This weekend Laylee and Magoo were playing with the hose in the back yard. They called it swimming because a largish sort of plastic dish was near them and water was being employed but basically they were just having fun soaking things and each other while standing on dry land.
At one point Laylee had control of the hose for about 5 minutes. She was standing a few feet from Magoo and whipping him in the face with the water stream repeatedly. I listened and periodically watched from the kitchen window. THWACK! AAAHHH LAYLEE STOP! THWACK! NOOOOO LAYLEE! THWACK! LAYLEEEEE NOOOOOOO!!!
Magoo stood there facing her, taking the beating again and again. He wasn’t so much yelling at Laylee as he was yelling her name at me, willing me to come out, throttle her and save him. I kept thinking, “Back up a couple of feet. Remove yourself from danger. You’re four now. Stand up and be a man.” But their repetitive little game of Torture and Victim continued until eventually I popped my head out the porch door.
She looked up guiltily as she saw my face, lowering the hose to waist level.
“Laylee. Do you think you could be kind to your brother?”
“Okay,” she said sweetly.
Magoo smiled as the water ran down his face for hopefully the last time. “Laylee, could you please fill my bucket up with water?”
“Sure Buddy,” she chirped, lowering the hose into his bucket and crouching down to smile at him.
Magoo only glanced at me for a split second with a toothy grin and raised eyebrows before standing and using his upward force to splurch Laylee in the face mercilessly with the bucket water.
As I closed the door I could hear her siren of misery being raised to the sky as she stood, mouth agape and eyes squeezed shut, the water cascading down her face and dripping from her hair.
Let the summer fun begin.