Discovery Under the Bath
A week spent bedridden with a fever and cough was finally behind her. Mary stretched in her bed and smiled. For the first time in a while, she truly felt well. The morning began with sunlight streaming through the curtains. Mary was full of energy and determination.
“Well then, time for some coffee and a good clean-up!” she cheerfully declared to herself, getting out of bed.
In the kitchen, her husband John was already sipping coffee and scrolling through the news on his ancient laptop.
“Morning,” he muttered without taking his eyes off the screen.
“Good morning!” Mary replied joyfully. “I feel like a million pounds today! I’ve decided to do a thorough cleaning. I’ll scrub the bathroom with that new cleaner I bought before I got sick.”
John just nodded, clearly not sharing her enthusiasm.
“Why today of all days? It’s my day off. I was hoping to just relax…”
“Don’t worry, love, I’ve got enough enthusiasm for both of us!” she assured him, finishing her coffee and avocado toast.
She hummed a tune to herself as she pulled on rubber gloves. How nice, she thought, that now the children are grown up, cleaning doesn’t need doing as often! Her daughter got married last year, and her son went to college in September, living in a dorm now… I should give them a call! Mary grabbed the new cleaning paste, which promised a shine and freshness in mere minutes. Her nose, still sensitive after the illness, didn’t detect any harsh chemical smell, rather a soothing scent of lavender or something similarly pleasant.
She started with the sink, moved on to the toilet, and then to the bathtub. The paste worked wonders, filling the room with the scent of meadow flowers.
“Well, what do you know!” she exclaimed in admiration, looking at the sparkling surface. “Good as new!”
But her enthusiasm didn’t wane there. Mary decided that since she’d started cleaning, she’d see it through to the end. She knelt down and peeked under the tub.
“Goodness, look at all that dust!” she exclaimed, grabbing a cloth.
Then her eyes caught something shiny. Mary reached out and pulled out a glass coffee jar. Inside were neatly folded notes.
“What’s this?” she wondered, opening the jar.
Mary emerged from the bathroom holding the jar. John was still at his laptop, but seeing her expression, he became alert.
“John, what’s this?” she asked, showing him the jar.
He froze for a moment. Then 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, swallowing hard and eyeing the jar like it held the last piece of bread on earth.
His eyes filled with poorly concealed pain, but Mary didn’t notice. She had already opened the jar and was gazing in surprise at the money.
“My stash?” Mary laughed. “I wouldn’t hide money under the bath. This is surely your doing.”
John raised his hands in surrender, swallowing the lump in his throat again.
“I swear, I have no idea where it’s from. Maybe the previous owners forgot it.”
Mary squinted.
“We’ve lived here for five years. I doubt they left money behind.”
John tried to act nonchalant, watching Mary’s every move. His wife, however, decided that since she found the money, it was hers. With a smile, she counted the notes. Her eyes lit up with a healthy greed.
“Well, if no one’s claiming it, then I got lucky,” she said.
John tried to intervene. He spoke with a smooth voice, controlling his emotions with difficulty:
“Maybe we should buy something useful? Like a new laptop? This one’s barely hanging on. I found a great one with a powerful processor…”
“A laptop?” Mary scoffed. “Why would I want a laptop? I have a better idea.”
The next day, Mary returned home with a lovely jewelry box. Inside was a set of jewelry: earrings, a ring, and a delicate necklace. She proudly showed them to John.
“Well, how do I look?” she asked, putting on the ring and beaming like Cleopatra herself. “Don’t I look wonderful?”
Her expression clearly told John: “Don’t even think about saying no!”
“Beautiful,” her husband responded promptly, trying to hide his disappointment and bitterness. “You’re the finest there is, I’m now worried someone might whisk you away.”
Mary spent the evening parading her new jewelry, bragging about her find and happy purchase to everyone: her friends, her mother, and her mother-in-law. Before bed, at ten o’clock, she carefully laid her treasures on the bedside table so she could wear them to work the next morning.
John couldn’t fall asleep for a long time, unlike Mary who was out cold in fifteen minutes. Knowing his wife’s sleep was deep, John cautiously crept to the balcony door, easing himself outside. There, in a juicer box, he found his hidden stash of cigarettes, with a packet of mint gum nearby.
First, he lit a cigarette. He’d quit a while ago… Mary insisted because of frequent bouts of bronchitis and pneumonia. By the way, not a single seasonal illness last year! After calming down with a dose of nicotine, John took out his phone and dialed his friend.
“Well, mate,” he said, “I won’t be joining the game soon. You’ll have to cover the front without me… Yeah, my wife found my stash. Saved up for six months, the perfect amount. She went and bought herself jewelry instead.”
“Harsh,” commiserated his friend. “Don’t worry, you’ll save up again.”
John sighed and glanced towards the bedroom. Mary slept soundly, her new jewelry sparkling and utterly useless to him, but making her perfectly happy.
“Yeah… At least she’s thrilled. She even said she might lose a few pounds to look even better with the new bling. I’m actually happy she made herself so delighted.”
The next morning, Mary was in high spirits again. She put on her new earrings and necklace, admiring her reflection in the mirror.
“How do I look?” she asked John.
“Wonderful,” he replied, aiming to smile sincerely, admiring his wife’s radiant eyes.
Yes, a woman certainly needs to be pampered sometimes! But deep inside, he was already planning where to hide his next stash. This time, definitely not under the bath.
