Education
happen with children all the time. But two days later, it happened again. Then it happened once more.
Sometimes he changed her clothes twice in a single week. Whenever I asked why, Robert always had an answer ready.
Clothing
Once, he said Emily had gotten muddy while playing outside. Another time, he claimed she had been sweating. Then he
said her shirt had been making her uncomfortable. The strangest part was that he washed the clothes immediately.
One evening, I entered the laundry room and found Robert washing only Emily’s clothes by hand.
“Why don’t you put them in the washing machine?” I asked.
For a moment, he froze. Then he pushed the clothes deeper into the water.
Laundry
“Some stains don’t come out in the machine.”
There was something in his voice that made me uneasy. That night, I told Daniel everything.
“He’s just being overly protective,” my husband said. “Don’t forget that he spent his entire career working around children.”
Robert had been a school-bus driver for many years. Everyone in town knew and respected him. But that didn’t make me
feel any better.
Hygiene & Toiletries
Then the issue of bath time began. Every evening, when I prepared to bathe Emily, Robert appeared near the bathroom and
said:
“You’re tired. Let me bathe her.”
I refused the first time.
The following evening, he offered again. When I told him I didn’t need any help, a strange tension appeared on his face.
“It would be better if I did it,” he whispered. “Please.”
Clothing
That “please” stayed in my mind all night.
The next day, Emily’s teacher called and said my daughter had been unusually quiet during class. She had asked to visit the
school nurse but wouldn’t explain why.
My heart tightened.
When I got home, I opened the wardrobe in Emily’s bedroom. In the bottom drawer, I discovered a bag containing the
Beauty Services & Spas
clothes Robert had removed from her over the past several days. Some of them had dark, barely noticeable stains.
One terrible thought after another crossed my mind. I tried to speak calmly with my daughter.
Bathroom
