“I’m not stripping!” Etta Moore said stubbornly, shouting at Gary Moore.
“Bro, you have to talk some sense into Mandy!”
When his name was called, Gary Moore looked conflicted.
On one hand, there was his brother.
On the other, the Family Head.
He was torn.
“Etta, you should listen to Mandy.
Stop making a scene.”
“Bro, have you lost your mind?
This is water!” Seeing that his brother wasn’t on his side, Etta Moore dashed into the bathroom.
He spread his arms, shielding the basin with his body.
“We can’t waste this water.
Look how clear it is!
This could last the three of us for days.”
“Bro, this is *water*!”
‘No matter how stubborn the boy is, he can’t out-stubborn me.
If he doesn’t bathe, no one’s getting on the bed!’ A small smile played on Mandy Donovan’s lips, a dangerous glint in her eyes that the twins failed to notice.
“Gary, pick up the pace.
Once I’m done with your brother, you’re next.”
Etta wasn’t getting away, and Gary wouldn’t be spared either.
She rolled up her sleeves and said sternly, “Etta Moore, water might be precious, but it’s not so precious that our family is short on it.”
‘Haven’t the brothers seen me use the dowsing rod to find water before?’
‘If I can find it once, I can find it again.
I don’t know what Etta is being so stubborn about.’
“I told you, we need to be hygienic!
And I told you that our family won’t be short on water from now on.” Mandy Donovan grabbed Etta Moore’s clothes and ripped them with a powerful tug.
‘In this position, Etta looks like a pig draped over a stool.
It even makes it easier for me to wash his back.’
RIP!
RIP!
In a few quick motions, Mandy Donovan had torn Etta Moore’s clothes to tatters.
She sneered, “You think you can protect that basin of water?
You keep guarding it, and I’ll just have your brother bring the entire barrel over.
I’d like to see you guard that!”
“I won’t let you!” Etta didn’t dare move, afraid Mandy would go for the basin and even more afraid she’d actually bring the barrel over.
“Please, don’t waste the water.
I’ll listen to you about anything else.”
“Let’s see how long you can hold out,” Mandy Donovan said, rolling her sleeves up even higher.
“Gary, put down what you’re holding and get over here.
Strip.”
Etta yelled, “Bro, we can’t waste this water!”
Ordered to strip, Gary Moore felt a little embarrassed.
He glanced at the clearly displeased Mandy Donovan and decided to try reasoning with his brother first.
“Think about where this water came from.
Would we have any of it without Mandy?
Once this is used up, we can just dig another well.
Have you forgotten that Mandy knows how to find water?”
“Are you sure you want to make Mandy angry?”
“I don’t want to make Mandy angry, but this is *water*,” Etta said.
He hadn’t forgotten how he and his brother, dying of thirst, had taken turns in the kitchen, secretly licking the dripping faucet.
“Strip!” Mandy Donovan ordered, crossing her arms and staring coldly at the two brothers.
His clothes had already been ripped to shreds by her.
His shirt was nothing but sleeves, and his pants were barely hanging on.
Gary gave up on persuading his brother.
He took the lead, stripped off his clothes, and threw them on the floor.
He covered his front with his hands, his face flushing.
“Done.”
Mandy Donovan ripped a towel in two, tossed the pieces into the basin, and threw in a bar of laundry soap.
Without even glancing at Etta, she soaked one half of the towel, grabbed it, and squeezed the water over Gary Moore’s head.
“When you bathe, you start from the top.
Our resources are limited for now, but in the future, when things are better, we’ll have separate towels for our faces, hands, feet, and bathing.”
After wetting Gary’s short hair, Mandy Donovan fished the laundry soap out of the basin and rubbed it into his hair.
“This is called soap.
There are different kinds for different purposes, but they all do the same thing: clean.”
“Use your hands to wash your hair.
Scrub your hair and your scalp.”
She grabbed Gary’s hand and guided it to his own head.
