Page 94 of Family Bonds: Alana & Brennan
“Female Paw Patrolcharacter,” he said, giving her a playful shove. “Get with it.”
“I guess I need to find some Cliff Notes on cartoon characters.”
“You’ll never be able to keep up,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s forever changing.”
“I’ll give it my best shot,” she said, moving toward the kitchen to put the makings of their dessert away.
“How was work? Quiet this week?”
“It was,” she said. “There were only four people in the office today and two left at noon. Kelsey told me to close and work from home this afternoon so I did.”
“You could have come earlier,” he said.
“I had to finish a few things. This worked out well.”
It was five thirty. She could have just taken half a day too if she wanted, but she got more work done when it was quiet.
Brennan put the ice cream in the freezer. “Dinner shouldn’t be much longer.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“No. This was easy to make and Becca loves it.”
“Smells like sauce,” she said.
He opened the oven door to show her a casserole dish of pasta, sauce and cheese on top. “Baked Ziti. There are pieces of sausage in it also, but she won’t eat them.”
He pulled a loaf of bread off the counter and sliced it so she grabbed the butter. She hated to stand around and let him do all the work.
“When I’ve got the house back to myself, I’d like to have you and Becca over and I’ll cook. You shouldn’t always have to do it all.”
“We’d like that. She’s excited about tomorrow. I hope she behaves.”
“If she doesn’t, then she doesn’t. It’s not like my mother hasn’t seen a temper tantrum a time or two. Does Becca ever have them?”
He laughed. “She has her moments. I try to stop it before it happens, but that isn’t always possible.”
“And unnecessary to always stop,” she said.
He closed one eye at her. “How so?”
“Brennan, that is how children test their boundaries. No one should have to keep their emotions locked in vaults for fear of punishment.”
“But there is a time and place and she shouldn’t think she can always get her way.”
“I’m not telling you how to parent. Please don’t assume that.” The last thing she needed was him to think she was judging his parenting skills. “It’s more about how I was as a child.”
“Oh,” he said. “I need to hear this.”
“Maybe another time.”
“Nope. You brought it up. I don’t see you the type to have too many fits.”
She sighed. “I rarely did. I saw Kirk get in trouble for it. I thought I better not do it then because I didn’t like to get in trouble. But then it stifled me in learning how to express myself. That’s what I’m getting at. It’s like everything else in life—you have to do it to learn from it. Right and wrong ways.”
“I get it. Trust me, Becca pushes the boundaries enough. I’m not the type to yell and scream, but I raise my voice. She doesn’t like it and cries, but that can’t be the reason I don’t do it.”
“Exactly. Not that I know the first thing about parenting, but I enjoy children and spending time with them. I’m not always the favorite ‘aunt’ who lets them get away with things. When I watch my cousins’ kids, they follow the rules, and if they don’t, they know what they did was wrong.”
