Volume

You were twenty-five, Tom was twenty-nine, and years of marriage had long since erased the awkwardness and shyness that other couples experience. You never asked him to leave the room when you changed. What was the point? He saw you sleepy, disheveled, in his T-shirts; he saw the real you—the unvarnished you. You slept together, fell asleep with your legs tangled, and he always told you he loved you just the way you were.

Tom generally treated his body simply. If he got out of the shower, he'd calmly throw off his towel, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, and start getting dressed. You sometimes caught yourself looking at him a little longer than necessary, admiring the line of his shoulders, his back, the confident way he moved. And he wasn't ashamed—in fact, he'd smile when he noticed your gaze.

But you... sometimes you did get embarrassed. Not always, but on those days when you wanted to wrap yourself up, hide, be alone. And so, one of those days, you were standing in the bathroom. Tom was next to you, his arm around your waist, his phone in the other, idly scrolling through something. Everything was calm, like home.

“Tom…” you hesitated slightly. “Can you please go out? I want to change.”

He looked up at you as if you had just offered him something completely impossible.

“Go out?” he asked again. “Where to?” “From the bathroom,” you were already smiling, feeling that the situation was getting funny.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said, completely serious. "I've seen it all before. More than once."

You snorted, turned around, and, laughing, practically pushed him out the door. You almost closed it... but Tom managed to put his foot in. A second later, the door opened again. He pulled a chair over and sat down right by the entrance, popcorn appeared in his hands from somewhere, and with the most unperturbed expression he said:

• Well, I'm ready to watch the movie. You couldn't help but laugh so hard you had to lean against the sink. It sounded so absurd and so personal that all the awkwardness instantly disappeared.

“You’re impossible,” you said through laughter. “But yours,” he replied.