Bella tugged into the bathroom with the sa enthusiasm she'd have if we were on a treasure hunt. She then pointed dramatically at the tap over the sink, water dripping steadily onto the counter.
"There! See? Leaking tap! Mission accomplished, right?" She grinned at like she'd already solved half the problem.
I rolled my eyes and crouched down, opening the cabinet beneath the sink. Sure enough, the main pipe was leaking just as they'd said. It didn't take long for to spot the culprit—a worn-out gasket that was barely holding together.
Bella leaned over my shoulder, peering into the cabinet with wide, curious eyes. "Whoa, you already figured it out?" She asked, sounding impressed. "What's wrong with it? Is it serious?"
I turned my head slightly to look at her, eting her bright gaze. For a second, I considered just telling her, but then I rembered Camila's words about teaching her sothing useful. So with a smirk, I straightened up a bit and crossed my arms and said, "Nope. Not gonna tell you."
"What? Why not?" Bella blinked, clearly caught off guard.
"Because it's your job to figure it out," I said, my tone calm but firm. "Step one in fixing anything is identifying the problem. If you can't do that, how are you going to fix it?"
"You're serious?" Her jaw dropped slightly, and she stared at in disbelief.
"Dead serious." I gave her a challenging look as I sat myself on the cold floor and then continued saying, "Co on, Bella. You want to learn, right? Then start by telling what's wrong with the pipe."
"But—" She hesitated, glancing back down at the leaking pipe. "I don't even know what I'm looking at!"
"Exactly." I said with a teasing grin. "That's why this is a learning mont. Take your ti. Look at it carefully, and try to figure it out."
Bella let out an exaggerated sigh, muttering sothing about being impossible, but she crouched down beside nonetheless. She squinted at the pipe, her brows furrowing as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
"Okay, uh…" She mumbled, reaching out to poke at the pipe. "It's definitely leaking…Is it…broken sowhere?"
"You tell ." I smirked, resisting the urge to laugh at how serious she looked.
She gave a frustrated look but kept going. "Maybe…Sothing's loose? Or…maybe that thingy is worn out?" She pointed vaguely at the gasket.
"Getting warr." I said, nodding encouragingly.
"Wait, really? Did I get it right?" Bella perked up slightly.
"Almost." I said, giving her a small smile. "You're close. That 'thingy' you pointed at is called a gasket. It's worn out, which is why the pipe is leaking." I then decided to go more in depth into the workings of the system to see if she could keep up.
"Alright, listen up, Bella." I said, crouching down by the pipes, already feeling the weight of her attention—or lack thereof. "This here..." I tapped the main pipe with dramatic flair. "...is the supply line. It's where the water cos through. You with so far, or did I lose you at 'listen up'?"
Bella shot a deadpan look. "I'm not five, Daddy. Main pipe...Water...Got it."
"Good." I said, suppressing a grin. "Now, these twisty things here..." I pointed at the shutoff valves, "...are how you stop the water from flooding the entire house. Turn them clockwise, and you shut it off....Simple."
She leaned in, examining the valves closely. "So, twist to stop the flood. Got it...Am I a plumber yet?"
"Not quite." I said, smirking. "Next up, we have this beauty right here..." I pointed at the curved pipe below the sink. "...the P-trap. It's important because it blocks sewer gases from wafting back up and ruining your day."
Bella blinked, then wrinkled her nose. "Ew...Why does it sound so fancy if it's just a stink-blocker?"
"Plumbers love their fancy words." I said with a shrug. "Now, if you see water dripping around here, chances are it's either a loose connection or a clog in the P-trap."
"Loose connection, clogged stink-blocker...Got it," Bella said, nodding as she observed everything I was pointing at.
"Sure, let's go with that." I muttered, rolling my eyes. "And if the leak's coming from the faucet, it could be the washers or the aerator."
Bella waved her hand dismissively. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, Mr. Dictionary. What's an aerator?"
"It's the thing that controls how the water flows out of the faucet." I explained. "You'll probably never touch it, but it's good to know."
She crossed her arms, tilting her head thoughtfully. "So, basically, I need to twist so knobs, check the stink-blocker, and maybe call a plumber if it's too complicated?"
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"That's…actually a solid summary." I admitted, surprised she was paying attention. "But let's pretend you care enough to fix it yourself one day...What's the first step if you see a leak?"
Bella straightened up, looking smug as she said, "Twist the twisty things to stop the flood."
