What the mother ("she") remembers most about her son ("he") when he bathed as a child were his glistening back and his small boots as they sat in a group of boots at her feet. With her hands resting in her empty lap (because her child has grown up and started his own life) she hears a daughter being welcomed into the family, as she will be her son’s bride. The event makes the mother feel as if she lost her grasp on her son as early as his childhood. Soap was one able to free the wedding ring from her daughter-in-law’s finger but now