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30 JOANNA RUOCCO There are two chairs in the nursery. The children sit on the chairs. I sit on the rocking horse. The rocking horse creaks. I am very slim, but it creaks. Dust falls from the withers. Nits rise from the withers. I sit astride the rocking horse. The saddle is hard. I tighten my legs. The saddle rubs. It hurts. I lean forward and back. I make the rocking horse creak. The hips have stiffened. The hips creak. The legs are very straight. Nits swarm around the nostrils of the rocking horse. Nits lay their eggs in the nostrils. They crawl between the lips. Tamworth feeds the rocking horse cake. She crumbles cakes in her palm and presses her palm on the lips. She fills the gouge between the lips with cake. She fills the nostrils with cake. Now mess, says Tamworth. She puts her mouth by the ear. Mess, says Tamworth. Nits settle on her cheeks and she slaps the nits. Her cheeks blotch. She tugs the mane with her fist. She slaps the neck. She slaps my leg. Make him mess, says Tamworth. 14 31 ANOTHER GOVERNESS She puts her hand on my neck. She pulls my dress. She tries to sit astride the horse. I push her back. Mess, says Tamworth. She slaps the haunch of the rocking horse. She lifts the tail of the rocking horse. I stand up and the rocking horse rocks forward and back. The withers bump my sex. It hurts. Blood is running through Tamworth’s mouth where the hindquarters pushed her lips against her teeth. ...

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