Page 60 of Out Of A Fix

“Like, they shouldn’t be mean to me just because they’re upset?”

“That’s right,” I praised her.

“Well, she got mad because she was surprised her key didn’t work, and I told her you changed the locks. And then she wanted me to give her a new key, but I said you didn’t make one for her, and she told me to give her mine, but I said you would be mad. I’m sorry I lied.”

“You didn’t lie. I would’ve been pissed at you.”

Her eyes lit up, which seemed ridiculous, but whatever worked. “You would?”

“Hell yeah. I’d have to call the locksmith and have the whole place rekeyed again. That would be a pain in the ass.”

“So you really would have been mad?”

“Very.”

Her big sigh was adorable. She was so relieved.

“Only keys for us, ya got me?”

“Yes, Nash.”

“All right. Let’s wash off the sad now.”

In her bathroom, I sat on the toilet lid while she rinsed her face.

“Listen, I know you cry when you’re sad and when you’re mad, but I think from now on, instead of crying, you can tell people why you’re upset, and if they don’t listen, then you can walk away.”

She looked over at me. “Walk away?”

“Yeah. Here’s the thing: if people aren’t going to be courteous enough to listen to you, then you don’t have to stand there and allow someone to be discourteous to you.”

“Really?” Darwin asked from the doorway.

“Of course. If you’re trying to make a point or telling them no, I don’t want that or whatever that is doesn’t interest me, if they persist in not listening to you, your only recourse is to leave.”

Darwin nodded. “My teacher was wrong the other day about a math problem, and when I raised my hand to try to show her what she’d messed up, she didn’t let me.”

“In that instance, leaving in the middle of class isn’t possible, right?”

“No, it’s not.”

“But when you come home, you can tell your dad, and he will call and make an appointment to see her, with you, and you can explain the situation.”

“I wrote out the answer for her, but she wouldn’t check it.”

Poor lady. Having Darwin correct her math had to be both humiliating and annoying. The thing was, it was always best to own your error. I often thought the world would be a better place if people just said yeah, mea culpa, I screwed up.

“Sometimes, when people are called out on the mistakes they make, it’s hard for them. So the best thing to do, again, is tell your dad.”

“And if he won’t listen, will you call her?”

“I will. But let’s give Dad a chance first, yeah?”

“Yeah, give Dad a chance,” Luke chimed in from behind me.

We all turned to him.

“I thanked everyone for coming and sent them home, except for Shelly and her friends, because Shelly wants to talk to you,” he directed his words to his daughter, “and fix things up.”