Chapter 10

"What the actual fuck?" Casey and I entered the house to what could only be described as a post-apocalyptic flour-filled world.

Not. Good.

"Ooohhh, Daddy Casey, Daddy Timothy said a bad word," Henry tattled.

"Yes, he did, and I don't blame him." Casey shook his head. "This will not be an easy clean- up."

"We were only outside for ten minutes. How did this happen?"

My boy's blue eyes, the only part of him not currently covered in flour, stared up at me.

"Try not to cry because it will make the flour stick to you even more."

"Well, since mine is the only one not covered in flour…" Casey smugly pointed out, the lucky dog.

The only part of Chase with any on him was the front of his shirt which clearly happened from standing too close to the other two imps. His hands were clean, so he'd not touched any of it.

"Oh, I've got our naughty boy." Jensen and Mitchell walked in, having just returned from picking up the ice-cream cake for me. "Henry, follow me." Jensen's displeasure with the situation was clear in his command. Henry flinched, but followed him.

"I didn't do it," Chase announced, on the verge of tears. "Please don't punish me."

I wasn't aware of his backstory but based upon the fear in his reaction, punishments weren't foreplay for him, and I hope Casey caught that, too.

"Sweet boy, I don't believe you did anything wrong," Casey took his hand, "but let's go outside and brush you off."

Putting the boys in the tub or shower would've been detrimental to the plumbing and had we thrown them in the pool—yes, that thought had crossed my mind—it would've likely done the same. "Over by the hose, Jamie and Henry." This was the first time I was truly angry with Jamie, and he knew it. Tears spilled over though he tried his best to contain them, so I washed his face first before the flour had a chance to get doughy.

Was that even a word? Hell, who knew and at this point, none of the ones swirling through my mind were G-rated.

"Henry," Mitchell slid Henry's shirt off and a poof of white filled the air, "why did you do this?"

"The-the," he stuttered, "the dough was sticking to the counter so we got the flour but couldn't open it. And-and it was so soft, so we played in it, but it tasted nasty." Henry stuck his tongue out and a white streak ran down the center. "Blech."

"Jamie, I don't even know what to say." Nor where to begin. "The kitchen is a mess, the dough was already rolled out so there was nothing for you to do but decorate your pizza. Now, I don't even know if we can save any of it."

"Sorry, Daddies," Henry and Jamie said together as they cried.

"Jamie, how did it get in your ears?"

"My ear itched."

"And up your nose?"

"The flour made me sneeze, so I rubbed it."

I was at a loss for words and did not look forward to the challenge of cleaning up that mess.

Casey and Chase went back inside where Mitchell was, likely to attempt to salvage our dinner. A possibility that may not come to fruition. The only positive was that Jamie had dressed in his swim trunks whereas Henry had to be stripped down to his underwear, so it was easier and less invasive to hose Jamie off.

"I'll grab towels." I was thankful I'd had the foresight long ago to add a storage cabinet for pool towels and supplies on the porch.

"Henry has an extra outfit in the car. I'll be right back." While Jensen took care of that I wrapped the still sobbing boys in towels and had them sit down to dry. Given the Nevada heat, that would take no time at all.

"Stay put until I come back. Do not turn on the hose, do not jump in the pool. Please be good and listen."

"Yes, Daddy, I promise."

"I promise, too, Daddy Timothy."

I stepped inside to check on things and just as the slider closed, a chunk of pizza dough fell from the ceiling and onto Mitchell's head.

Four pizzas just became three.

"I don't even know what to say." Though the groan I released spoke for me.

Mitchell, Casey, Chase and I stared at the crusty mess. Jensen walked in, took one look at Mitchell and lost it. His laughter triggered the rest of us.

"I'm at a loss, guys. I'm so sorry about this. I hope dinner isn't ruined." I was prepared to buy them a steak dinner to try and make up for this. No doubt the birthday boy was the mastermind behind it.

Mitchell tossed the dough atop his head in the trash. "I think it'll be all right. I'll brush off the rest of the dough and do a quick rinse to the toppings. We should be good to go, though you'll likely find flour for the next millennia. They killed the entire bag."

