Page 74 of Once Upon a Fall

“Diagonal. Got it.”

I try again and do it right this time. Then I try not to be disappointed in how fast I learn.

“Perfect,” she says.

“You’re a good teacher.”

“Well, YouTube was my teacher,” she tells me, downplaying my words.

I shake my head. “But you’re the one who actually did it. Not YouTube. It’s impressive.”

“But—”

“Rosie. Take the compliment.”

Her cheeks turn the slightest hint of pink.

She goes back to working on the back of the tub, humming while she grouts, while I work on the side.

“What song are you humming?” I ask her.

“Huh?” she asks.

“You’re humming. What song is it?”

“Oh. Just a song my mom used to sing to me. It’s from Cinderella.”

“What are the words?”

She sings a bit of it.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard it,” I tell her.

Rosie’s eyes widen. It’s the look she gives me whenever I reveal another alarming gap in my princess knowledge.

“How can you not know that song?”

“Maybe I do know it, and it was just your terrible rendition.”

Her jaw drops. Then she schools her features. “Hey, Dean, you’ve got a little something on your cheek.”

She reaches up, and, before I can even realize what she’s doing, I feel something cold and gritty on my cheek.

“Did you just put grout on my cheek?”

“Of course not,” she says, turning back to her side of the tub, her lips working hard to hold back a smile.

I swipe a finger across my cheek, and it comes back with a gray smear.

“You might want to sponge that off. It can dry pretty fast.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

I reach for the sponge, but the bucket of grout is right next to it, and so I drag a finger through it.

“Can you help me?” I ask.

Never one to turn down a call for help, Rosie turns her face toward me, and just as she does, I swipe grout down the center of her face. From her forehead down her nose.