when those pants were pinned , she dragged the plastic wheels of our yellow and white striped laundry cart across the sand and caliche ; the wobbly wheels scrunched and gritted the ground noisily , attracting me from where i stood on the concrete landing outside the little brick washhouse at the back of the garage , and suddenly , i suppose , i craved the comfort of burying my face in the pleats of her big paisley skirt .