With his hands moved, the part he’d been covering was now exposed.
‘Sigh.’
‘He’s really just a kid.’
‘Still so young.’
Averting her eyes, she soaked the towel in the basin again, then took it out and dribbled water over Gary’s body.
“After your head, you can use the soap to wash your face, then your body.
Follow the order.”
“Stomp on your dirty clothes with your feet.
The bathwater can be used to wash them, so it’s not wasted.
After washing the clothes, the water can be collected in a bucket and used to flush the latrine—this thing on the floor.
You can also call it a toilet.”
“Have Etta help with your back.
You two can wash each other’s backs.”
Mandy Donovan handed the towel to Gary, then pinned Etta down and unceremoniously stripped him bare.
Etta’s arms flailed wildly.
“I’m not stripping!
I’m not bathing!”
‘This damn kid is harder to hold down than a pig for slaughter!’
After a struggle of both wits and strength, Mandy was tired too.
She decided to let the brothers wash themselves while she supervised.
“Your protests are useless,” Mandy said, fishing the other half of the towel from the basin and tossing it onto his head.
“I expect you to get yourselves properly clean.
If you’re not clean after the first time, you’ll wash again.
If you don’t take it seriously and waste water because of it, that’s on you, not me.”
‘Etta is just a kid too.
Nothing to see here.’
‘A nearly fifty-year-old auntie on the inside, trapped in a sixteen-year-old’s body.
I can’t bring myself to lay a hand on them.’
“Soapy water really stings if it gets in your eyes, so keep them shut,” she reminded the two little runts.
Then, Mandy went to inspect the barrel Gary was making.
It was built to the specifications she’d given, with a hole left in the bottom.
The spigot hadn’t been made yet.
“You can soap up your little pecker, too.
Good hygiene is a good habit.”
Grimy, dark water streamed down their bodies.
It pooled around their feet.
Just looking at it made Mandy feel like her inner neat freak was being pushed to its limits.
Etta squeezed his eyes shut, his face a mess of grimy water and foam.
“What if it gets in my eyes?”
“What do you think?
You rinse it with clean water,” Mandy said, not caring whether any soap had actually gotten in his eyes.
“Conserving water doesn’t mean not using it at all.
Back at the welfare center, we truly had no water and couldn’t afford to buy any.
We had no choice then.
It’s different now.
You’re married men.
You’re not little kids anymore, so you need to be more sensible and stop making me angry.”
She grabbed the laundry soap and started with Gary’s hair, lathering him up vigorously.
She covered him from head to toe, top to bottom, with a thick layer of suds.
When it was Etta’s turn, she did the exact same thing.
“From now on, we’ll schedule full baths as needed.
But every single night before bed, you will wash your face, brush your teeth, wipe down your bodies, and wash your feet.
No exceptions.
That goes for me, too!”
“Can’t we just brush our teeth once a day?
Toothpaste is expensive,” Etta, who had finally started washing but was still loath to use the water, tried to reason with Mandy.
“And water is precious!”
“I’s not listening, I’s not listening, I’s not listening!” Both of the little runts were finally covered in suds, and Mandy was satisfied.
“Scrub every inch of your bodies.
Don’t stop until your skin is red.”
“You two need to remember this: I am your wife.
And I am the Family Head of this household.
There is only one voice in this family, and it’s mine!
Whatever I say goes, even if I’m wrong!”
“But…
that’s just being unreasonable, isn’t it?” Etta had never seen anyone be so brazenly and confidently illogical.
He was completely dumbfounded.
Mandy heard him and planted her hands on her hips.
“Yeah?
And what about it?” ‘I’m the Family Head!
This little punk thinks he can reason with me?’
Etta pressed his lips together tightly, his face still a mask of defiance.
But…
washing up felt really good!
It was an experience unlike any he’d ever had.
‘Will life always be like this?’
Gary watched his brother with concern, wanting to say something but holding his tongue.