A Discovery Under the Bath
A week spent in bed with a fever and cough was finally over. Mary stretched in bed and smiled. For the first time in a long while, she genuinely felt well. The morning began with sunlight streaming through the curtains. Mary was full of energy and determination.
“Right, time for some coffee and a tidy-up!” she cheerfully told herself, getting out of bed.
In the kitchen, her husband, Michael, was already there, sipping his coffee and scrolling through the news on his old laptop.
“Morning,” he mumbled, eyes still on the screen.
“Good morning!” Mary replied joyfully. “I feel like a million bucks today! Thought I might as well do a thorough clean-up. I’ll start with the bathroom using that new product I bought before I got sick.”
Michael merely nodded, clearly not sharing her enthusiasm.
“Maybe another day? Why do you have to pick my day off for this? You’ll end up roping me into it, and I just wanted some rest…”
“Don’t worry, darling, I’ve got enough eagerness for both of us!” Mary assured him, finishing her coffee and nibbling on her avocado toast.
She hummed to herself as she put on her rubber gloves. How nice it was, the kids were grown, and she didn’t have to clean as frequently! Their daughter got married a year ago, and their son started university in September and was living in a dorm… She ought to call them! Mary picked up a jar of the new cleaning paste that promised brilliance and freshness in minutes. Her nose, still sensitive after the illness, detected no harsh chemicals. Instead, it smelled like lavender or something pleasantly mild.
She first tackled the sink, then the toilet, and finally, the bath. The paste worked wonders, filling the space with the scent of wildflowers and lilacs.
“Remarkable!” she exclaimed, admiring the gleaming surface. “You look brand new!”
But her enthusiasm didn’t stop there. Mary decided that since she’d started cleaning, she’d see it through to the end. She knelt down to look under the bath.
“My, the dust under here!” she exclaimed, grabbing a cloth.
Then her eyes fell on something shiny. Mary reached out and pulled out a glass jar that had once held coffee. Inside were neatly folded notes.
“What on earth?” she wondered, opening the jar.
Mary came out of the bathroom with the jar in her hands. Michael was still at his laptop, but when he saw her expression, he became wary.
“Mike, what’s this?” she asked, showing him the jar.
He froze for a moment. A nervous twitch crossed his face, but he quickly composed himself and shrugged.
“No idea. How should I know? Maybe it’s your stash?” he said, gulping, and glanced at the jar as if it held the last loaf of bread on earth.
His eyes were filled with thinly-veiled pain, but Mary didn’t notice. She had already opened the jar and was amazed as she counted the money.
“My stash?” Mary laughed. “I wouldn’t hide money under the bath. This is definitely your doing.”
Michael raised his hands in a show of surrender, swallowing hard again.
“I swear, I have no clue where that’s from. Perhaps the previous owners forgot it?”
Mary squinted at him.
“We’ve been living here for five years. I doubt they left money behind.”
Michael tried to look nonchalant, watching Mary’s every hand movement. She decided that since she found the money, it now belonged to her. With a smile, she counted the notes. Her eyes alight with a healthy greed.
“Well then, since no one’s confessing, I guess it’s my lucky day,” she said.
Michael tried to interject. He spoke in a syrupy voice, struggling to contain his emotions.
“Perhaps we could buy something useful? Like a new laptop? This one’s on its last legs. I have my eye on one, with a powerful processor…”
“Laptop?” Mary scoffed. “Why would I want your laptop? I’ve got a better idea.”
The next day, Mary came home with a pretty little box. Inside was a set of jewelry: earrings, a ring, and an elegant pendant. She proudly showed them to Michael.
“How do I look?” she asked, putting on the ring and beaming, feeling like Cleopatra.
Her expression clearly told Michael: “You’d better say I look great!”
“Beautiful,” replied her husband, doing his best to hide his disappointment and frustration. “You’re the best, hope no one steals you away now.”
Mary spent the evening strutting around in her new jewels, telling everyone about her discovery and happy purchase: her friends, her mum, and her mother-in-law. By bedtime at ten, she had carefully laid out her treasures on the bedside table, ready to wear for work the next morning.
Michael couldn’t sleep for a long time, unlike Mary, who was out like a light in fifteen minutes. Knowing his wife’s sleep was deep, Michael quietly tiptoed to the balcony door and stepped outside. There, in a juicer box, he had stashed a pack of cigarettes, with some mint gum nearby.
First, he lit up. He’d actually quit long ago… Mary insisted because of frequent bronchitis and pneumonia. By the way, not a single seasonal bug last year! Calmed by the dose of nicotine, he pulled out his mobile and dialed a friend.
“So, mate,” he said, “I won’t be back in the game soon, you’ll have to manage without me… Yeah, the wife found my stash. Saved up for six months, just the right amount. And she went and bought herself jewelry.”
“Rough,” sympathized his friend. “Oh well, you’ll save up again.”
Michael sighed, glancing at the bedroom. Mary was sound asleep, and on the bedside table lay her sparkling, utterly useless to him yet so satisfying to her, new jewelry.
“Yeah… But at least the wife cheered up. She even said she might lose a few more pounds so the jewelry stands out better. I’m kind of happy she treated herself.”
The next morning, Mary was still in high spirits. She put on her new earrings and pendant, admiring herself in the mirror.
“How do I look, good?” she asked Michael.
“Wonderful,” he replied, striving to smile sincerely, gazing into his wife’s radiant eyes.
Yes, undoubtedly, a woman needs to be pampered sometimes! But deep down, he was already planning where to hide his next stash. This time, definitely not under the bath…
