Ask Nice

– Everyone is here, her mom tells her. Your uncle John is back from Portland. Your aunt Amy and your uncle Derek and your cousin Sarah from Seattle are here. Even the puppy is ready. Come into the living room. We’re trying to take a group picture. – No, she says. I am playing Lego. – It really is unfair, her mom says. – It’s OK, her father says. – No, she says. I am just fed up. She acts like a brat whenever the whole family is around. – It’s really OK, her dad says. But he knows she’s had a bit of white wine, and she’s exhausted, and she is worried that the whole family is comparing the way she raises her daughter to the way aunt Amy raises her daughter. – I’ll talk to her, her dad says. – Oh relax mommy, she says. I was only trying to get you to ask nice.