I stand at the kitchen sink elbow deep in hot water and soap as my daughter sits eating strawberries at the kitchen table. She get’s up and leaves the room. Are you finished? I asked. Yes! I was sure she went to go get her coloring books and crayons that were on the living room floor because we had just been discussing them a few moments prior. A begin to daydream as I scrub. Lost in suds and the warmth of the water a couple of minutes pass before a I realize she has not returned.
I call her name. She answers with a distant…yes? Where are you? I ask. I few seconds go by before I hear her footfalls coming up the steps. Before she enters the room I ask…what are you doing? She responds…I makin a mess. I’m afraid…very afraid. I turn to see her hands, legs and feet covered with a dark shiny liquid. My mouth drops as I stare at her working hard to figure out what the hell she’s covered in. Then the smell hits me…nail polish! I screamed. That was my only reaction. I actually froze with fear for a moment. Then I scooped her up and ran down the hall to the bathroom. I put her in the tub with her nightgown and flip-flops on before I even turned on the water. This is bad…this is very bad. My scolding causes her lip to poke out and her head sunk until her chin touched her chest. I start the water and undress her taking the flip-flops off but leaving them in the tub as they too are covered in a deep, dark burgundy nail polish. I add liquid soap to the water and I begin to scrub her face. She starts to cry as I scrub but I am determined to at least get this crap off of her face. When I’m done the nail polish is gone and replaced by a big pink irritated blotch.
I go to work feverishly on the rest of her. Scrubbing her legs and feet vigorously. She complains with whiny…ooowwwww Mumma. Don’t ow Mumma me…I snapped realizing at that moment I sounded like my own mother. This shit isn’t coming off …maybe I should Google this. I leave her sitting in the tub to wash herself. I sit in the living room across the hall and call my sister.
She answers…Hello
You’re niece just covered herself with nail polish.
Oh my God.
I don’t know what to do. It’s not coming off.
It will come of with a couple of baths over the next couple of days. Nail polish doesn’t stay on your skin too long.
You’re right. I’m afraid Mum’s gonna freak.
What color is it?
I nice dark burgundy color…It looked black when I first saw it.
Oh my god. Where did she do it?
Downstairs in my room I’m guessing. Had to take care of her first. Don’t even want to tackle what’s next.
You better go look. I’m scared for you.
Thanks.
Go look to see where she did it.
I will…call you later
K…bye.
I hear Eva singing away to herself in the tub. She’s having too much fun for a person in big trouble. I storm into the bathroom. No singing…I say. She stops and looks at me, smiles and says…Hi Mumma. No ‘Hi mumma’s’ either. Mumma is mad you touched her stuff. Her head sinks again and she begins to sob…tearlessly.
As I dry her off I explain to her that she is being punished today for touching my nail polish and making a mess. She pokes out her bottom lip again. There will be no movies today…no Madagascar…no Finding Nemo. She begins to sob. She cannot watch any television…no Caillou or Pingu. She sobs louder. I explain that she is going to play in her room. She manages to squeeze out an okay and sulking she trudges off to her room. Once there I here her start to play…arguing with herself about taking turns. It’s my turn! No, It’s my turn! Give it to me! I imagine she’s pretending to play with her cousin. They both have to play with the same thing at the same time whenever they are together. It usually results with Isaiah in tears and Eva being called a bully. One time she yelled out his name in her sleep… Isaiah! The first thing that went through my head was that he must have snatched something from her in a dream. I went in to check on her not too long ago and she had removed the mattress from her bed and placed it on the floor. I don’t know how…or why. We straightened up together then I left her to play. I really don’t know what to do with this child.
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