Page 23 of Tinley's Daddy
“No.” I kneeled in front of her but didn’t touch her.
She wiped the tears from her eyes. “What do you mean, no?”
“No, you are not doing this.” I placed a hand on her knee. She didn’t flinch or pull away. “You are not broken and you’re not going to talk about yourself in that way.”
She pouted and shook her head.
“You had a shitty thing happen… ”
She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, a lot of shitty things happen to you, but that’s the point, they happened to you. You didn’t do anything or cause any of this and I think the way you’re dealing with it is incredible and brave.” I squeezed her knee and then let her go. I stood back up and held out my hand and guided her to stand by me.
“So how are you doing on your list?” I looked her up and down. “I see you managed to get dressed.”
She giggled and then stopped.
“Been dressing myself for a long time now.” She smoothed out her T-shirt.
“But I guess it’s been a while since you picked out your own clothes.” I stood back. “Everything fits?”
That garnered me another sassy eye roll.
“What about shoes?”
She reached into a bag and pulled out a pair of blue Converses. She sat down and I kneeled back in front of her.
“May I?”
She nodded.
I put her shoes on and tied them in double knots. The jeans were a little baggy on her, but the T-shirt was the right size. She grabbed the burgundy hoodie and handed it to me, then stood up.
I helped her put it on.
“Zipped or unzipped?” I straightened the hood.
“Zipped.”
I zipped the jacket up halfway and stood back to examine my handiwork.
“Perfect fit.”
“It’s too big.” She hugged herself. “But I like it.”
“Good.”
“So let me give you a little preview.”
She listened and nodded when I told her about the agents who were waiting to speak to her.
“If there is something you don’t want to answer or you feel uncomfortable at all, you let them know.”
“You’ll be there with me, right?” She reached for my hand.
“Of course, sw—” I cleared my throat. “Tinley. I won’t leave your side.”
She squeezed my hand.
