Nathan shook his head at this memory, reminding himself that it was Sadie who brought him pancakes in the morning.  And anyway his home wasn’t here; he’d left his house and his wife down in Texas.  And with that he hurried into the bathroom.  Nathan was glad to have the span of a shower, time enough to think.  Washing away Tangiers, the red dirt fell off him, clinging now to the rim of the tub.  He grabbed the little white towel, and dried himself vigorously.   Then Nathan began to dig through his shaving kit.  He hoped he had a new razor, but more so he prayed for something other than Sadie’s deodorant.  Really, he didn’t think anyone would get close enough to notice the Baby Fresh scent, but he wasn’t too sure now.   He remembered Catherine hated anything with Baby Powder.  But then, this was Baby Fresh; was that the same as Baby Powder?  It was probably close enough, so he decided not to chance it.  No new razor, so he shaved anyway using his old one, glad he hadn’t already thrown it out.  He considered not shaving at all, but he’d remembered how much Catherine complained before about getting ‘beard burn.’  The first weekend they’d spent together back in Berlin, back when Catherine was still a student of his, Nathan had realized her sensitivity.  After enduring those first few nights in close proximity with his stubble, her left cheek, chin, and the end of her nose had been scraped red.  Secretly he’d found the abrasions amusing, but Catherine had been mad, especially when her face began to peel.  He normally shaved each morning before work.  But for her, he’d changed his schedule, remembering from that point on always to shave before going to bed.

Read this story in its entirety