"Daddy!"
Gabriel laughs and ruffles her hair. "You also stole the puck from Bobby."
"Because he was slow," she says.
"Because maybe he let you," I say.
"No he didn't. He looked surprised."
Gabriel glances at me. "To be fair, Bobby always looks surprised."
That gets me laughing.
Maddie points at Daisy. "And Daisy won defense."
Daisy thumps her tail once without opening her eyes.
"Bath time," I say.
Maddie groans immediately.
"I just took a bath yesterday."
"You played hockey in the grass with a dog," I reply.
"And pizza touched my sleeve," she adds, like this is a powerful legal argument.
"An even stronger case for soap."
"But I'm still kind of clean from yesterday," she says, dragging her feet toward the door.
Five minutes later the bathroom looks like a small water park.
Maddie splashes the water with both hands.
"Penalty," I say.
"For what?" she asks.
"Excessive splashing."
"I disagree with the call."
"You can file a complaint with management."
"I am management. And look, I'm a sea monster," she says.
She laughs and sinks under the bubbles until only her eyes show.
"Terrifying," I reply.
She pops back up and sends water over the side of the tub again.
"Maddie."
"Sorry."
She's not sorry.
