getting by for years."

She turned to face me, reached her arms around my neck, and pulled herself tight against me. "James, I don't want you sleeping on the sofa anymore."

"Make love with me, Gerri."

"Yes, James." That was all she said and all she needed to say.

The kiss was wondrous, full of passion and promise.

"There's just one more thing to do and then you're clean." I wasn't sure how she was going to respond to this, and she gave me a puzzled look. Then I gently slipped the soapy cloth down her back and I could see the recognition just moments before I reached my destination.

"Oh, James, no! You don't...!" She never finished her thought. She began to squirm and push herself harder against me, rotating her hips and groaning. She wrapped one leg around my waist and tried to climb onto me. I don't know if she was excited or trying to climb away from my hand, but all the while she was making whimpering sounds as she tried to catch her breath. I think for once I truly surprised her.

At last I was done. "There we go. Now you're clean." The kiss I got was more than worth the effort.

That night was the first of many nights that we would sleep next to each other. We made love and explored the intimacy we shared. In the nights to come, we tore down every barrier between us, telling stories from our childhood through every phase of our life, and in the process we freed ourselves of the shackles of isolation and loneliness we had both lived with for so long. In time, I told her about my failed marriage, and she told me about the two foolish boyfriends who had left her to chase after shallow, ever popular, Barbies. However, all that was in the future. On this night, there was only passion and desire sated by the most wonderful intimacy.

In the morning when I woke, I found a soft, warm body lying against my side and I drew her closer trying not to wake her. I failed, but she pulled herself as close to me as she could, and we settled down to sleep for just a few more minutes. Eventually, the sun would not permit us to sleep any longer and we began to talk quietly with one another.

"James?"

"Yes?"

"I lied."

I looked at her, stunned by what she'd said. She had always seemed like the sort of person who found even the slightest lie unbearable. "What lie?"

She took a deep breath and said, "I started regaining my equilibrium on Sunday. It isn't perfect, but I think I can walk now."

"Why did you lie about it?"

"I was enjoying having you here to take care of me and I didn't want it to end."

It was a revelation. I had been played! Oh, but what a wonderful play it was! "So the whole shower thing...?"

"It was a lie, too. I was hoping you'd come up with that shower idea. I tried to make it the only possible choice."

"And if I hadn't?"

"I had confidence in you."

I rolled her over onto her back and gazed down at her smiling face. "You little liar! I have half a mind to..."

She was laughing now. "...to what?"

"I'll show you what!" In truth, she already knew. My erection was growing against her leg at that moment, and she knew exactly what I intended.

Later that morning we did finally manage to wash her hair. That was an even longer shower than the night before.

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I guess this one was fueled by a fantasy of mine. The thought of taking that first shower together was inhabiting my brain and the only way to get it out was to write it. Besides, the young folks aren't the only people with desire.