Chapter 29“Does that hurt?” Rita asks as she brushes Anna’s hair into a ponytail.
“Not one teensy bit,” says Anna. “You brush softer than Mama. Grandma even.”
“I’m a slow-poke is why.” Rita ties a ribbon around Anna’s locks. “There you go, pony-girl.” Anna whinnies and prances. Although Ceci is theatrical, Anna has a true talent for mimicry.
“Me, too,” Ceci begs. “Make me a ponytail, too.”
“Okay, but then we have to vamoose before it gets too hot.” Rita does her best to corral Ceci’s thick curls into a lopsided ponytail while Connie packs a diaper bag for Gabrielle.
It wasn’t Ceci’s relentless reminders about the pony ride Matt offered that finally impelled Rita to chance another awkward encounter with him, but rather Anna’s growing fascination with ‘wildlife.’ To a city kid like Anna
