Whose Fault Is It?

Jake and Lizzy were playing outside when I heard Lizzy start to cry, Jake yell something and then Lizzy started running up the stairs to the deck. Jake told me he hit Lizzy with the (foam covered) bat. Taking a deep breath because I figure it could be bad, I check her out. I’m happy to see that there isn’t any blood or even a bruise. (We’ll see how it looks tomorrow.) “Did he hit you on purpose?” I ask her.

“No,” Lizzy sobs.

“It’s not my fault.” Jake says.

“Oh, yes it is.”

Then we say the same thing again.

Jake stops, glares at me and says with anger and hurt, “I can’t believe you think I’d hit her on purpose!”

“I don’t,” I respond. “But it’s your fault.”

“No, it’s not.” Lizzy says. She’s stopped crying and is ready to defend her brother.

I try to explain that even though it was an accident it’s still Jake's fault. They don’t believe me. I ask her if it would be my fault if I walked around a corner and accidentally knocked her down. She has no idea what I’m talking about.

I try again. I turn on the water and put Lizzy’s hand under the water. “Whose fault is it that your hand is wet?” I ask her. She looks at me obviously puzzled. She doesn’t say a word but I can tell that she thinks I’m deranged. And she’s really confused about why she has a wet hand. Then they started laughing at me. Eventually, I give up trying to explain. Five minutes later she asks me why I think it’s Jake’s fault. I said that even though it was an accident he was still responsible.

“Oh.” She says.