Ashley and James had been called in on their day off to help clean up a spill of material that was causing safety concerns for other workers. That meant shovelling the material into a wheel barrow and dumping that into a chute about 30 feet away so it could be recycled into the process. Their supervisor had pleaded with them after everyone else had declined. So here they were, just the two of them, shovelling.
They had been at it for several hours when they finally could see the end of the spill. Their supervisor came to see them and assess their progress. He asked them if they wanted a meal brought in as they were entitled to one.
Ashley shook her head "Just pay me out the meal, I've got lots of leftovers at home."
James also shook his head "I just want to get out of here when we're done."
So the supervisor went away and the two of them resumed shovelling. It took them less than an hour to finish cleaning up the spill. As they put away their shovels, they called to their supervisor to tell him they were done. The supervisor came out of his office and had a somber look on his face.
"I've got bad news guys. We have no water for the showers. Just found out ten minutes ago, sorry."
"How can we not have water and still have the plant running?" asked Ashley.
"Well, the process uses untreated water directly from the river. The showers use potable water and the whole area is out of water. There's been a major problem at the treatment plant and they're working to fix it."
James asked "How widespread is this water shortage?"
"From what I've heard, it affects the whole west side of the city. The eastern part, which is on a different water system, still has water. I gotta go guys. Wife and I are taking the kids to the in-laws overnight, they live in the east part. Thanks for coming in."
The supervisor walked away, leaving Ashley and James to just stand there.
"How the heck will I clean up? I don't know anyone who lives in the east! And I sure don't feel like driving two hours to my sister's or renting a room!" James genuinely looked dumbfounded.
"Well, you could come with me, I live in the eastern part of the city. I only have one washroom in my condo but we could take turns."
"You sure you don't mind?"
"No, not at all! Let's go, I'll meet you in the parking lot."
They went to the locker rooms and grabbed their bags and met up in the parking lot. From there, James followed Ashley all the way to her condo building. She lowered her window and motioned for him to park in the visitor space and went to her own parking space. James joined her there and they went up to her condo, chit-chatting about the building while they made their way.
Once inside her condo, James looked around and said "Nice!"
"Glad you like it! Feel free to look around!"
Ashley went to the linen closet and took out a large towel and a wash cloth. She motioned to the washroom.
"Want to go first?"
"You don't want to go first? It's your shower."
"Naw, I can wait."
"You don't have to wait if you don't want to..." James said with a twinkle in his eyes.
Ashley smiled and coyly asked "What are you suggesting James?"
James took the few steps that separated him from Ashley and gently touched her cheek with the back of his fingers.