Chapter 7: Things not to step on barefooted: cat litter and Lego bricks
"OW… SHIT… OUCH…" Ziva must have stepped on every possible thing she could have in her bare feet in the laundry room. She should have known better than to walk barefooted in the dark to get Rivka's blanket out of the dryer. The little girl had spilled her juice on it about a half hour before bed time and Ziva had tossed it into the washing machine, promising her daughter that as soon as it was cleaned and dried, she would bring the blanket to the girl.
When she pulled the dryer door open, she saw that she had stepped in some cat litter that had spilled onto the floor. She made a mental note to vacuum the floor in the morning, and to tread carefully back out of the laundry room. She still managed to get cat litter under her foot. DAMN that hurt.
She walked across the kitchen and towards the hallway to the children's bedrooms. She turned towards Rivka and Beth's room and carefully opened the door. She padded to Rivka's bed and put the blanket over her sleeping little girl. She turned to leave and stepped on at least three Lego bricks that were on the floor.
"AH, SHIT!" Ziva said a few curse words in Hebrew as well. She thought she said them softly, but it was loud enough to wake up Beth.
"Ima?" Beth sat up and looked at her mother. "What are you doing?"
"Stepping on Lego bricks! They are supposed to be in the bins in the playroom, not on your floor!" Ziva spoke sharply.
"Sorry, Ima." Beth sniffled and Ziva turned to her third daughter. She walked towards the little girl's bed and stepped on another Lego brick.
"DAMN IT!" Ziva tried not to say any more curse words, but those bricks hurt when stepped on.
"IMA!"
Ziva reached Beth's bed, "I am sorry, motek. I should not have been so cross with you. It hurts when you step on Lego bricks, though!"
"It's okay, Ima. If you don't get mad at me for leaving them on the floor, I won't make you go to time out for using a curse word." Ziva smiled at her little girl; she had a point there with her four year old logic.
Ziva pulled Beth into a hug, "Okay. We are even. Laila tov, Beth."
"Laila tov, Ima. I love you." Beth snuggled into her Ima's hug. "Sing Numi, Numi for me, please?"
"Ken." Ziva began singing the lullaby that she had sung to each of her children, and to her sister Tali before them. Her Ima had sung the same lullaby to her.
