Remember When ↠ l.p.

Bath time

"Just how often do you wash behind these ears?" I tease Cailyn. I'm elbows deep into a pool of bubbles and soap suds and I'm trying to make sure that a few of them do their duty and clean Cailyn. She, however, couldn't care less about actually getting clean and is much more interested in throwing the bubbles into the air or playing with the boat we have for bath time, making her little dolls jump on and off its diving board/plank. She giggles and scoots away as I try to pull her head down so I can reach her ears. I'm half soaked and quite certain that mom got the better end of the deal, helping Tessie with her bath. While it's not always true that Tessie is quieter and better behaved than Cailyn, it is true when it comes to bath time. "C'mon mi hija, I've got to wash behind your ears and then get your hair all soapy too!" I pull her back over towards me, sloshing water over the side of the tub and getting soap all over my shirt. I groan and take it off. I miss the days when Cailyn was so little that I could take her in the shower or a bath with me. I honestly won't need to shower tonight as I'm already covered in soap and water, thanks to Cailyn.

"Noooo, stop! My eyes!" she tries to pull away, but I've got my arm around her shoulders now and she can't escape.

"I'm just washing behind your ears okay? Then we'll wash your hair and be extra careful not to get anything in your eyes." I smile reassuringly at her and scoop up my neglected washrag. "Hold still," I instruct her as I rub behind both of her ears. "Now lie down like we've been doing and tilt your head back so I can wash your hair without getting soap in your eyes." She leans back onto her elbows, in between lying down in the water and being propped up. I lather my hands and massage them into her scalp. Then I scoop water up and pour it so it rinses the soap out of her hair. She doesn't wiggle too much and I'm able to finish within a few minutes. "All done! Do you want to play for a few more minutes or is the water too cool?" I dip my fingers in, it's lukewarm so she might be content to play for a couple more minutes.

"I wanna play more. I need to rescue them because they're lost in the ocean." she pushes her still dripping wet hair out of her face and returns to her game. I nod and move away from the tub, sitting on the closed toilet to wait until she's done. I wisely put my phone on the counter for safekeeping so it's not been drenched like I have. I scroll through my apps, not really sure what I want to occupy myself with. A game? Social media? Checking my emails? Looking at the news or weather? I finally choose a game, something mindless can be fun and that's certainly something I can enjoy. As the game opens and the loading screen comes up a notification flashes at the top of my screen.

From Liam:

I need to talk to you. Call me or Paddy. NOW

"All done?" I jump slightly at the sudden noise. I tear my eyes from the screen and up to Mom's. I don't even have to say anything, she knows something is wrong. She beckons for me to exit the bathroom, only pausing me to hand me more wet shirt from the floor. 

"I'll take care of Cailyn. Why don't you go," she glances at Cailyn who is watching us curiously. "uh, rest in your room. I'll put them both to bed in a moment." she reassures me. She waits until I nod, then gives me a push out the door.