MESSY DAY

A/N: This idea came from How the Darkness Sounds. In there, Sharon recalls when her boss yelled at Stan when he was little after making a mess in his office. Here is that day. Enjoy!

Four-year-old Stan was really excited, as soon as preschool was over his mom would be picking him up and taking him to her work where he'd be spending the rest of the day at. He had only been there a few times but was too young to remember much. But it meant he would be spending the day with her and not with a baby-sitter and Shelley. Plus it was a Friday and overall Fridays were always the best day of the school week. To top it off his mother had promised him a special treat for he had been so good all week and he could not wait to find out what it was. As soon as Miss Claridge declared class was over, Stan hurried to the door to see his mom already waiting outside it.

"Mommy!"

"Hello sweetie!" Sharon bent down to give her son a hug. Miss Claridge was chuckling behind them.

"Stanley dear, you are in such a hurry you almost forgot your things!"

Stan paused and gasped. "My stuff! Lemme get me stuff. Don't leave yet Mommy."

"I'm right here," Sharon said amused.

"He's been talking about how he's spending time with you at 'your work' all day," the teacher said to the mother.

Stan returned from his cubby with his little red backpack and holding up some sort of art project in his hands. Sharon had to help him in his coat for he was trying to explain his project to her at the same time.

"-and we had to color one of the Forest Friends and color them somewhere usin' our favorite colors. I chose Friendly Fox, see? He's red n' blue 'cause I like those colors best. Miss Claridge put a Mickey sticker on it. What's that say?" he pointed to the words 'great job!' under the picture of Mickey Mouse.

Even though he was excited to go with her to her job it was always difficult to get her son moving along from school. He had to say goodbye to his friends and simply liked to take forever to leave. Sharon was happy Stan wanted to spend time with her at Tom's Rhinoplasty; she of course made sure it was okay with her boss first. Dr. Tom Marden said he could come as long as he didn't make a mess. He wasn't the biggest fan of kids so she was a little surprise he had okayed it at all. She had packed plenty of books and quiet play things with her to entertain her son but she hoped he wouldn't get too bored too quickly. They had to spend the whole of five hours there before the day was over. But she was looking forward to it herself; whenever one of her fellow co-workers brought in their kids to the office to say hello, everyone got excited. And since she was back to working full time, she often didn't get to see her kids until dinner.

The ride to Tom's Rhinoplasty was only ten minutes from the school yet Stan spent all of those ten minutes talking about everything that happened in class today. Sharon listened in with interest; she knew in five years it would be like pulling teeth to get her son to talk about his day. They drove into the parking lot that served for the various businesses on James Street and Sharon took hold of her son's hand and a bag from the trunk before she had a short prep talk with him.

"Remember Stanley, you listen to Mommy as soon as we get inside okay?"

He nodded.

"Don't bother people in the waiting room if they don't want to be bothered. Don't make a mess at the front desk or go anywhere or do anything without asking first. Be sure to tell me if you have to use the potty, especially if it's 'number two', understand?"

Again Stan nodded.

"Speak softly; I do not want to hear any yelling or screaming from you. Do you remember when you are allowed to scream?"

"If there's a fire, earthquake, snowstorm, or med'cal 'mergency," Stan recited.

Sharon couldn't help but feel a little anxious; her son wasn't bad but he did get in trouble pretty easily. He was full of curiosity, more so than the average preschooler, loved wandering around away from the adults, and loved playing with things that weren't even toys. But if the rules were laid out days before an event, he could usually follow them with fewer tantrums. The two walked into Sharon's work place and instantly fellow employee Becky gasped upon the new arrival.

"Oh Sharon, is this little Stanley?" she got out from her post from the front desk and over to them. Thankfully it was slow at this point as it usually was around noon.

Stan shyly said hello at the older woman.

"Oh look how much you've grown. Last time I saw you you were two!"

"I just got back from preschool. We learned 'bout the seasons today. Right now it's spring," Stan told her. Becky laughed before saying she needed to find Gina so she could see the boy as well. Stan was as polite as he could be to these ladies his mother worked with but as soon as they were out of earshot he whined to her about being hungry. Sharon took her son to the small lunchroom in the back to get some food into him before a meltdown began. She took out two bags, one for her and one for him. Inside his was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a baggie with Goldfish crackers, and a Capri Sun.

"Do you want me to show you the special treat you get for being such a good boy this week?" Sharon asked.

Stan nodded excitedly. Sharon pulled out a twin pack of Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes.

Stan gasped."Choc'late cupcake!"

"Now remember, you get to eat one now but you have to save the other one for tomorrow okay? I don't want to hear any whining about the second cupcake okay?"

"Thanks Mommy!"

"But you have to eat your lunch first then you can have your treat."

It had been a nice and calm lunch but as soon as they were finished Sharon had to go back up to the front desk. Since the space was large enough, Stan was able to take a seat on a stepstool from the clinic behind the desk, out-of-sight by the people sitting in the waiting room. Stan was given some scrap paper and crayons to color with which he did quietly for a half hour before he had to pee. Letting Becky handle the man who was at the desk now Sharon quickly took her son to the bathroom. When they stepped out they ran into Dr. Tom.

"Doctor! Hello," Sharon smiled.

He nodded with a grin before looking down. "So uh, who's the little guy?"

Sharon placed a hand on Stan's head. "It's my son. Remember I told you I was bringing him in today?"

