I yawned and stretched out my arms, gradually pulled from the depths of a wonderful dream. I smiled, teeth chattering, rubbing my shoulders to bring warmth back to—wait, why was it so cold?
I shifted, felt the splash of water around me, and realised what I’d done – fallen asleep in the bath. Again.
‘Brr-rr-rrr,’ I chattered to myself, reaching to grab the side of the bath and pull myself up and out. My hands, wrinkled and slippery, slid off the porcelain and I fell backwards with a cry.
‘Dammit,’ I grumbled. I shifted tactics, reaching down past my feet to pull the plug out. It came with a rumble, the icy waves around me gradually receding until I was shivering in the frigid air instead.
Not for the first time, I considered how helpful it would be to have an easy, step bathtub conversion. Experts on the news kept going on about how it was all the rage in the city, but I hadn’t bought into the hype.
Now just slipping on a thin layer of water, I stood on shaky legs and stepped out of the bath and onto my soft bathmat.
I let out a sigh of relief, looking behind me at my porcelain prison.
‘When did I start thinking like that?’ I shook my head, reaching for the towel. ‘I guess that settles it.’
It was fully dark outside, so I reached for the light switch and turned on the heat lamp above me. Resolving to look at how much it costs for a bathtub remodel in Sydney, I towelled myself quickly, images of my warm pyjamas and bunny slippers driving me.
I took one last look at the bathtub before I turned off the light, imagining it with a big cutout in the side for me to easily step through.
‘God, I should have done that years ago,’ I shook my head, shutting the door.