She twirls under the spray, and there are fits of giggles as she stomps on the shower water.
“You should make sure that she’s actually washing with shampoo and soap.”
I give her another minute before checking on her. “Amelia, would you like me to wash your hair?” I ask.
“Yes, Mommy always does the bubble song.”
“The bubble song?” I ask, glancing at Levi for help.
He shrugs and shakes his head, at a loss as to what the bubble song is or how it may go.
“Can you sing it for me, Amelia?” I ask, sliding the glass door open. I lean into the shower to grab the shampoo, and my shirt gets wet. It’s unavoidable without moving the showerhead away from Amelia.
“No, you sing it, silly.” Amelia dips her head back, and I lather up my hand with shampoo, running them through her long blonde tresses.
“Do you have conditioner?” I shout to Levi.
“Umm, no,” he says. “But I can call Douglas and have him pick up a bottle.”
“That won’t work for tonight,” I say with a heavy sigh. “I think I have a small bottle in my bag. Can you grab it?”
“Yeah, sure.”
We make a good team. I rinse the shampoo bubbles from Amelia’s hair, and she dips her head back, making sure I don’t get any soap in her eyes. “While your daddy grabs the conditioner, how about you soap up your body?” I hand her a bar of soap, and it slips right out of her hands.
Amelia giggles and bends down to capture the soap as it slides across the floor. “Please be careful,” I warn her. If she falls and gets hurt, Levi will blame me.
She chases after the soap, and it slides across the shower tile at her feet until she sits on the water, covering the drain hole, turning her shower into a bath.
I can’t imagine Levi will be pleased if the water starts seeping out of the tub. “Come on, stand like a big girl. Unless you want me to draw you a bath?”
She climbs to her feet and tosses the soap at me, although in all honesty, I’m not sure that it doesn’t just slip out of her hands, either.
“Levi?”
How long does it take him to grab the conditioner from my luggage?
Amelia finally soaps up her body, cleaning herself while he returns to the bathroom. His cheeks are red, and I swear he looks like he was caught doing something that he shouldn’t have, but I’m not sure what.
“I uh—”
“Got lost in there?” I joke, and yank the conditioner from his hands.
He runs his fingers through his hair and turns his back to me, but he’s still in the doorframe. “You really don’t trust me?”
I get it. I’m a stranger, and Amelia is his kid, but it’s clear that she’s not comfortable having him bathe her. Which means someone has to help her out until she’s able to handle it on her own.
I pop the lid off the conditioner bottle and rub my hands together before sliding my fingers through Amelia’s long hair. I don’t want her to have knots and for brushing her hair to become a chore. I remember my mother yanking on my hair, attempting to brush mine when I was a kid, and the tears that followed.
Amelia decides to splash me because why the hell not? It’s not like I’m dry anyhow. The kid makes sure that my shirt is soaked by the time I’m finished rinsing her hair.
She’s all giggles and points at my shirt, and she can now see my purple lace bra, which happens to leave little to the imagination. My nipples show right through the fabric.
Crap.
I pull back, finishing with Amelia in the shower and turning the water off when she’s done. I wrap a towel around her and keep my back to the door, not letting Levi get a free show.
But there’s only one towel.