Watery Cityscape

I swept out the bathroom that stood unfinished for too long… it held the promise of a shiny new room for too many summer nights and too many cold mornings. The time had come for me to finish what I had started… and the children were excited about the process.

The wall studs held pink insulation I placed between them as a sound barrier between the den and an additional unfinished bedroom. The bathroom had become a catchall for boxes of clothes in transition for younger children or on the way to Goodwill. I found a box of tools I don’t remember hiding away… a dusty sheetrock saw stood sentry over a once favorite hammer and forgotten needle nosed pliers.

I measured and cut sheets of gypsum board and hoisted them over my head while my daughter Darby stood ready with my screw gun and a small fisted number of black screws. She stood smiling as I held out my arm in her direction. We finished hanging the sheetrock that evening and over the next few days the three layers of mud filled the joints. We were on our way.

The tile floors were next. I pulled out my old dependable tile saw and set out the pattern. The familiar sounds of the thin set spinning in a bucket under a powerful drill filled the rest of the house. I would look up to find little hands eagerly trying to hand me the heavy tiles that were stacked in nearby piles. I grouted the floors the next day and was happy to see the children sponging off the powdery haze left from the drying grout joints.

I assembled the toilet with new gaskets, new interior flappers and valves. A new sticky wax ring and bolts held it firmly to the tile floor. A test on the valve and waterline provided smiles from everyone. The pedestal sink rescued from an old job site provided a challenge for my large hands. The water lines and drain lines merge together in a limited amount of space better suited for a much smaller man... I managed to get the water running hot and cold after reassembling the stubborn faucet.

An accent of glass tiles holds the moisture and water from above the shower. It has been polished and finished and matches the floor tile and fresh paint perfectly. After a lapse in memory over the correct way to wire the switches and receptacle, everything is working like it was designed to work. One double switch controls the exhaust fan and light. A single switch controls the light over the sink along with a light near the shower. There is also receptacle that stays at the ready.

I installed the glass doors in the shower along with the hardware and watched as Darby moved in and out sliding the doors open and shut and sampling the water on her bare feet. The doors moved smooth under their heavy weight and fell lightly upon the rubber bumpers screwed into the pocketed frame.

I took the first shower as a test run. The water ran hot and comfortable. My little bottle of shampoo has now been joined by bottles of shampoos and conditioner of various brands. I noticed body gels and washes along with three types of bar soap. Colorful wash cloths join a fluffy scrubber on a crowded shelf. The other bathrooms sit dry… waiting for the children to return. And I search for my shampoo in a watery cityscape of plastic bottles.

                                                            Shannon R Killman