"Jesus." Though praying to any sort of God or saint would do zero good at this point. The damage was done and there was nothing left but to clean.

"I'll go dress Henry and bring the boys in." Jensen went out while the rest of us took care of the kitchen and I made a mental note to change the air filter before bed. A clogged filter would do more harm than good and there was no way it hadn't caught some of this. Bucket after bucket of water was dumped outside and coated the colorful riverbed of rocks in a dull white sheen. Jensen had put Jamie and Henry in timeout. I'd never been a stern Daddy before, but it was time to find that attribute and utilize it if today was any sign of what this boy had in store for me.

"Monsoons should wash it away." Casey patted my shoulder as we dumped the buckets out and refilled them.

"Here's to hoping. Is Chase okay? He was pretty shaken up."

"Yes. I don't know his backstory yet. Believe it or not, he's best friends with my best friends' son. Strange circle we're in but David, his best friend, has given me glimpses into Chase. That boy brings out the protective Daddy in me."

Enough said. His boy's past definitely wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, not that most of them were anymore. I got the feeling that Casey would be the perfect Daddy for Chase.

The temp on the pizza oven was where we needed it. "Let's go salvage what we can of dinner. Thank fuck the salad was in the fridge." At least I hoped it still was…

We walked into a mostly clean kitchen and never had I been more thankful than I was then for having opted for full-height cabinets that butted up against the ceiling when I did the remodel. Otherwise, I'd be on a ladder cleaning the tops off for days.

"Thanks, guys, I appreciate the help." Note to self, send these Daddies a thank you gift.

"Hey, our boy was in on it, too. The cake is in the freezer, ready to decorate the pizzas?" Mitchell did his best to bring things back around to the party. Glad one of us was focused.

"Yes. Jamie?"

His blue eyes met mine.

"Come over and decorate our pizza but please do not touch the other two." I put the sauce and cheese on first because I wasn't about to deal with that potential disaster.

"Henry, Chase, come on over and do yours."

Chase glanced up and Casey nodded and smiled at him. I was happy for my friend and though he might have his work cut out for him, Chase would make a sweet boy once he let go. Together they would work past their traumas and challenges, but either way my mischievous boy had a new friend.

With minimal topping casualties, the boys decorated the pizzas. While Casey and I manned the pizza oven, Jensen and Mitchell took care of the rest. When we brought the pizzas inside the boys were seated and had their drinks.

The three of them didn't say a word as they ate. Henry and Jamie likely didn't enjoy the timeout but hopefully they'd learned their lesson. "Why don't you boys go into the playroom while we get the kitchen cleaned up."

"Okay, Daddy. Thank you for dinner." Jamie kissed my cheek and skipped off. He was clearly trying to get me to forget the whole event, and given it was his birthday he may get away with nothing more than a warning.

Maybe.

"Cake and presents time?" Jensen asked.

"Should we really give them any more sugar?" Mitchell had a point.

"Good call, but given it's Jamie's birthday and I get the feeling it's his first real birthday party, I hate for him to miss this important part." I pulled the cake from the fridge and put the candle on it. "You want to grab them, Casey?"

As soon as Jamie appeared, we broke into the familiar song.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Jamie. Happy birthday to you."

His eyes were wide as saucers, and he clapped when we were done. "Thank you!"

"Make a wish and blow out the candle." I stood nearby just in case…

Jamie closed his eyes and scrunched his face then blew hard. As soon as it went out, we cheered.

"Okay, Jamie, open your presets."

While the boys were enthralled with that, we cut and served the cake. Jamie got a racetrack from Henry, no surprise there, and a gift card from Casey and Chase.

"Thank you, everyone. Cake with ice cream in it. I've never had that before." Jamie was so excited. "So nummy, nummy!" Before he got to his third nummy, he slapped his forehead. "Owie, owie, owie. Ice-cream head rush."

"Slow it down, Jamie." I got that he was excited, but brain freezes were painful.

