Page 160 of The Right Sign

“Uncle Dare…”

“Yes?” I draw out the word, bracing myself.

“I’ve decided to let you date Yaya.”

I’m sure my eyebrows are twitching when I answer, “Oh? You’llletme?”

“Yes, but in exchange you have to do everything I say.”

“Mm-hm?”

She hands over a crumpled paper that’s filled in with markers and pretty colorings. The words read:

Uncle Dare must listen to everything Talia says or else.

Sign here

There’s a line provided and it’s decorated with sparkles.

“Tals,” I hold the paper between my fingers and tread lightly, “I can’t sign this.”

“Why not?”

“Well for one thing,” I pull her to sit close by my side and swing an arm over her shoulder, “I already signed a similar contract with someone else yesterday.” I smile when I think about Yaya asking me to ‘sign’ by kissing her. “And signing your contract will put me in conflict with that one. Also,” I plant a little peck on her temple, “we can’t force people to do what we want by making them sign contracts.”

Didn’t you do that with Yaya?

I ignore that tiny voice.

Talia huffs in displeasure, and I almost budge. I want to give my niece the world, but I remember Yaya’s warning about the kind of person she’ll be if she continues down this road.

It’s been gnawing at me, sobering every interaction with Talia. I can no longer pretend her behavior isn’t a problem. This is an opportunity to correct the issue before it gets worse.

I speak softly, “Tals, we haven’t settled that incident that you had at school.”

Her body stiffens and she tries to roll away from me, but I hold firm. “You’re a sweet, kind, and brilliant girl. I know that and I love you very much, but what you did to your friend at school wasn’t okay.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “We don’t treat people like objects. We don’t push them down because we’re upset, and we don’t yell at them like they work for us. Talking down to people, more than anything else, can embarrass and hurt them.”

“He ruined my shoes.”

“It was an accident.”

“I don’t care.”

“Everyone deserves respect.”

“What if they don’t respect me first?”

I cringe inside. “Then… you come to me and we’ll handle it together.”

She folds her arms over her chest.

My instincts are screaming ‘insert punishment here’, but it’s so difficult.

“Uncle Dare, Miss Abbot already made a big deal about it. Are you on her side more than mine?”