Jane exits the stall, already anticipating another cup of coffee. This one weekday, she’s got almost unlimited fluid intake.
Part of her vagrant reality is having no decent, or even very private, bathroom. In the morning she heads immediately to the gym, before she’s even had tea. The homeless newspaper office, but often with a long line. McDonald’s requires a receipt within the last 30 minutes. The college. The public library on her way back to Tent City. Five stops a day. She’s learned to coordinate her hydration accordingly.
Who could imagine a college ladies’ room as a luxury?
This installment from The Life and Times of Jane Doe is in response to Charli’s flash fiction prompt for the week: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about Five a Day. Fun flashes from other authors are at the link.
99 Monkeys 
This was the most appalling aspect of homelessness. Mostly, you have to pay to sit. I remember when we finally got to an RV park how luxurious the camp bathrooms became.
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It’s a very real problem, and not just for the homeless. If I’m going to be out and about all day, I have to plan my route to incorporate places with good restrooms. Almost every place requires you to be a paying customer, and even then I feel like people are giving me the stinkeye. 😦 I can’t imagine–although I try, when writing about Jane–how it would be with no bathroom to call your own.
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It’s more of a concern for women, too. And it’s dehumanizing.
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Clever take on the prompt. Love it!
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Thank you!
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