“Cause she’s mean,” she answered as she glared over at her sister.
“I am not!” Darby barked. “You’re the one who used up all of my smell-good soap in the bathtub last night. Momma gave that to me for my birthday.”
“Did not!”
“Yes, you did. It’s all gone,” Darby grumbled. “Daddy, I told her to stop using my stuff.”
I knew it had to be something. Darby was very picky about her things. Cass was always saying she was OCD about it, but I just thought it was cute. The kid took pride in her things, and I couldn’t blame her for getting upset that her sister had taken something that was hers without asking. Susana reminded me so much of my brother, Luke. He was always getting into my stuff, even though he knew I’d give him hell about it. I remember a day when I was bitchin’ to my dad about it, and he gave me a different take on things. He reminded me I was the older brother and Luke looked up to me. He thought my stuff was better, simply because it was mine. Although my girls were the same age, I figured it was a similar situation. I imagined Susana felt the same way about Darby’s stuff as Luke felt about mine. I looked over to Susana and asked, “Susana, why did you take her stuff without asking?”
“Cause I knew she’d say no, and I just wanted to use a little. It smells really good…” she admitted. She looked down at her hands and whispered, “I’m sorry, Darby.”
I turned my attention back to Darby and said, “You think you could accept your sister’s apology and give her back her dolls?”
Darby scrunched up her eyebrows as she said, “But Daddy… she used it all, it’s gone. It’s not fair.”
“It’s soap, Darby… we can get some more. Your sister likes your things. You should take it as a compliment.”
Her face softened as she looked over at her sister. She took a moment to think before she asked, “If I give you back your dolls, are you gonna leave my stuff alone?”
“Or at least ask before you use it,” I interjected.
“Yeah, I promise.”
“And Darby,” I warned. “Next time, tell me or your mother when something like this happens. Taking the heads off of your sister’s dolls was wrong.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Daddy” she told me as she got up from her bed and went over to her dresser. She pulled out her bottom drawer and reached in underneath all of her clothes, retrieving her sister’s dolls.
“Susana, come here,” I told her as I motioned for her to come over and sit on the bed next to me. Once she was curled up next to me, I reached for Darby, pulling her next to us and said, “You know, it won’t be long before you brother gets here. You’ve got a big job ahead of you.”
“What kind of job?” Darby asked.
“You’ve got to show him the ropes. Show him how things work in the world. I’m counting on you both to do right by each other, so he’ll see how it’s done.”
“We will be good, Daddy,” Susana assured me. “I won’t take Darby’s stuff anymore.”
“And I won’t hurt Susana’s dolls or put bugs in her hair anymore.”
I laughed as I said, “That would be a good start. My daddy always told me it’s okay to make a mistake as long as you learn from them.”
“Like that time Momma turned all your white shirts pink?” Darby asked. “She hasn’t done that again.”
“Yeah, kind of like that.” I smiled.
“Momma said that Henley and Maverick were coming over today for Grandpa’s birthday. Is Thomas coming, too?” Susana asked. Thomas was Maverick and Henley’s son. He was a bit older than the girls and tended to use that to his advantage.
“Yeah, I reckon he is.”
Susana got a serious expression on her face as she said, “He hasn’t learned from his mistakes, Daddy. He gets in trouble every time he comes to play with us.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him. Just have fun with Lexi and Grandpa. Maverick and I will keep Thomas entertained in the garage.” Lexi was Maverick and Henley’s daughter. She was just a few months younger than our girls, so they usually got along better with her than Thomas.
“Okay,” Darby answered.
“I’m going to make breakfast. Either of you want to help?” I asked.
“Can I stir the eggs?” they both asked at the same time.
“Yep,” I told them while I kissed each of them on the forehead and started for the kitchen.
We spent the next half-hour making breakfast, and once it was all done, I made a plate and took it into the bedroom for Cass. She was propped up on a pillow, reading a book, and smiled when she saw me entering the room. She sat the book down in her lap and asked, “How did it go with the girls?”
“Got it sorted,” I told her as I placed her breakfast down on the bedside table. “They have an unfair advantage, you know.”
“Yeah? What’s that?” she smiled.