Josy and the full-clothes shower

 

Lagoa da Italianinha. 6:40 PM.

Heat that melts your thoughts.

The front door slammed shut.

Josy had arrived.

Hair tied back, knit top, jeans, and her heavy work bag in hand. A day spent on the go: cowded bus, annoying boss, bank lines.

She dropped her bag on the sofa. Glanced at the clock. Glanced at the fan. Glanced at the bathroom.

And didn't think twice.

Josy went straight to the bathroom.

She sat on the edge of the bed to do just one thing: take off her shoes.

Old sneakers. One at a time. Thump, thump on the floor.

She stood up. Walked into the bathroom. Locked the door.

Turned on the shower. Icy water pouring down hard.

And she jumped right in. Clothes and all.

Her knit top soaked through instantly. Her jeans grew heavy. Her hair tie started dripping.

She stood there under the water, eyes closed.

"Oh... that feels so good," she sighed.

Water ran down her top, her pants, her socks.

The only dry part of her was her feet—because her shoes had been left outside.

From outside, her neighbor Eliane Josefa knocked on the wall. "Josy! Is everything okay in there? You're taking a while!"

Josy shouted from inside the shower stall: "Everything's fine, Dona Eliane! I just wanted to wash off the day's exhaustion and the grime of the streets!"

She rubbed the wet top against her body, washing her pants at the same time.

"I worked all day. If I had to take my clothes off, fold them, put them away... I’d just give up. This way, I wash myself and the day's clothes in one go."

She laughed to herself. "It's a bath and laundry service all in one."

She stayed there for about ten minutes. Until the water warmed up a bit.

When she stepped out, she was dripping wet. She left a trail from the bathroom door to the clothesline.

She hung up her top. She hung up her pants. She even hung up her socks.

Then she sat on the sofa in just her pajamas, her bare feet finally resting.

Dona Eliane shouted from the window: "You crazy girl! I've never seen anyone take a shower fully dressed!"

Josy laughed and replied: "That's the Josy way of life, Dona Eliane! I take off my shoes. The water takes care of the rest!"

That night, Josy went to sleep early. Feeling light.

Because sometimes, exhaustion doesn't wash away with just a shower.

It washes away with the shower, the change of clothes, and the relief of not having to make any choices.