"Julia, we can wash your clothes for you. I'm sure they must need washing after all that walking today!" Nan said as Julia helped wash the dishes in the kitchen.
"Thanks." She replied. "But I'll be OK."
"Are you sure?"
The old lady chimed in. "You're going to be here for a few days until Charlie gets back. Certainly you can't go around in dirty underwear like that!"
Julia didn't know what to say. She liked the hospitality and the idea knowing they were being kind, but these were completely different people than the kind she was raised with in suburban Charleston. It was still frightening to her.
"You should at least take a bath!" The old woman insisted. "Nan, why don't you make a bath for Julia!"
"That's probably a good idea." Nan added. "We got some bath salts that'll really help you relax."
Julia paused for a moment, and then reluctantly agreed. "OK, I guess that'll be fine."
"I have some old nighties that don't fit me anymore. I'll get you one." Nan said.
A half hour later, Julia sat in the tub while the water continued to fill. It was an old cast iron tub with claw feet, the kind she had seen in home decorating magazines. The bathroom itself looked cute to her. They were laden with striped wallpaper with wainscoting, though with an old yellowed-look of not having been updated for decades. There were small wooden shelves with decorative corbels and a window adorned with soft white drapes and lace trim.
Nan had picked out a black nightie and had hung it on the towel rack in the bathroom. The bath salts made her skin feel soft and silky. She turned off the water, and laid her head back to rest.
The rain continued to fall. Lara had snuggled herself up inside the blankets and quilt on the bedding of hay in the barn. The dinner was indeed making her sleepy, but she had been stuck in the barn for four hours already, and again needed to pee. She'd have to go back outside into the rain, at least if she was going to sleep soundly the entire night.
Leaving the warmth of the bedding was a tough proposition as it was, let alone trying to find a place to pee. She forced herself out anyways, knowing she going to have to go sooner or later.
The thought occurred to her that she could pee somewhere inside the barn, but she shrugged it off considering how generous Nan had been. It didn't seem right. She begrudgingly set foot out of the barn, and immediately took the brunt of a cold wind and rain, walked out several feet, and then spread her legs apart, bent her knees slightly, and relieved herself.
Running back inside the barn, shaking and shivering, with water running all over her, she grabbed the towel that was still laying on a bale of hay, and dried herself off.
At the same time, Julia dried herself off too, having finished her bath. She put on the black nightie that Nan had left hanging on the towel rack. It was made of sheer material, and her pale nude body was visible beneath it. Not only that, it came down to just a few inches below her crotch. It wasn't quite the conservative dress she was accustomed to and she felt uneasy about wearing it through the house with a couple of strangers.
"What was Nan thinking?" She wondered.
She took it off, and put her dirty clothes back on, opting to leave her bra and panties off. She grabbed them up, along with the nightie and left the bathroom.
On her way to the basement bedroom, she passed by the living room.
"How was your bath Julia?" The old woman asked.
"Nice, thank you." Julia stopped momentarily, but then continued walking.
"How does the nightie fit you?" Nan asked.
Julia stopped again. "Um, I don't know yet. I was going to try it on for bed."
She continued walking.
"Good night." Both Nan and the old woman said.
Julia made her way down the stairs into the basement. She removed her clothes and put on the nightie. She looked at herself in the mirror hanging above a chest of drawers. She made some poses, and admired herself.
"Ugh!" She whispered and made a face. She tried to readjust the nightie so that it would drop down a little more below her crotch. It just wouldn't cover anymore.
Julia found the bed and crawled in. The basement was noticeably more cool than the living room upstairs. However, the bed was covered by a warm goose-down quilt. The pillows felt very cushy and the mattress, though old, offered a restful sleep. It was so much more inviting than the car seat she had slept in the night before.
At least, she figured, she could feel comfortable and pampered by herself in the basement.
It didn't take long before she felt too hot. After having soaked in the tub, her body was already plenty warm. The goose-down quilt and the layer of sheets and blankets had her toasty in no time.
Julia kicked off the covers for the time being. Before she knew it, she fell asleep.
