By Gloria Faye Brown Bates/aka Granny Gee
I decided to fill the old, porcelain bathtub at Grandma Alma's house with water. I wanted to take a bath; I was so hot. I had been playing hard outside with my cousins.
The tub began filling with cold water. I knew it was going to be hard to make myself sit down in it. It was going to take my breath away. I wished for hot water... at Grandma Alma's house, there was only cold water.
I never paid attention to the window behind the bathtub. I began undressing... laying my clothes neatly on the commode seat. I was being very careful to not let them touch the floor.
I put one foot over the side of the bathtub... oh my God, it was so cold! I didn't know if I could stand getting into the cold water... I wasn't so overheated that it felt that good!
I sat on the side of the old porcelain tub... both of my feet were in the water. I was taking deep breaths... I was going to sit down all at once in the cold water... oh, how I dreaded it!
My feet were freezing... I stood up. I almost stepped back out of the tub... but, I'd come too far. I knew if I could go ahead, just sit down... I could get used to the cold.
I lost my breath with a gasp... I began splashing cold water on my shoulders, my face. Might as well get it over with... I wanted to take a bath!
Looking back to that day... I can see I was too young to know to heat water in a pan to add to the cold water. I was eleven-twelve years old. The thought never entered my mind. Just as the thought never entered my mind to close the curtains on the window behind the bathtub.
I sat in the cold water... it felt good once I got past the initial shock. I began lathering up the bath cloth. I made it very soapy. I loved sudsy water; I loved the scent of bath soap.
I was daydreaming as I bathed... my eyes were closed. I heard a sound to my right, where the bathroom window was. I opened my eyes...
Staring into the window was a boy who was visiting, playing with my cousins! I cried out... my face felt very hot. He ran away...
I was so embarrassed! I didn't know how long he had stood there looking into the bathroom window. The spell was broken... I got out, toweled off, dressed. I knew I could never look that boy in the face again!
Time went by, the boy never spoke to me... nor I, to him. I was thankful. Every time I saw him... my face would get hot.
My life as a child was in turmoil constantly... other things quickly filled my mind until I never thought about it again.
That was one of the most embarrassing times of my young life. It was also, when I became aware of being seen through a window...
