It was later that same night, and Miss Ginny had come back as she'd promised. She brought Roger a plate of food, which consisted of a little bit of chicken, some mashed potatoes, and corn. Roger rejected it silently. She surprisingly didn't force him to eat any of it. This is going to be too easy, the dark-haired boy thought. She'll be broken soon enough. The young woman stayed in Roger's room with him as the sun set, equally as quiet.
Once the sun went down, Miss Ginny turned on the lights in the room. She looked at Roger. "Are you sleepy?" she asked gently. He shook his head. Of course, he was lying. His eyes felt so heavy, and the bed looked incredibly inviting. But he didn't want to sleep unless he had someone right there beside him like on the island. Miss Ginny walked over to him. She leaned down. "Maybe you just need a little help relaxing. How about I give you a bath? It'll be nice and warm-you'll feel better instantly, I just know it." she explained. Roger thought about the offer. He'd only had one bath, and that was on the ship to get all the dirt and paint off before being admitted to this god-forsaken place. But he didn't want to give in to any authority just yet. He shook his head firmly. Miss Ginny smiled and put a hand on his back. "Come along, Roger." she instructed sweetly. Roger crossed his arms. "No." he said abruptly. She stopped. "But you'll feel so much-"
"I said no."
"Oh, but I'll make it nice and warm for you."
"You can't make me."
Miss Ginny stared for a moment, not in shock or disbelief, but in actual thought. "I was never going to make you, sweetie. I was just suggesting it. I just wanted to tell you how much better you'd feel after, and how the water would calm you. If you didn't want to, I wasn't going to drag you." she told him softly. Roger also gave this a lot of thought. She really didn't seem like she was making him. It was he who wanted to break her rules. There weren't even any rules to break. Miss Ginny stepped back and looked out the window. A very long silence passed.
Finally, Roger stirred. "Alright," he said. She turned to look at him, her honey hair gleaming in the light. "What did you say, sweetie?" she asked as she approached him. Roger sighed. "I'll take a bath." he rushed out the words. Miss Ginny gave him a warm smile. She helped him slip off the bed, took his hand, and looked away when he yanked it from her grasp. She led him silently down the hallway to the bathrooms. Roger noticed how many other women that looked like her were walking about, all wearing the same white shoes, white stockings, white dresses, white hats, and pink aprons. Occasionally a man would pass, but he would always be wearing a doctor's coat or reading a clipboard. Miss Ginny opened a door and brought Roger into a echoing room that had a tub in it and several counters. A big mirror lined the wall above the tops of them. As Miss Ginny readied the bathwater, Roger looked at his reflection in thought. They hadn't done a very good job of washing him on the ship. Come to think of it, they'd dunked him in some water and rubbed him a little because he'd been screaming so hard that they had to do a quick job to get it over with. No soap. No shampoo. He had streaks of dirt still around the edges of his face and jaw line. His hair was an absolute mess. His face was still stained very slightly with red, white, green, and black from his war paint. Miss Ginny turned to him. "It's ready now," she said. He drew back from her nervously, eying the tub of water. She put her fingertips in. "It's not too hot, sweetie. I promise. Do you want to feel it and make sure?" she asked kindly. He shook his head. Miss Ginny then knelt in front of him and began to carefully undo the buttons on the front of his pajama-like shirt.
Roger didn't like it. Nor did he want to stand for it. He jerked himself away and crossed his arms over his chest. Miss Ginny sat back on her heels. "Would you rather do it? That's fine by me. Take your time. We can always warm up the water if necessary." she told him. Roger waited a few minutes, just hugging himself, then undid the buttons again. He took off the pants that were much too long for him and avoided eye contact with the woman. She added some more warm water to the tub and helped him climb in.
The water wasn't cold at all. It was very warm. Soothingly warm. Roger relaxed his tense muscles which he realized for the first time ached. Miss Ginny smiled. "That's better, isn't it?" she cooed. She knelt by the tub, using a cup to gently pour water all over his shoulders and front part that wasn't already submerged. Roger seemed to like it. It felt good. She smiled the whole time. Every time she was going to do something different, she'd let him know first. "I'm going to wash your hair now, alright? The water's going to go over your head. You can hold your nose if you wish." she advised. Miss Ginny filled the cup with water and poured it all over his hair, getting it nice and soaked. She used a bottle of shampoo to rub suds all over his scalp. Some of the foam trailed down onto Roger's nose, which made him jump and instinctively start swatting at his face. Miss Ginny quickly used a washcloth to wipe it away, leaving the boy gasping for breath and nervously glancing around in case of more soap attack. She then rinsed his hair with clean water, making a swishing sound to calm him. He seemed to enjoy it. Once his hair was scrubbed, Miss Ginny massaged some soap onto a washcloth. She gently coursed it over his skin; murmured kind words to him.
After all the washing was over with, Miss Ginny rummaged through some of the counters and drawers. Roger peered over the edge of the tub intently. When she turned back around, she had her hands full of several items. She plopped them into the bathwater one by one. Every time she held one up, she'd tell her patient and act very excited about it. First was a yellow rubber duck. "Look at this, Roger! He floats-watch," she said as she set the toy in the water, giving it a gentle push toward the boy. He smiled. She held up a small orange ball next. "I bet this one bounces too," She tried to bounce it on the floor, but it didn't go far and ended up rolling a bit. Both laughed. The next toy was a little plastic ship. Miss Ginny held it up and began to explain it, but Roger had suddenly turned solemn. He stared at the ship with upset eyes. It almost looked like he was going to start crying. She stopped herself and put the ship on the floor beside her. Roger took the yellow duck in his hands and began to play with it, still looking a little down. He didn't want to think of ships. It brought back memories of the ocean. Of a reef. Of an island. Roger took to simply making the rubber duck dive under the water a few times.
After several minutes of just watching Roger play, Miss Ginny was back to smiling. She would always ask if he wanted the water to be warmed up a bit or if he needed any more toys. He'd at least answer her with a nod or shake of the head. It was better than when they'd started. Roger finished simply being a child, and looked up at her. She gave him a gentle smile and prepared a clean towel for him. After beginning to drain the water, she helped him climb out of the tub. He shivered when the air hit his damp skin. Miss Ginny threw him into a big fluffy towel and rubbed his shoulders as he was wrapped up in it. He smiled a little. "There, I'll bet you're all nice and warm now." she said. Roger nodded. She toweled the rest of his body off and gave him a clean set of the blue pajama-like clothes to change into, as well as a new pair of underwear. He asked her to turn around as he dressed. When he was finished, she dried his hair off with the towel. He looked so new. He felt so new. Miss Ginny carefully led him back to his room down the hallways.