Every single thing hurt. Her feet, her back, her skin, every thought, every pinched, clipped word of conversation - a conversation she begrudged, for it was no conversation at all.

How long does it take to bath a dog? The rasping, tedious detail of it: wash the dog, cut the dreadlocks, wash the dog again, brush the dog....... If she didn't offend him somehow, he would roll straight on to the oft repeated explanations for the process: to lift the 'rough', thin the worst, remove loose hair, final groom........

She could not bear to hear the words uttered, and so she offended him. He, dutifully, sulked. As, of course, she knew he would.

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