Beginnings

Every morning in winter, Tom gets up early to watch Mrs Fitch in the shower. He hears the hum of their house as it wakes - a radio being switched on, the dog barking to be fed. From his window in the attic he can see down into their bathroom, through the spindly fingers of the tree. She doesn't close the blind, leaves the window open to stop condensation. He thinks it must be habit - she forgets that the modesty screen of broad green leaves that shields her from prying eyes in summer, falls away sometime in late September.

He's long looked forward to the changing leaves, the begining of autumn, most revealling of all seasons that strips us bare. He has a ritual. His alarm wakes him about a half hour before his parents even start to stir, about the same time as the Fitches. By the time he has been to his own bathroom, and brushed his teeth and hair, Mr Fitch is downstairs grabbing his coat and heading out. Mrs Fitch locks herself in the bathroom, and switches her radio on. Tom opens his window so his breath doesn't fog up the glass and spoil his view. She pushes her fingers through her hair and looks critically into the mirror above the sink. She sets the shower running, holding her hand out until the water is steaming hot. She then lets the purple-pink robe she is wearing drop to the floor, and steps carefully into the bath, and stands for a moment under the scorching stream. And then, when her hair is wet through, and clings in curls to the side of her tired but still sometimes pretty face, when the rivulets of water have navigated her every bulge and curve. Then - every morning, she turns the shower to cold, sinks down and hugs her knees, and cries with all her heart until her skin is blue under the icy water.

By the time she shakes her head and rises up again, swiftly washing herself and warming up again, Tom is done. He wipes his hands, pulls the window shut, and climbs back into bed. Five minutes later his mother comes in to wake him with a ruffle of his hair. She smiles at his sleep flushed face, and tells him breakfast will be ready soon.