Hands

Two.

Clio and I made our way through the long hallways of the hotel, turning around a few times because I led us in the wrong direction. We made it to the front and I opened Harry's large black umbrella which was plenty big enough to cover my daughter and I. We went to the trunk of my old beat up blue Volkswagen Beetle. I only had enough time to grab a small bag for each of us. I handed Clio her Mickey Mouse backpack and she excitedly put it on, though it was much too big for her and almost dragged on the ground when she walked. I put on my black backpack and grabbed my purse from the backseat and Clio and I began our walk back to the room.

"Mommy," Clio turned to me. "Is Harry your friend," She questioned innocently.

"Not exactly. Harry is a nice man who is going to let us have a sleepover tonight. But we're gonna have to say bye-bye to him tomorrow," I explained, hoping I wasn't confusing her. Clio nodded her head in understanding.

"I don't wanna say bye-bye to Harry. He's nice," Clio murmured as she let out a large yawn.

"I know baby. Harry is very nice but we can't stay," I replied. Clio stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. It was way past her bedtime and she was on the verge of throwing a tantrum at any moment.

By the time we reached the hotel room, I had a very sleepy Clio on my hip with her head resting on my shoulder. I balanced her with one arm as I used the other to dig the room key from my pocket. I unlocked the door and we went inside. I found Harry in the process of spreading bed sheets out on the floor. He looked up as I shut the door.

"You two can take the bed. I'm alright on the floor," Harry shrugged.

"No, that's okay. It's your room, you take the bed. We can sleep on the floor," I offered. Harry shook his head.

"I don't know a whole lot about kids, but I know that being up past her bedtime and not getting a restful sleep is the perfect combination for tantrums in the morning. For your sake and mine, take the bed." Harry smirked.

I rolled my eyes but nodded. I wasn't going to win that argument. I sat a sleepy Clio on the bed and took her backpack off of her and peeled mine off shortly after.

"Mama, I go to sleep," Clio mumbled softly.

"Not yet baby, we gotta get you in the bath first," I explained. I was met by another pout and a small groan. I felt bad keeping her up longer, but we had both been out in the rain and in wet clothes and I didn't want her skin to break out in a rash.

I picked out a pair of leggings, a t-shirt, and a pull-up out of Clio's backpack for her to sleep in, and carried her into the bathroom. I sat her on the edge of the counter and undid the velcro on her shoes. I peeled her socks off and followed with the rest of her rain-soaked clothes. As I began lifting Clio off of the counter, I got another glimpse of my own reflection in the large mirror. I desperately needed a shower, but there was no way I would leave my daughter alone in the hotel room with a strange man while I showered. I decided that we would just have to shower together, though it was far from ideal.

I struggled with the foreign shower faucet until a steady spray of water was coming from the shower-head. I checked the temperature against the inside of my wrist to be sure that the water wouldn't hurt Clio's sensitive skin. When I was sure that the temperature was correct, I placed Clio in the tub and began to undress myself.

After stepping into the tub, I began to soak Clio's curls under the warm water. She closed her eyes and hummed from the feeling. I used the hotel-provided bottle of shampoo to lather her hair, and then rinsed it. I decided that conditioning wasn;t necessary since I just wanted to get my baby to sleep as soon as possible. After deciding that she was clean enough, I lifted her out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel. She sat on the floor and closed her eyes, her head tipping slowly down towards her chest. I smiled at the precious moment before quickly washing my hair and body.