Stress - Skinnerin Short
I wrote something self indulgent so here you go before I change my mind
Erin’s ears were submerged in the bath, her head cradled by the surface of the water. Strands of her short, dark hair branched out in veins that dipped and swayed with the small ripples created from one soft movement of her leg. The overwhelming smell of lavender and vanilla was enough to drown out her other senses, and she could barely hear the fuzzy sound waves of the TV from the other room. She was sure it was another one of Scottie’s PBS programs, but she had to focus on letting herself go and fade from reality.
This was the first night she got to relax in what felt like years. With school being out for Winter holiday, she noticed Seymour coming over more often, and it wasn’t exactly something she was complaining about. There was the usual asking her out on a date, and once or twice Charlie would be with him to babysit while they went out, and it was enjoyable to change up the routine, but as Christmas crept closer, so was the inevitable seasonal breakdown from stress she kept hidden from everyone around her.
It was a Christmas miracle when once again Seymour appeared at her apartment door. It had been a rough morning with Scottie in particular who was having a bad day herself with her toddler tantrums, and he had to have seen the absolute mess of a state she was in when she opened the door. He didn’t say much to her except that the snowfall expected that night was going to turn into a blizzard, and Agnes was stuck at the nursing home she often visited for the rest of the night. In his words, “I wanted to come over and make sure you two would be safe.”
But without her saying much in response, he took her by the small of her back and guided her back inside, gently nudging her toward the bathroom while he picked up the crying toddler from her crib to try his hand at comforting her. Erin didn’t say anything as she took his silent direction and went straight for her dusty bottle of bubble bath, and she’d been in there ever since…
The crying didn’t last long after she settled into the water, and she had no idea how much time had gone by. She was drifting in and out of consciousness - her exhaustion at war with the bees of depression and anxiety buzzing about in her head. All under that buckling umbrella of single motherhood stress. But the minutes surely ticked well into an hour, and those thoughts were slowly fading away as she let herself just exist in the moment.
Erin didn’t hear when the door opened, and she only shuddered a little when she felt a soft hand carefully nudge her shoulder. Glancing over with squinting eyes, she saw Seymour hovering over the tub with his head twisted to the side, his eyes staring up at the ceiling. How polite.
“Sorry, I’m used to supervising Mother, and it worries me when I don’t hear her calling for me after half an hour.”
It had only been 30 minutes?
“I’m fine..” She rolled over and folded her arms across her chest to censor herself so he felt better about looking at her. “I’ve just been tired...Scottie’s been like that all morning.”
“She’s asleep now, but I’ll stay up with her if you want to get to bed.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost seven-thirty.”
“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“No, I was hoping you still had that roast in the fridge I could warm up with some potatoes or something.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Erin rubbed her face, paying special need to her eyes. “It’s still in there, and I have a couple Russets left in the pantry…I think there’s still half a bottle of wine too.”
“Are you sure you feel like drinking?”
“No, but you can have some.”
“No thanks. Just water for me is fine.”
Erin looked up at him and nodded with contentment and understanding of his wishes. She didn’t blame him. As good as a few glasses sounded right now, it was out of the question for her own wellbeing.
“I’ll take care of feeding Scottie too after you get to bed. I finally got her to accept my method of planes over trains.”
Erin smiled while he gave her a kiss on the head and got up to show himself out.
When the door closed again, she sank a little further into the water and felt the heaviness lift from her soul.
She was in love, and for once it was with someone who by tonight alone really loved her back.