With full bellies, the boys were sluggish and decided to play with the toys in lieu of swimming.

"Do you hear that?" Mitchell held his hand to his ear as the four of us took a seat. I didn't know about them, but I was worn out.

"I don't hear anything." Having said the words aloud triggered my Daddy radar.

"Exactly." As one, the four of us went straight to the playroom where we found all three boys sound asleep on the floor.

"I better get Chase home. He's got band practice in the morning."

"Ah, I thought I recognized him."

"Yes, and you can imagine how stressful his life is."

"You're good with him," Jensen told Casey. "I hope he finds the right headspace to unwind."

"Me, too." Casey crouched down beside Chase and whispered, "Chase, sweetie. Time to go home."

"M'kay. Seepy."

"I know, sweet boy. Let's get you home so you can rest."

"Wanna go home with you."

Casey blinked a couple of times. Chase's eyes popped open as the half-asleep words he'd uttered sank in. "Oh, um."

"I'd love to show you my place." Casey said as Chase got up and took his hand, "Thank you for having us today. Outside of flour-geddon, we had a great time."

"Thank you," Chase mumbled, cuddling the bear my sweet boy gave him. Hard to stay mad at a boy who had a heart as pure as Jamie's.

But flour-geddon. How could I not laugh at the truth of that?

"You're very welcome."

Jamie didn't stir while everyone said their goodbyes until I scooped him up. "Happy birthday, Daddy."

"Silly boy, it's not Daddy's birthday. It's yours."

"Oh yeah." Jamie stretched as I laid him down. "Are you mad at me, Daddy?"

"Well, I'm not thrilled about the flour fiasco, but I hope it never happens again."

"It won't, I promise. Are you mad about the bear?"

"Mad about the bear?"

"That I gave him to Chase? He said he didn't have any stuffies and every boy needs a stuffie."

"I agree. You have such a kind and loving heart. That selfless gesture nearly made me cry happy tears."

"It made Chase really happy, too. I loved my bear but my Daddy spoils me, so I have plenty to share."

Wasn't it always those who had so little that always shared? The world would be a better place if we all thought that way. Now, my boy would never want again but I didn't see the essence of who he was changing because of that.

"That you do and I'm so proud to be your Daddy. You make everyone's world shine and that's why you're Daddy's Shiny Star."

"Shiny Star." Jamie yawned. "I seepy, Daddy."

"I know, sweetheart. You really need a shower, but you have noodle legs. Let me put you in your PJs and you can shower in the morning before work." Thankfully, the hose washed away the majority of the mess.

"They're closing my store, Daddy."

Wait? What?

"We can talk about this in the morning when you're more awake."

Jamie wouldn't be happy not working, he enjoyed peopling as he called it. Plus, it was important to him to earn his own money. But as far as I was concerned if he didn't want to work, he didn't have to.

"M'kay, Daddy. Love you."

"Love you, too, birthday boy."

Freshly changed, he rolled over and was out.

Before I even attempted to shower, inspecting the kitchen had to come first. Jensen, Mitchell, Casey, and Chase had cleaned it up well enough for the party to continue but flour had a way of sneaking into cracks and crevices naked to a quick glance.

Sure enough, the cupboard doors and the crown molding along the top had to be wiped down. I pulled the fridge out and took care of the whiteout beneath it and gave the floor a quick mop. I wonder how bakers managed their days. With flour must come magic to contain it and after this, I'd never overlook bakery staff again. A quick change of the air filter, which as expected had trapped some of it. If anyone else saw it, they would've thought I'd been sanding drywall mud today.

I shook my head…

Now to finally shower and relax.

Never had hot water felt better than it had right then. As I stood beneath the spray washing away the remnants of the day, it hit me how lucky my boy and I were. We found each other at the right time and now had friends to share our lives with. Had the other Daddies not been here to help the party would've been a disaster with that mishap. That wide-eyed boy staring at me, covered in flour. Now it was funny, then, not so much. The laughter hit me hard. Those two little imps were coated like floury clowns.