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"Okay, turn and open."
She turned, her eyes pleading with Rose to let her off the hook, if only just this once. This was serious and she was scared. She needed to know what was happening.
"Please Auntie, I just want to know what's going on."
"I completely understand that and you have every right to know, but we have ways of communicating in this family and it does not ever include cussing at each other. Your declaration of being an adult was delivered in a way that makes you seem more like a petulant child, and petulant children get punished when they are rude and disrespectful, don't they?"
"Yes Ma'am."
Katie felt like she was two inches tall. She knew how to respectfully talk in a way that Rose, Keith, and Jeff would indeed respond to in a positive way. She hadn’t done that at all and it had started when she'd snuck down the hallway and eavesdropped on Rose. Her stomach twisted again, but this time it was with guilt instead of trepidation.
"Open."
Katie slowly opened her mouth and the slimy bar scraped her teeth as it was pushed in.
"Bite," Rose commanded, sternly. "Then back to the corner to think about how that soap is going to clean the naughty words out of my sweet little girl's mouth and remind her how to speak respectfully to the people who love her and know what is best for her." Rose crossed her arms over her chest as Katie turned back to the corner.
She tasted the soap immediately and gagged. Standing with her nose in the corner with a bar of soap in her mouth was a very humbling and yet centering experience. Her mouth started watering and so did her eyes. The awful taste crept into all of her senses no matter what she did, and it was either drool or swallow, so she let the soap drip from her mouth. The humiliation plus the stress of what was happening was too much to handle and Katie started to cry.
Immediately, Rose turned her from the corner and took the soap out of her mouth. "Okay, sweetie. You're okay."
She took her over to the sink and cleaned her mouth, but she didn't let her rinse the soap out.
Katie sobbed as she clung to Rose for dear life. Rose held her silently until she was able to stop crying and catch her breath.
"Are you okay now?" Rose asked, kissing the top of her head.
"I don't know," Katie answered honestly.
"Are you okay enough for us to finish up? I don't want you choking on soap because you're crying."
"We aren't done?" Katie whimpered.
"No, honey. We are not."
"But I'll be good," Katie promised.
"I know you will, but crying doesn't get you out of a punishment; it never has." Rose picked the soap back up off the sink and lathered it a second time before inserting it back into Katie's mouth.
"Do you think this is going to help you remember how little girls are supposed to talk?"
Soap dripping onto her tongue, Katie nodded.
"I hope so." With a jerk of her head, Rose pointed back to the corner.
Sniffling, her nose still running from the crying episode, she turned back to the wall. The sour chemical taste of the soap wasn't enough to make her gag again, but it was definitely unpleasant. The drool dribbled off her chin and her tears continued to run unchecked down her cheeks as she struggled to find someplace—anyplace—to put her tongue where she couldn't taste it.
After another minute or so, Rose turned her again, blessedly relieving her of the vile bar. "No more naughty words, do you understand me? If I have to do this again, it will be exponentially more unpleasant. Rinse."
Katie turned on the water and brought handfuls of it to her mouth, attempting to get rid of the residual slime that now coated her teeth, cheeks, lips and especially her tongue. Rose waited, silently watching, never outside of touching distance. It was intimidating, but also very comforting.
Katie picked up the towel and wiped her face. Before she even had a chance to set it down again, Rose had her wrapped in another tight hug.
"We're going to get through this together, okay?"
"Promise?" Katie asked.
"I promise," Rose replied.
