The little converted two car garage Bill and I lived in for a couple of years actually had four rooms and a full bath. There were two bedrooms on one side, with the bath off the one in the back of the “house” and a very small living room and eat in kitchen on the other half. The bath had a clawfoot tub, a toilet that you couldn’t use unless you closed the door, and a tiny sink in between. Over the tub was a regular size window and I only covered the lower half as I like a lot of light, plus we backed up to an unused field so I wasn’t concerned about being seen while in the bath. Now, I don’t know about your guys, but when my girls were toddlers, they didn’t want me out of their sight. I learned early on that it was easier just to leave the bathroom door open so that I didn’t have to listen to “Mom? What are you doing? Or “Mom? When will you be out?” over and over again. Privacy, at that time of my life, was rare indeed. So, when Bill suggested he take the girls out with him to do yard work one fine spring afternoon so that I could take a leisurely bath by myself, I jumped on the chance.
And then I jumped into the tub after filling it with warm, scented water, opened my book and, as I lowered myself almost completely under water, I felt like I’d be able to relax for a change. Outside, I could hear the girls squealing with delight, most likely at something silly their dad was doing to make them laugh, and I smiled. It was a beautiful day, all the windows were open to let in the balmy Savannah air and I could smell the scent of freshly mown grass. Heaven. The relaxation didn’t last however, because after just a few minutes, my antennae went crazy. Suddenly, I just knew eyes were on me. I sat up and looked around to the window but could see no one. I tried to settle back into the water, but my unease wouldn’t go away and I began looking all around the tiny bathroom… outside the tub on the floor, on the walls, etc. Anyone knowing my terror of cockroaches will understand when I say I was positive I had company and there was no way I was going to stay in the same room with a roach of any size. As much as I looked, I couldn’t find anything until… I looked up at the open door and there, sitting on top, was a green lizard, staring at me.
I screamed bloody murder, splashed water all over the place getting out of the tub and running into the bedroom, naked as the day I was born. Bill came running inside, telling the girls to stay back as he had no idea what to expect. I grabbed a robe, dripping water all over the place, as I pointed to the doorway. It took Bill a couple of seconds to see the lizard and then… he burst out laughing. The lizard didn’t appear to be the least bit amused or even interested with all the commotion and he just sat there, staring at us until Bill reached up and snatched him off the top of the door. Bill took the lizard outside and released him into some shrubbery where Bill said he would be safe from me. I wasn’t amused either, especially since that pretty much ended my leisurely bath for the day. Then... a couple of weeks later, as I was taking a bath while the girls were napping, I again felt like I was being watched. This time, when I turned around and looked out the window, a pair of human eyes stared back. Scared and shocked, I gasped, grabbed a towel and ran out of the bathroom but for some reason, I didn’t scream. I called Bill whose place of business was only a few minutes away and he was home in about 6 minutes.
When Bill went around to the back of the house, he saw where a bucket had been placed beneath our bathroom window which enabled someone to see in if they were at least 5 and a 1/2 feet tall. We figured it was a teenage boy, so we started asking around the neighborhood if anyone else had had a similar experience. Unfortunately, we discovered the young man of 19 was the son of our landlords, who were embarrassed beyond words. A little more investigation and the kid admitted he was the peeping tom. It turned out that some of our neighbors knew it was him but, because his parents were such good people, they didn’t want to call the police. Neither did we after the landlords convinced us their son would be getting help for his little problem. Needless to say, I installed full size window treatments in our bathroom immediately after this incident. Even though I never saw another lizard on top of the door or another peeping tom at the window, I was glad to have such keen instincts. And eventually, I did get another chance to have a relaxing bath.
And then I jumped into the tub after filling it with warm, scented water, opened my book and, as I lowered myself almost completely under water, I felt like I’d be able to relax for a change. Outside, I could hear the girls squealing with delight, most likely at something silly their dad was doing to make them laugh, and I smiled. It was a beautiful day, all the windows were open to let in the balmy Savannah air and I could smell the scent of freshly mown grass. Heaven. The relaxation didn’t last however, because after just a few minutes, my antennae went crazy. Suddenly, I just knew eyes were on me. I sat up and looked around to the window but could see no one. I tried to settle back into the water, but my unease wouldn’t go away and I began looking all around the tiny bathroom… outside the tub on the floor, on the walls, etc. Anyone knowing my terror of cockroaches will understand when I say I was positive I had company and there was no way I was going to stay in the same room with a roach of any size. As much as I looked, I couldn’t find anything until… I looked up at the open door and there, sitting on top, was a green lizard, staring at me.
I screamed bloody murder, splashed water all over the place getting out of the tub and running into the bedroom, naked as the day I was born. Bill came running inside, telling the girls to stay back as he had no idea what to expect. I grabbed a robe, dripping water all over the place, as I pointed to the doorway. It took Bill a couple of seconds to see the lizard and then… he burst out laughing. The lizard didn’t appear to be the least bit amused or even interested with all the commotion and he just sat there, staring at us until Bill reached up and snatched him off the top of the door. Bill took the lizard outside and released him into some shrubbery where Bill said he would be safe from me. I wasn’t amused either, especially since that pretty much ended my leisurely bath for the day. Then... a couple of weeks later, as I was taking a bath while the girls were napping, I again felt like I was being watched. This time, when I turned around and looked out the window, a pair of human eyes stared back. Scared and shocked, I gasped, grabbed a towel and ran out of the bathroom but for some reason, I didn’t scream. I called Bill whose place of business was only a few minutes away and he was home in about 6 minutes.
When Bill went around to the back of the house, he saw where a bucket had been placed beneath our bathroom window which enabled someone to see in if they were at least 5 and a 1/2 feet tall. We figured it was a teenage boy, so we started asking around the neighborhood if anyone else had had a similar experience. Unfortunately, we discovered the young man of 19 was the son of our landlords, who were embarrassed beyond words. A little more investigation and the kid admitted he was the peeping tom. It turned out that some of our neighbors knew it was him but, because his parents were such good people, they didn’t want to call the police. Neither did we after the landlords convinced us their son would be getting help for his little problem. Needless to say, I installed full size window treatments in our bathroom immediately after this incident. Even though I never saw another lizard on top of the door or another peeping tom at the window, I was glad to have such keen instincts. And eventually, I did get another chance to have a relaxing bath.