Talk to me, Baby

 

"I just don't know how you two can be so hard on her," Deano shook his head as he watched Hannah walk around the coffee table as if she was a future ballerina.

It was Caitlin's night to cook. They'd missed Pixie and Cyrus' wedding because Hannah had the sniffles and well, he didn't have Sammie to babysit.

"Because Mario nor I ever had somebody that responsible for us." She shouted back as she was topping shredded cheese on the one-pot meal of noodles and ground meat with peppers.

"I don't think your parents were ever that awful," Deano shook his head no as he played with Hannah. "Let's start calling Mommie...Meanie," He smiled with glee.

Caitlin turned as if she heard that, but she went to set the table and started dishing out the casserole next to the spinach salad.

Deano went to put Hannah in her highchair.

"You need to be a better sister," he said.

"She's not my sister," Caitlin was adamant about it as she pushed in a mouth full of gooey noodles.

"Look, if you keep acting this way, Sammie will grow up and be just like you," Deano told her.

Caitlin only pouted and took a bit of spinach salad. He gave Hannah a few noodles to play with, but she ate them as if she could eat the whole casserole if he'd let her. Finally, he gave her some meat and cheese and watched her eat it. She looked at him and squeezed her hand open and shut as if she knew to sign language.

"Would you look at that?" He looked at Caitlin. "We gotta get Sammie back. She's taught Hannah so many things."

Caitlin sighed. "She's where she's supposed to be. With her family. We are not her family."

"But we could be." Deano looked at her ever so sweetly. Oh, he would kill her with kindness yet.