Disclaimer: see chapter one
Catherine first showed Sara how to brush Allie's hair and then suggested she try by herself. Catherine sat there watching Sara make slow strokes through Allie's hair being careful not to pull when she encountered a tangle.
"With her curly hair, she's probably always going to have problems with tangles," Catherine warned Sara. "You have to make sure you brush her hair really well before she goes to bed. And try to never send her to bed with wet hair. Blow dry it if you have to. But I wouldn't do that every night."
Sara, forever an apt student, took note of everything that Catherine was telling her. She didn't know how long nice Catherine would stick around, so she had to soak up as much information as she possibly could.
Once all of the tangles were clear, Sara said, "That wasn't so hard."
With a frown, Allie turned around and said, "Easy for you to say. That was my hair you were pulling before Caferin got here." She took the brush from Sara's hands and ran into the other room.
Catherine found herself laughing at Sara who was sitting there with her mouth agape. "Oh Sidle. You are in for so much trouble!!! She has a mouth on her and an attitude to boot. I can't wait to see her grow up."
Sara still had not gained her ability to speak. She turned to Catherine, looked up at her and stood up. She took a few steps toward her room and stopped, turned and looked at her again. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again and turning back toward her bedroom. She could hear Catherine's laugh resonating throughout the apartment.
Catherine knew that Sara was probably getting ready for her day, so she got up and walked into Allie's room. "How about we make your bed, Al?"
"You can make it if you want. I don't want to," Catherine was shocked to hear a three year old telling her no like that and couldn't resist arguing with her—even though she knew better than to spar with a kid.
"And just why do you not want to make your bed?"
Allie looked at her like she was completely stupid. "Well, duh! I'm gonna sleep in it again tonight. Only gonna mess it up again. So why make it up?"
Catherine just smiled. "How am I supposed to reason with logic like that?"
"Reason with logic like what?" Sara asked as she entered the room.
"Oh, I was just trying to convince your little angel here to make her bed. She seems to be under the mistaken assumption that she shouldn't make it just because she's going to sleep in it again."
Sara couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's logic. "Yeah, you're right. Hard to argue with that. But let's see if I can do it." Sara turned to her little girl. "Al, come here." She knelt down in front her. "Did Catherine ask you to make your bed?"
"Uh-huh."
"Let's not say uh-huh. Manners, remember. Say yes ma'am."
"No. And you can't make me," she shot back at Sara.
Sara reached for Allie and grabbed her by the arm. "Yes, I can."
"Mommy, you're hurting me. Lemme go." As soon as those words came out of Allie's mouth, Sara dropped her arm and fled into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.