"Shutoff valves." I corrected. "But yeah, twist the twisty things...And then?"
"Check the…stink-blocker for clogs or loose connections."
"P-trap." I said with a sigh. "But yes, close enough. You're a natural."
Bella grinned. "See? Told you I'm a fast learner. You should be proud, Daddy."
"Yeah, yeah, you did a good job." I ruffled her hair, ssing it up just enough to earn a playful glare from her. "But don't get ahead of yourself. That was just the explanation...The real hard part is actually fixing the problem."
Her eyes sparkled with excitent, and she puffed out her chest like she'd just been awarded a dal of honor. "Alright, so what's next? Tell , and I'll ace that too!"
"Go grab the toolbox." I said, pointing toward the hallway. "We're gonna need it if we want to actually fix this thing."
"On it!" She chirped, turning on her heel and sprinting off like she was on a rescue mission.
I tapped my fingers against the marbled floor that was quite clean, letting out a breath while I waited.
It was strangely endearing seeing her so eager. Normally, Bella preferred being wrapped up in a blanket watching movies, but today, she looked like she was ready to conquer the world with a wrench in hand.
A minute passed, then two...Just as I was starting to wonder what was taking her so long, I heard hurried footsteps approaching fast. And before I could even react, Bella's panicked voice echoed through the bathroom.
"Watch out, Daddy!"
"What?" I barely managed to say before sothing large and heavy ca flying into view. My eyes widened as I saw a toolbox tumbling through the air straight toward my face.
For a split second, ti seed to slow. Bella's horrified face appeared behind the airborne toolbox, her expression screaming 'Oh crap, I'm about to kill my step-dad!'
But unlike how Bella thought that my head was going to be smashed in, in one swift motion, I shot my hand out and caught the toolbox inches from my face.
The weight hit my palm with a satisfying thud, but I didn't even flinch. I set it down calmly on the floor beside , acting like I hadn't just narrowly escaped getting flattened by a rogue toolbox.
I then looked up at Bella, who was shocked and in relief that I was alright with a deadpan expression, raising an eyebrow, and said, "You know, if you didn't want to learn how to fix the pipe, you could've just said so. Trying to murder with a flying toolbox feels a little extre."
Bella's eyes widened, her face turning an adorable shade of red as she flailed her arms in panic. "No, Daddy! It's not like that! I swear!" She exclaid, her voice rising an octave. "It was just too heavy, and I couldn't hold onto it anymore! It slipped—I didn't an to drop it on your head!"
I crossed my arms, giving her a skeptical look.
"Really?" I asked, my tone playful but laced with mock suspicion. "Because from where I'm sitting, it looked a lot like a preditated attack."
Bella puffed up her cheeks, glaring at with an indignant expression. "Of course it wasn't! Do I look like soone who would try to murder her stepdad?"
I chuckled at her flustered reaction, shaking my head.
"Relax, I'm kidding. But if you're going to bla it on the toolbox being too heavy…" I reached down and grabbed the so-called 'heavy' toolbox. With a casual flick of my wrist, I balanced it on my pinky finger like it weighed nothing. "...then you've got so serious explaining to do."
Bella's jaw dropped as she watched effortlessly hold the toolbox with just my pinky.
"W-What?! How are you doing that? That thing weighs a ton!" She stamred, pointing at the toolbox like it was so kind of alien artefact.
I gave her a smug grin, spinning the toolbox lightly before setting it back down. "Maybe you're just weak." I teased. "Or maybe it really was a murder attempt, and now you're trying to cover it up."
Bella let out an exasperated groan, stomping her foot in frustration. "I told you, it wasn't a murder attempt! Why would I want to kill you? You're the one fixing the pipe! If you're dead, who's going to do it?"
Bella then crossed her arms, a pout forming on her lips as she huffed in frustration. "And it's not that I'm weak…" She muttered, her eyes narrowing slightly as she searched for the right words. "It's just that you're freakishly strong! Seriously, you toss things around like they weigh nothing."
"Excuses...Excuses." I teased since seeing her flustered face was amusing. "All I hear are excuses to save yourself from a murder case."
She shot a glare, her cheeks tinting pink. "I'm not making excuses! It's just ridiculous how you act like heavy stuff is nothing. You do it all the ti, like when you—" Bella's words ca faster, as if she was too worked up to notice where her sentence was headed. "—like when you pick up at night and toss around like I'm so kind of doll, thrusting in and out of without a care in the world!"
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