Kurt noticed the musty smell moments after the dampness hit. He turned to look at the full bottle of tolterodine tablets atop his file cabinet and sighed. Ms. Anna Lisa Schmidt – no, Dr. Anna Lisa Schmidt – prescribed them only a week ago and even now the regimen was broken. The woman couldn’t know much about the male urinary system, Kurt thought, and to him the pills seemed superfluous.
Now he had wet his seersucker, all because Becky took too long in the bathroom. She knew he had a prostatectomy – she knew it – and she still wasted time. The musty smell was taking its toll on Kurt’s mind, its pungency growing stronger as it seeped into his dank flesh and the rug beneath him. “Fucking damn it,” he slithered to himself.
Barb had to have the reports in half an hour. That stupid bitch insisted on having them before Monday, even if Kurt had to work from home to get them done. He yelled for Becky to get out of the bathroom and then for Allison, his bride, to come upstairs. The latter request was responded to first and met with surprise.
“Dr. Schmidt told you to take those pills, Kurt,
she told you.” Boy, he wanted to backhand her right then, but he settled on barking for her to “get a damn mop or something.” After making a grand show to himself of stamping down the hall, he hammered on the bathroom door and screamed to Becky.
“This is my house, young lady, and you will respect that when I need to use the God damn toilet!” Becky groaned audibly and threw the door open, her face ripe with make-up. At first she looked ready to burst from anger, but her attention was quickly drawn to Kurt’s damp pants. Her face contorted into one of hideous pity, one that cut him down and stamped on his heart. He pushed her aside and locked the door.
Later that night he rested on his side, gazing into the open closet. Kurt saw into its darkest corner, where the basket laid for special nights. The “Magnums” seemed worth far less now, for lack of mood, the crushing events of the day prior, and most of all for inability: the operation had its side-effects.
Allison held him from behind and, because she knew he was still mad, whispered “She said that might happen, honey. It’s not that big of a deal.” There was no response from Kurt, and she had to appreciate how hard this was for him. She would have to take care of him, she thought. Make sure he took his pills. Help clean up any accidents.
A wetness formed between them later that night, and Kurt seemed to drown.