AFTER A tour of the settlement, Maria took the girls back to a spare house, where they could shower, eat, and get cleaned up. Jane hadn't taken a hot shower since she was little, so she enjoyed the few minutes of the hot water trickling down her body. She stood in the silence of her ears, as she felt a strange sense of comfort. She trusted Ellie, who sat in the bedroom next door- Jane trusted someone.
Jane walked out of the shower with a white towel wrapped around her slim body, her wet curls dripping on her shoulders. Ellie stood in front of her, wearing a pink gown, grimacing at the clothes placed on the bed. Jane put in her hearing aid, tuning into Ellie's complaints.
"Look at this shit." Ellie exclaimed in disgust, as she held up a purple jacket placed on the bed.
Jane smiled, "I think it's nice."
Ellie scoffed, whilst Jane picked up her new clothes, which was an off-white long sleeved t-shirt and denim dungarees. Jane's eyes darted around the room, looking for her jacket which contained the drawing of her mom inside. She panicked, Ellie immediately noticing,
"You alright?"
Jane nodded quickly, before looking at Ellie, who was fiddling with a small cup in her hands. "What's that?" Jane questioned curiously.
Ellie read the instructions it came with, "A diva cup." She folded the cup in half, as Ellie chuckled at the popping sound it made when it unfolded.
Jane smirked, "Gross."
Ellie hesitated, as she picked up her clothes, "Can you, uh, turn around?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry." Jane replied quickly, as she turned around.
After they got changed, Jane and Ellie made their way to Maria's house, which was only opposite them. Ellie walked inside first, as they both looked around. Jane joined Ellie in the living room, as they both looked at the memorial frames containing the words 'Sarah' and 'Kevin'. The two candles in front of them had melted, leaving only a stump of wax left.
Suddenly, the door opened at Maria walked inside, "Oh, good. Just traded for this. Go ahead, try it on."
Maria passed Ellie a purple coat, as she scoffed, "It's, uh, super fucking purple."
Jane blurted out, "Where's my clothes?"
"The rag pile." Maria explained calmly, "Oh, Jane, I found this in your pocket." She handed the girl the folded up picture, "Did you draw it yourself? It's beautiful. Who is she?"
"My mom." Jane muttered, as she put it in her pocket.
Ellie frowned in confusion, "I thought-"
"It's what I think she would've looked like." Jane continued, as she looked to her feet uncomfortably.
"Well, I'm sure she'd love it." Maria clasped her hands, signifying the ending of that conversation. The women asked, "Who's been cutting your hair, Ellie?"
"Uh, world-class salons." The girl replied sarcastically, as Maria walked to the kitchen, "Wait, whoa, no-"
"A trim." Maria interrupted, "That's all. Just the ends. I promise."
Jane sat down at the kitchen table opposite Ellie, who was having her hair cut by Maria. Ellie questioned, "So, was this like your job back then?"
"No, I was an Assistant District Attorney out of Omaha Nebraska." Maria explained, though the two girls stared blankly. She corrected herself, "I put bad guys in jail."
Jane nodded, "Oh, cool."
"I've always liked doing hair, though. Maybe it's a mom thing." Maria continued, "You two were looking at the little memorial Tommy made?"
