Page 50 of Laws of Love
“He was pulling my hair,” Yasmine stated, cutting the woman off, and Knox held his arms out to check her.
“I told him to stop, and when he didn’t, I made him,” Kaley added. “And I didn’t push him, lady. I punched him.”
“There you have it,” Aiva responded. “She was acting in defense of another.”
“This is unacceptable. I want her punished,” the woman said.
“Do you plan on punishing your son for pulling my daughter’s hair?” Knox asked.
“He wouldn’t do such a thing.”
“But he did pull my hair,” Yasmine countered.
“Children lie,” the woman tried.
Aiva rolled her eyes. She hated parents like this. Those who thought their little demons could do no wrong and would go to bat for them regardless of what had taken place. She could feel Knox getting upset, and the last thing they needed was for this Karen to feel vindicated if he reacted to her words. So, she spoke first.
“How old is your son?” Aiva asked.
“He’s twelve. Why is that relevant?”
Aiva nodded, picked up her phone, and started recording the woman.
“Are you filming me? You don’t have my permission to do that.”
“I don’t need it. New Mexico is a single-party consent state. Now, listen to me closely. Your little brat is going to come over here and give an apology for pulling her hair. Or I will file charges against him for assault on someone half his age. Before you spout some bullshit about him being a minor. I don’t give a damn, and neither do the courts. If it can be proved that he physically tried to hurt her, which he did, I will have his little ass charged. And before you try to come back with the fact that he was punched, defense of another is a law that dictates a person is justified in using force against another to protect a third party.”
The woman stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Aiva was sure it was the first time someone called her out about her child’s behavior. Or maybe it was the first time she was noting what was being said. Either way, Aiva didn’t care. The little boy was going to apologize to Yasmine, and if he didn’t, she would make them both wish he had. Would she have him charged? Maybe. Would she get someone she knew to take papers and serve them even if they hadn’t been filed to scare the shit out of them? Absolutely.
“Go get your son before I make you famous,” Aiva instructed, and the woman turned on her heels and scuttled off. Kaley climbed into Aiva’s lap as she stopped the recording. “I apologize for cursing in front of Yasmine,” she told Knox.
She wasn’t too worried about cursing in front of Kaley. While she tried not to do it, she knew her little sister heard it often between her mother and their sperm donor and probably a few of their other siblings.
Knox shook his head. “It’s fine, but I am constantly in awe of you.”
“Well, let me continue doing whatever makes you feel that way,” she responded.
“Aiva, Yasmine wants to come to the movies with us. I invited her,” Kaley stated, picking up her phone.
“Kaley, I’ve told you about making plans with other kids before asking their parents.”
“But you said you two were friends, so I thought it would be okay.”
Aiva turned her attention to Knox. “You want to sit through a Pixar movie with us?”
“If you’re sure it isn’t an imposition.”
She waved him off. “It isn’t. Kaley just has to remember that children can’t make their own decisions and need permission from their parents.”
“Excuse me.”
Aiva turned her attention to the little boy who had just approached their table. She could see a bruise forming around his eye and assumed it was where her little sister had hit him.
“I wanted to apologize for pulling her hair.”
“Yasmine, do you accept his apology?” Aiva asked.
The five-year-old shrugged. “I guess so.”
