“Would you like some ice cream, Mud?”
Flicking a glance in Grace’s direction, Mud asked, “What’s ice cream?”
Grace’s heart cracked. She cleared her throat and stood. “Only the best thing you’ll ever taste in your life. I’ll show you.”
Taking the chocolate ice cream down from the freezer, Grace dipped them both a bowl and moved back to the table.
She placed Mud’s down in front of her and handed her a clean spoon. “Take small bites, else you’ll get brain freeze.”
“What’s brain freeze?”
“Something you definitely don’t want,” Grace responded with a chuckle.
The look of sheer joy on that girl’s face when she took her first bite of ice cream nearly choked Grace up once more. But she pretended not to notice.
Once their bowls were empty, Grace loaded their dishes into the dishwasher and motioned for Mud to follow her through the house.
She stopped outside the room Mud would sleep in and pushed the door wide. “This will be your bedroom while you’re here.”
Mud stood there in the borrowed clothes the hospital had discharged her in. Probably thanks to Beulah. “This is mine?”
“Yes. Come on, I have a few things for you.” Grace entered the room ahead of Mud, understanding that the child was scared and insecure.
She opened the closet, took down a pretty pink dress, and held it up for Mud to see.
Mud’s eyes grew large. She took a hesitant step forward, stopping just inside the door. “That’s mine?”
Again, Grace’s heart cracked. “It sure is.” She hung the dress back up and took down a yellow one similar to the first one. “Do you like this one?”
Mud inched closer, her palms now running up and down the sides of her thighs. “It-it’s like the sun.”
Grace turned back to the closet, afraid that Mud would see the tears no doubt swimming in her eyes. “I’m glad you like it. There are several more, but we can look at them once you’ve had a shower.”
“A shower?” Mud whispered, fear and uncertainty in her voice.
Grace realized that the child had no idea what a shower was. And from the looks of her, she’d never had one in her life. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
She inched by Mud, careful to stay a good distance so as to not frighten her, and trailed slowly across the hall to the spare bathroom.
Bending next to the tub, Grace started the water, adjusting it to a nice, warm temperature, and then straightened to find Mud still standing in the doorway of the bedroom.
“It won’t hurt you,” Grace patiently explained, motioning the terrified girl forward.
Mud glanced up and down the hall before cautiously crossing over into the bathroom.
Grace showed her the workings of the shower, explaining how the shampoo was to be used, as well as the soap and a washcloth.
Mud only stood there, obviously confused by it all.
“Would you like me to help you?” Grace offered, being sure to stand back far enough that Mud wouldn’t feel threatened by her presence.
After a long moment of silence, Mud finally nodded. “Okay.”
Chapter Ten
Mud nervously stripped out of the clothes she’d gotten from a nurse at the hospital, all the while watching Grace from the corner of her eye.
She inched closer to that tub, fascinated by the water spraying down from the roof area.
Knowing that the water would be cold, Mud held her breath and stepped over the side of the tub.
Warmth hit her shoulders, nearly scaring her back to the floor of that bathroom.
“Is it too hot?” Grace rushed out, quickly stepping forward.
Mud shook her head. “It-it scared me. I ain’t never seen water coming from a roof. And it ain’t cold.”
Grace turned away to busy herself with something behind her, but not before Mud noticed the sadness that sprang into her eyes. Why would Mud’s words make the woman sad?
Clearing her throat, Grace spun back around. “Okay, would you like me to help you wash your hair?”
Flora had shown Mud how to remove the dirt from her hands and face, using one of the bowls they’d used to catch rainwater. But Mud couldn’t remember her ever washing her hair. “Why do we have to wash my hair?”
Grace paused, seeming to choose her words. “Well, because it gets dirty just like the rest of our bodies. Haven’t you ever washed your hair before?”
Mud shook her head.
“May I show you how?”
“Okay.”
Grace nodded toward a bottle resting on a shelf on the wall of the shower. “Will you hand me that shampoo?”
Mud reached for the bottle, only to still when Grace murmured, “Not that one. The one next to it. That one is conditioner.”
Having no idea what conditioner meant, Mud handed Grace the correct bottle.
“Okay, Mud, back up under the water until your hair is completely wet.”
Doing as Grace instructed, Mud wet her hair. It felt amazing.
“That’s good. Now step forward so I can apply the shampoo. You must keep your eyes closed because the shampoo will burn them if it gets in them. Do you understand?”
Mud stepped forward, keeping her eyes tightly shut. Odd that she wasn’t afraid of Grace. Maybe Grace was one of the only ones in the village not controlled by the Devil.
The feel of Grace’s fingers in her hair felt foreign but good. Mud’s mama had never done such a thing.
Too soon, Grace asked her to step back under the spray of the water. “Now, you can move forward a bit and open your eyes.”
And on it went, with Grace teaching Mud the proper way to bathe and then turning off the shower and handing her a towel to dry herself with.
Once Mud was completely dry, Grace sprayed something in her hair. “This is detangler. You have lots of knots we need to work out.”
Mud stood very still, staring at herself in a large mirror that held her reflection. She had seen a piece of mirror that Flora had brought back from the village, but it wasn’t nearly as big as the one she gazed into now.
After what seemed forever, Grace blew out a frustrated-sounding breath. “We’re going to have to cut some of the knots out, Mud. Are you all right with that?”
Mud jerked back. Grace was going to take a knife to her hair. She wasn’t sure about the woman being too close to her face with a blade. She might trust Grace a little but not that much.
“I won’t hurt you,” Grace softly assured her. “Here, let me show you.”
Mud watched Grace open a drawer and remove a strange-looking contraption. It appeared as if two blades had been pressed together.
Grace sent her a smile. “They’re called scissors.” She lifted the contraption to her shoulder, picked up a small lock of her red hair, and then snipped off a piece. “See? No pain at all.”
Staring in wonder, Mud inched back to her previous position of looking at herself in the mirror.
Grace stepped up behind her. “Hold as still as you can, and I’ll be done momentarily.”
A short time later, and Grace was done. “There. Now let’s get dressed.”
Mud knew she was to follow Grace back to the bedroom, but she couldn’t seem to look away from her reflection. “I wish Mama could’ve had a warm bath like that. She woulda loved it so much.”