Lucy slammed the front door of her house, announcing her entry as an unintentional side effect of her emotions.

Linus, who was in the kitchen, startled, nearly dropping his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. His sister strode into the kitchen wearing a large frown.

Before he could even greet her, she spotted the second sandwich he had made, and sat beside him to snatch it and fold it over the way she liked it. He thought about calling her out for a moment, but decided it wasn't a good idea; he could just make another one.

Lucy growled with her mouth full. "I don't understand Schroeder."

"How so?"

"I just don't understand what it is about that stupid piano. What makes it so special?"

Linus wiped his mouth in-between bites. "Did something happen?"

"Well, his mom got us both a glass of water, and I put mine down on that thing, and he griped at me to put it somewhere else!"

"Did they not have any coasters?"

She threw her hands in the air. "He wouldn't even let me put it there with a coaster! He said he didn't want me spilling water on it, period!"

Linus had a bad feeling about this. He shouldn't ask, but… "So… what did you do?"

Lucy laughed harshly. "I said, 'no problem, sweetie! I won't spill it on your piano!' And I threw it right in his face."

"Lucy!"

"Oh, relax, it wasn't even half-full by that point. He's probably already dry by now."

"That's not the point." He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "No wonder you two don't understand each other."

"He can't even handle me sitting a glass of water on his beloved piano. He was being a huge baby."

Linus finished off his PB&J. "To be fair, you have destroyed his piano before. Twice. On purpose."

She slammed her half-eaten sandwich on the table. "That was years ago!"

"Still, I'd be cautious around you, too, if it was my piano. I still kind of am. Remember when you buried my blanket?"

She groaned. "Not this again."

"Taking it away by force didn't help anything, did it?"

"I still think some exposure therapy would do you some good."

"People have to agree to exposure therapy, Lucy. That's part of how it works."

"Maybe I'll bury your psychology textbooks, too."

He rolled his eyes when she glanced down to continue working on her stolen snack.

He stood up and walked to the cupboard to make himself another PB&J. Lucy waved at him and asked him to make her a second one, as well. He obliged.

As he dipped the butter knife into the jelly jar, Linus thought out loud: "I've got a theory."

"And what would that be, Pavlov?"

"Well, you like being crabby, right?"

"Obviously. But what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nevermind." He pursed his lips. "You like running your psychiatry booth, right?"

"Of course. It's how I make my living."

"But you enjoy it."

"That's what I just said.'

Who's Pavlov now, he thought. "Hypothetically, what if someone took an axe and chopped your stand up into little pieces? Rendered it completely unfixable?"

"I'd clobber them. Plain and simple."

"So, you'd be upset about it." He presented her plate to her and then sat back down.

"Of course I'd be upset about it, you blockhead." She glared at him. "Dad built that stand for me."

"I remember." Their father had spent a whole afternoon on it. He originally thought she was going to use it to sell lemonade.

"What's your point?"

"I'm just saying, it's important to you. It's part of who you are, right?"

She gulped a bite down. "I guess."

"And you'd be upset if someone threw it into the kite-eating tree, or into the sewer?"

"I already said I would–" Lucy froze mid-bite and frowned. Realization dawned across her face, and her shoulders slumped. "Oh."

Linus raised an eyebrow at her and took a self-satisfied bite from his sandwich.

She set her food down and crossed her arms. "Well, he… he doesn't have to be so fussy about it. It's just a glass of water. He treats the piano better than he treats me. I wasn't going to hurt anything."

"The piano is part of who Schroeder is, just like your advice stand is part of who you are. It's probably insulting to him when you don't treat it with the courtesy that he asks. It has nothing to do with his feelings towards you, Lucy."

"I… I don't…" Her hands flew to her mouth. "I never said sorry! Oh, Linus, I never apologized for what I did to his first two pianos!"

Linus shrugged. "That's probably why he doesn't trust you with a glass of water."

"Linus, I have to go! I have to go right now!"

Lucy abandoned her second PB&J just as quickly as she had stolen her first one. Linus heard the front door slam for the second time that day, sighed, and continued eating.

Meanwhile, Lucy was running the short distance to Schroeder's house. She had never felt so rotten in her entire life – a guilty kind of rotten.

Guilt wasn't an emotion she was used to. Anger? Yes. Sadness? Of course. Frustration? Often. Pride? Sure. But guilt was an uncommon one. It always made her feel sick to her stomach. When it went unresolved, she couldn't even fall asleep at night. She hated it.

She didn't slow her pace down as she rounded the corner on James Street. As she tried to tidy her hair, she struggled to think of what to say to him. She was rarely, if ever, at a loss for words.

Despite her lack of a plan, she didn't hesitate as she walked up the steps to his door and knocked three times. The muffled piano music inside halted. After a moment, Schroeder answered, and his face soured. His shirt was still a bit damp.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry." That was probably a good place to start.

He blinked. No response.

"Did you hear me?"

"You're sorry?"

"Yes, I'm…" She leaned over, hands on her knees, and breathed deeply. "I'm – I'm sorry."

"Lucy, did you run here?"

"Yeah, I – I had to come back…"

"Good grief, sit down before you pass out."

Lucy obliged, sitting down on the step. After a moment, Schroeder shut the door and took a seat beside her.

After a minute, she had caught her breath. Once she was able to get through a sentence without gasping, she continued: "I'm sorry."

"Is that right?" He rolled his eyes. "Well, you've never apologized to me before. Why should I believe you're sorry for getting water all over me, of all things?"

"It's not just that." She glowered. "Do you really think I'd run all the way back over here and make a fool of myself if it was just that?"

"I never know with you."

"Well, I came to apologize for throwing your piano in the kite-eating tree."

He laughed in shock. "Are you kidding me?"

"And for throwing your other piano in the sewer. I never said sorry for any of that. So that's what I'm doing."

Schroeder didn't say anything for a second. He stared at the clouds. "I don't even know how to respond."

Lucy frowned in annoyance. "You could accept my apology, for starters."

"How am I supposed to believe you?"

"I talked with Linus."

"Oh, well, that makes a difference."

"You're always so darn sarcastic. It drives me crazy! Just listen to me for once, okay?"

"Since when have you ever listened to me?"

"I listen more than you think I do! I'm just…" She sighed. She might as well humiliate herself further. "I think… I think I'm just not as good at walking in other people's shoes as some people are."

"What did Linus say to you?"

"It's not important. What is important is that I realized something about your stupid piano."

He turned his head towards her and gave her a look. "Which is?"

"It's an extension of you. Like a third arm or leg." Her eyes widened. "Or another voice."

Schroeder stared at her. "And you're still calling it stupid?"

Lucy waved her hand dismissively. "Force of habit. The point is, before today, I didn't realize exactly how important it was to you. I'm sorry I've been so mean to it. It wasn't right, and it was disrespectful to you. And I'm sorry I threw water in your face, too."

For the first time all day, his brow eased up, and he didn't look so annoyed. It was the most thoughtful thing he'd heard her say in a while. "Well, I'll be. Lucy Van Pelt is really apologizing for something."

"Don't make me change my mind, Schroeder."

He finally gave her a genuine, small smile. "I accept your apology. It's a bit late, but I appreciate it anyway."

Lucy clasped her hands and smiled back. "So, are we okay again? I can still come over and listen to you play?"

"Lucy, I wasn't gonna ban you from my house."

"Really? That's good, but it would have been a funny story to tell our grandchildren. You know, once we've grown old together. Our first fight!"

Schroeder groaned, stood up and headed back inside. "I can't stand it."