In the shower this morning, I dropped that latest sliver. In hopes of salvaging it, and also to be sure I didn't slip on the damn thing, I squatted looking for it, head tilted so the still-running shower water wouldn't get in my mouth or nostrils and closing one eye because the water was going across, and the thought Okay, Chris, DON'T DROWN went through my mind.
Didn't find it. Didn't slip on it, either, because it looks like that sliver fell straight down into a slightly larger hole in the drain grate, a hole that's been there since my landlord had to break open part of the shower to take care of a draining problem. Elegant, that fall that sliver made. FLOOP, like an Olympic diver.
None of this was sexy. Mine, sadly, is not a sexy shower. Not built for more than one, for one thing. But at least I didn't slip.