Chapter Seven
Baths are officially ruined for me, forever, and it’s all because of this bath I am in right now. I will never be able to enjoy another bath again.
So deep it should technically be classed as a pool. So silky smooth – unlike my bath at home, which has this invisible layer of fuzz that no product seems to be able to shift. The water is so warm, the bubbles smell so good, and as if all that wasn’t enough I just found the control panel for the jets. Massage jets! I would have lived a much happier life, never knowing massage jets existed, because now I want them so bad. I’ll just have to make the most of them while I’m here.
I find myself daydreaming, lost in the fantasy of my dream house. I begin to imagineit with a smile on my face, as if I'm walking through its rooms, feeling the warmth and comfort it provides.
I walk through the front door into a grand entrance hall with a soaring ceiling and a sparkling chandelier hanging above me. The walls are elegantly decorated with intricate mouldings and framed artwork. A comfortable bench near the door invites visitors to remove their shoes and stay for a while.
Moving into the living room, I'm greeted by a symphony of colours and textures. A stunning fireplace is surrounded by plush sofas and armchairs adorned with soft cushions and blankets. The crackling sound of the fire and the warmth it emits create a cosy atmosphere ideal for curling up with a good book or sharing stories with family and friends.
The adjoining kitchen is a chef's dream. Gleaming countertops, high-end appliances, and a large central island entice me to unleash my culinary creativity. Sunlight pours in through the windows, casting a warm glow on the gleaming surfaces. I can already picture myself cooking delicious meals while sipping a glass of wine and socialising with friends gathered around the island, like a fancy middle class housewife from a Netflix domestic thriller.
The dining room is a visual feast. A long, elegant table is set beneath a stunning chandelier (can you ever have too many chandeliers in your dreams?), ready to host memorable gatherings and delectable feasts. The shelves on the walls are decorated with cherished family heirlooms and whimsical trinkets collected from around the world, sparking conversations with everyone who visits.
As I make my way upstairs, I find myself in a luxurious master suite. The bedroom is a haven, with a superking-sized bed draped in soft linens and fluffy pillows. French doors lead to a private balcony with breath-taking views of the garden. A deep soaking tub, a spacious shower, and marble countertops in an en-suite bathroom create a spa-like ambiance where relaxation is pretty much inevitable.
I would have my own cosy library, complete with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves brimming with all my favourite reads. A cosy armchair is nestled in a corner, bathed in soft lighting, creating the ideal setting for immersing myself in captivating stories where I canescapereality.
As I continue to explore the dream house in my head, I come across more bedrooms, each one with its own distinct design and charm. One room is brightly coloured, inspiring creativity and imagination, while another exudes a serene and tranquil atmosphere, ideal for chilling out. To be honest with you, I don't think I'll bother with a sex dungeon, I can't imagine my having much cause to use one - although this is a daydream, so maybe we'll say my sex life is popping, so there's a cupboard in the bedroom with all the bits and bobs that go with that, because why not? This is at totalfantasy after all.
Finally, I take a step outside into the back garden, where a natural oasis awaits. A sprawling garden brimming with colourful flowers and aromatic herbs invites me to reconnect with nature and indulge my green thumb. There isn't a flake of snow in sight. A large patio offers plenty of space for outdoor entertaining, and a sparkling pool promises cool relief on hot summer days.
My dream home is a haven, a sanctuary where I can be completely myself. It's a place where laughter echoes through the halls, where love and warmth fill every room. It's a place that accepts me, nurtures my dreams, and helps me make lasting memories. It's also a house that is never going to happen, not unless I win the lottery, marry well, or wind up stuck here for every.
My mind is dragged back to reality all at once. I can only distract myself for so long.
I can’t stop thinking about what Chris told me about his mum, and how devastated he must feel at this time of year. I almost feel bad, for telling about my selfish sister woes, because it’s hardly a comparable problem, is it? I know how pushed out I felt, and how it made me feel like I couldn’t spend New Year’s Eve with my parents, but at least I know they’re alive and well, and I can see them any other day. Chris will never see his mum again and, because he’s stuck here, his poor dad is probably all alone.
I feel a tear escape my eye and drop into the bathwater. No. Enough of that. This is strictly a no crying bath. I’m supposed to be warming up and relaxing, making the most of being stuck here.
I wish I’d remembered to bring my phone with me. I left it downstairs. I do like a soak in the bath but I don’t like being alone with my thoughts for too long. Between my tendency to dwell on things, and my overactive imagination, the conversations I have with myself can get pretty out of hand pretty fast. I’ll think about things that have happened in the past – and that covers everything from things I did five minutes ago, to times I embarrassed myself when I was a kid and everything in between. I’ll think about things. I’ll have hypothetical arguments with people – and I won’t always win them, which is insane, you’d think my own imagination would let me win.
I just feel like I have so much on my mind at the moment. More so than usual. We all carry stress around with us but there’s only so much that can be carried around before it starts to feel heavy. On top of the usual life stresses, I’ve got the drama with my sister and now being stuck here in my boss’s house. I yoyo between almost having a lovely time and being terrified of getting caught here, and I’m not even sure they’re different feelings sometimes because, for a girl like me who has never really put a foot wrong, something about being kind of bad for the first time in my life feels weirdly good.
I have always been a good girl. The naughtiest thing I did as a teen was sip my mum’s drinks while she wasn’t looking (interestingly, my sister and I would only ever take sips – it’s like we wanted to be “bad” but we didn’t want to actually get drunk) and occasionally staying up late to watch movies after bedtime. That’s it though. I was good as gold throughout uni – I wound up with a job in the legal profession, for crying out loud, you don’t really get more straight-laced than that, do you?
This might be the only time, in my entire life, that I ever do anything wrong. As things go it’s pretty spectacular – although I can’t take credit for the wildest part of it. Still, I’ll be able to look back at this and feel like I did something out of line, for once in my life, and hopefully it will be a happy memory – something my grandkids can laugh at. Wait, no, I can’t exactly tell my hypothetical grandkids about granny’s one one-night stand, can I? My grown grandkids, perhaps. If I’m lucky enough to get that far in life.
I’d love to have grandkids – kids first, obviously – but a family, that’s the goal. Well, a family and one of these big baths with the jets. Then I’ll know I’ve made it.