Why not? - English

13-10 Stand Up to Be Rescued

"You should really be more careful, Charly. You know how the twins can be," I reminded Charlie of how stressful his children could be, just as James had bragged about his trip on Juno to Norman and Derek.

"I know, Sam. They're harder to look after than a bag of fleas. Especially when they argue or get angry again, isn't that right, Sarah?" Charlie interjected and turned with an admonishing look to his daughter still looking guilty.

"I know, Dad. I shouldn't have annoyed James so much and let him get on the paddleboard sooner," she admitted again.

"Don't forget that for the next time your father wants to try something like that with you again," I reminded her with a reassuring smile and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Next time I'll buy two of it," Charlie muttered, as if that were a good thing.

"Children need to learn to take turns and to share, Charlie!"

"Sam, if you had any yourself, you'd know that sometimes it's better to take the path of least resistance. You know full well that the two of us always had to take turns and it never worked."

"Oh really?!" Penny said curiously and gave me an interested grin.

“I could tell you stories, Penny!”, of course, my beloved brother immediately jumped at it.

"We'd better postpone that. We have to go back to the station!" I simply stated and put a hand on Penny's back to push her towards the ocean rescue center so that we could change. The last thing I needed was my brother telling her what a bully I had really been. We were on the mend and I still hoped that one day I could convince her to resume her canceled family plans. I certainly wouldn't let Charlie ruin that because he scared her.

"What, Sam? Afraid I'll find out you were just as much of a bully as Norman?" she teased, grinning. Christ, this woman saw through me better than a pane of glass.

"I really wasn't that bad," was all I replied, sneaking past her and holding the door open for her. "Norman and Derek were really tiring," I sighed as I started to get out of my ocean rescue uniform.

"Absolutely," groaned Penny next to me, who was already hanging her uniform on the coat rack. "I bet it won't be nearly as good as the Newtown Pirate Museum. I was allowed to do anything I wanted at the Newtown Pirate Museum," she mimicked Derek sarcastically as she checked her vest, and I could tell she was at least as annoyed by Derek's smartass as I was. Nevertheless, I had to laugh quietly at her behavior. She was almost her old self again.

"Perhaps your idea of ​​not bringing children into the world wasn't so wrong after all if everyone is as strenuous as these two," I then said thoughtlessly as I hung my ocean rescue uniform next to hers and checked also the equipment in the vest for completeness. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her give me a quick glance before placing her boots in their place under the suit.

"I think it's something completely different with your own children. Children often be more like their parents. Whether they become smart asses like the Price Cousins ​​or little angels, inquisitive or adventurous usually depends on the interests and upbringing of their parents and what children learn from them. You grow with them from the moment they come into the world. You know them better than anyone and know exactly when something is wrong with them or when they are up to something," she then went on to say, as she walked over to Neptune and made a final visual inspection to see if the boat was indeed secured, cleaned and ready for the next mission.

"Is that what you're longing for secretly?" I said with a smile and saw that she was doing the same, although she was still concentrating her gaze on the safety line before she turned to me.