@ncvaflows
Rudyard rapped upon the door, calling Liesel’s name with growing agitation. She had spent the better part of the blustery morning soaking in the tub. Now that storm clouds not only gathered over Piffling Beach but opened torrents of rain upon the coastline, Rudyard didn’t like being alone one bit. In the past, he might have sought Antigone’s company, only to regret it.
But he had Liesel now. Or he would if she wasn’t so busy sulking and avoiding him.
He couldn’t see why. Shouldn’t they spend the storm comforting each other? He didn’t know much about marriage, but he hoped that it would involve some amount of soothing when storms hit.
Convinced she’d either drowned or fallen asleep in the tub, Rudyard gathered all the bravery he could muster and entered the bathroom. Thin bubbles covered Liesel’s body. To Rudyard’s relief, she lay in the tub in human form, her seal-skin draped over the side of the tub. Her lean frame was easy to make out under the waning veneer of the bubbles, thin with slight curves, and muscular from hours spent swimming in the open ocean. What right did she have to be so beautiful, even when she was angry with him?
Putting his hands on his hips, Rudyard surveyed the sight before him. His wife luxuriated in a bubble bath and yet frowned at him. What had he done to deserve her ire, besides barge into the bathroom? He thought.
Ah, yes.
“I know you’re upset I didn’t want you out on the beach today,” he said. “But the storm’s only gotten worse, so you have to admit, I was right for worrying.”
He took a step closer. Their row had probably contributed to the storm’s intensity - Rudyard wasn’t sure how much he affected the weather, but he knew that he did. Which was probably part of why Liesel was angry. He should have been able to call off the storm. He should have been able to, but Rudyard wasn’t skilled enough for that.
He wanted to help somehow, though.
He wanted her to be happy.
He wanted her to love him or, at the very least, comfort him while the storm raged.
Was that too much to ask for?
“Now, look at you. You’re safe inside, raising our heating bill when you could have just asked me to draw the bath for you,” he continued. “I bet the water’s gone cold, hasn’t it? I could have made it so it wouldn’t. I suppose I still could. If you’d let me.”
He approached her. Crouching by the tub, he dipped one finger in the water and looked at Liesel expectantly. He could magically make the water much nicer - warmer water, foamier bubbles, the works. But she wasn’t looking at him.
“That is... unless you’re still angry with me...? Are you, by chance? Liesel?”
