Chapter 128

Trying to deceive her was also costly. She was very vindictive, and among her worst tricks were throwing my wallet or keys down the toilet, throwing food on the table, and destroying things with her teeth. I was trying to correct that kind of behavior, of course. It didn’t bother me that Sasha was a bully with me, but it did bother me that she did it with other children.

I looked at her with a frown and growled very softly, from the back of my throat:

“Sasha, pick up that bear and put it away. Then we will talk about the banana.”

We looked at each other’s faces for a moment; she was motionless and didn’t know what to do. She looked at the stuffed animal and then at me, wringing her fingers.

“Well,” she ended up saying, and picked up the bear. “Don’t be angry, dad.”

“I won’t be angry if you behave.”

“Yes, I behave well.”

“Glad to hear it. Now let’s go find that banana and share it, will you?”

I was in the kitchen with my daughter when I