We should get that leak fixed,” the woman said as she stared at the faucet. She’d just been witness to the great suicide of a renegade water droplet as it plunged head first into a mound of flowery white foam. Now, she patiently waited for its comrades to follow.

“Mm,” the man said, oblivious to the drama occurring right before him. “I’ll get on it as soon as the tub overflows.”

The woman laughed, and just as another droplet fell, her attention switched to the man who was lounging across from her. She could only see the top of his chest up to the bottom of his chin, the only parts of his body exposed to the heady air filled with lavender steam. His arms were draped over the sides of the white porcelain-covered steel bowl and his head was tilted back against the wall tile.

“Do you want to do anything this weekend?”

“Maybe,” he said. “Anything in mind?”

“Not really. We could watch a movie.”

“Sure.”

Again it was quiet. The woman leaned back with a contented sigh and lifted a leg out of the water. Streams and rivers cascaded down along the bright red skin, and steam escaped from the surface. She placed her foot on his shoulder and the man lifted his head and kissed the big toe. When his head tilted back again, his hand came up and trailed fingers all along the thigh.

“Do you think I should quit my job?” she asked.

“No. Why?”

“I don’t know. I’ve just been really stressed out lately. I don’t really need it.”

“You know you want the money,” he said. “You’ll be happy you stuck with it.”

“I guess, but I just can’t ever relax anymore.” Then she noticed that the underside of his chin was covered in a thin layer of black fur.

“You need to shave.”

Instinctively, the man lifted his hand and rubbed his neck. The room echoed with the scratching it made. His hand fell back into place and he sighed.

“You do it.”

“How was your interview?” she asked quietly. Shaving cream overflowed from her palms and she spread some gently over his face.

“Not bad,” he said. “They seemed positive, but so did the last three.”

“Maybe you should think about taking that job offer in Vermont.”

“Why?” he asked. His eyebrows knit, and for a moment she didn’t reply.

“You said they really needed you.”

“Let’s not talk about it now, okay?”

“Okay,” she said and continued her silent masking. She found his blade and trailed it over his cheeks and neck expertly.

“You keep bringing up Vermont,” he said when she was about halfway done. “Do you want me to leave?”

“Of course not,” she said with a gentle tone that hid the sharp stab of defensiveness that he’d gotten used to. “I’m worried about you. I don’t want you to be depressed because you don’t have a job.”

“I’ll be fine, I swear. You don’t have to worry about me.”

She nodded and then continued shaving.

“Besides,” he said. “What if I leave? What about us?”

“This is about your future. I just thought…” She stopped for a moment. “I want you to be happy.”

“I’m happy when I’m here. So don’t try to make me happier by trying to get me to leave.”

They both smiled a little.

“Enough about that. How was work today?”

“Okay,” she said taking a washcloth out of the cloudy water and wiping off his face. “My boss wants me to write a romantic story for next month.”

“Really?” the man asked. His hand found hers under the water and he let their fingers intertwine. “What are you going to write?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Yeah,” he laughed and let his head fall back once again. “Romance is such bullshit.”