Bedtime Stories

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked. "Are you sad?"

"Yes, I am."

"Why?"

"It's hard to explain," Samantha said.

"Why?"

"It's complicated."

"Why?"

Samantha sighed. This is what she got for sitting with the toddlers. "Because it is, all right?"

"All right." Rebecca looked down at her plate, her face turning red after being scolded.

"I'm sorry to yell at you, Rebecca. You're very sweet for asking. I wish I could explain to you what's wrong, but it's a grownup thing." Samantha hated the condescension in her voice. Rebecca probably didn't like being treated like a baby any more than Wendell or herself. "My friend and I had an argument."

"About what?"

"It was about someone who has been lying."

"Lying is bad."

"Yes, lying is bad. My friend doesn't want to believe this person is a liar. So we had a big fight about it."

Rebecca pondered the situation, chewing slowly on her piece of beef. Finally, she said, "Friends shouldn't get mad at each other. Friends should be nice." She nodded in agreement with herself and then turned her attention back to her plate.

That's it? Samantha wanted to ask. Then again, what did she expect? That's the last time I ask a four-year-old for advice, she thought. When dinner ended, Samantha followed Rebecca and the other little girls to their pallets in the corner. Samantha had so many other things on her mind that the location of her bed didn't matter tonight. She rolled over to face the wall and closed her eyes.