"Right, right. So son, coming in to get your nose fixed?" the man joked but Stan's eyes went wide and he hid behind his mother's legs.

"I wouldn't say things like that Doctor, Stanley's terrified of doctors and such as it is," Sharon said quietly to him. After telling her son it was a joke she tried nudging him forward to greet the man.

Dr. Tom got to his knee. "Hey there Stan, I don't know if you remember me but I remember you. I saw you last year and the year before that. I even remember your mommy bringing you in when you were just a baby! This tiny little thing."

Stan couldn't help but giggle.

"So what grade are you in? Kindergarten now?"

"No," Stan said. "I'm only in preschool."

After a few more words Sharon had Stan go back behind the desk for her boss wanted to tell her a few words.

"Remember Sharon, I don't want to have a child running around her yelling all afternoon, got that? No mess, no walking into rooms without asking. No disturbing other patients or people waiting out there."

"I know, I've been going over everything with him all this week," Sharon reassured.

"It's okay to bring your kids in once in a while but they have to keep to themselves."

"Trust me Doctor; I'll make sure my son behaves all day." As soon as he left Sharon felt those nerves hit once again. Her son wasn't a bad kid, he just did what other four-year-old boys did and unfortunately some of those things involved running and screaming and playing around. She couldn't punish Stanley for doing what was normal for his age but she had to make sure he did indeed listen. Her boss wasn't exactly a 'kid person' and any kind of mess might make him panic. But Stan had been good all week; surely he could last one more day. If anything he'd grow tired and need a nap which she was prepared for.

Two o'clock had rolled by and at this point Stan was sitting on a chair out in the waiting room with a book in hand but it was clear he was getting bored. He slumped into the chair and was holding On Pete's Farm upside down. He sat like this tapping his little shoes together for a few minutes before finally sitting back up.

"Mommy!"

"Shh, I'm busy right now," Sharon told him before turning back to the person she was on the phone with.

"But Mommy…"

"Shhh, later sweetie," she put her fingers to her lips.

Stan got up and ran to her behind the desk. "Mommy, I want my cupcake."

Sharon wasn't listening, just talking on the lady who was on the other line.

"Mommy, can I have my cupcake?" he tugged her pants.

Sharon gave him a firm look and put her fingers to her lips; Stan shut his own mouth. He knew this was the sign she gave when she was too busy talking to another grown-up or he had said something he wasn't supposed to so he had to be quiet. A couple minutes later Sharon got off the phone and faced her son.

"Didn't we already go over you not calling for me when I am talking with someone else unless-"

"There's a 'mergesy, yes," Stan finished. "But it's really important this time Mommy!"

Sharon sighed. "Fine, what is it?"

Stan blinked. "I want my cupcake now."

The way a little kid thought…

"That could have waited Stan." She rubbed her eyes.

"Can I eat it? I promise to not bring it out here, I'll stay in the lunch place the whole time, promise," Stan said.

Sharon had to allow him to; a man had just walked up to the desk. Stan promised three more times he would eat his cupcake (and only one) in the lunchroom before he scampered off to do so. It was really the best thing at the moment; Dr. Tom was currently in surgery with someone and he didn't need to hear knocking outside the OR by a highly curious little boy. Plus there were a few toys in the bag she had bought that he would no doubt discover when he got his cupcake. Stan happily hopped up the table where his mom's bag was and took out the twin pack chocolate cupcakes. He also found a carton of milk with a straw in her lunch cooler he knew had to be for him too; he loved deinking milk with chocolate treats. He knew it was best not to bother his mother at the moment so Stan opened the cupcakes with a puncture by a pen. He took out one cupcake and wanting to show his mother he was a good boy, put the other cupcake back in the lunch bag. Stan took a bite of his snack and looked around; it sure was boring in this special lunch room. He saw a TV in the corner but it was not on and he did not know how to turn it on. He was sure he'd be in trouble if he did it anyway. He sat there not eating for a couple minutes before a smile grew on his face. He hopped off the table, cupcake and milk in hands, and went down the hall.

He ran into one man coming out of a room but that was it. Stan looked around and then looked up at a door- it was closed of course. A plate that read Doctor Tom Marden was next to the door but Stan couldn't read it. He set his snack on the floor and jumped up to the handle and turned- it popped open! He picked up his snack, stepped inside, and closed the door behind him. He looked around; the office was a little small but to his four-year-old mind, it was plenty big. It looked like any other grown-up room- books on bookcases and cabinets and a desk. All pretty boring. But he himself was bored and in need of exploring so this would have to do. He walked around, running his hands on the sleek desk near a wall, leaving chocolaty smears on it. He then saw a blue ball of some sort sitting next to the desk. Excited he found something cool Stan got on the chair by it for a better look.

The blue ball sat in some golden ring thing. Stan placed his hands on it and gasped when it tilted.

"Wow! How cool!" Stan moved the globe around and around, getting many kicks of the spinning. He had never seen a ball like this before, and he loved the images on it, it almost looked like a pirate map! "Ahoy mates! Captain Marsh and his crew hid tha treasure…. Here!" he spun the globe about and placed a messy hand in Antarctica, although not really knowing he had done so. Wanting to look around more, the little boy went to the cabinets.

Stan wondered if they were the kind that opened easily or not. The ones at his dad's work place didn't open easily which was no fun. He saw a little button to the side of one cabinet and after a few failed attempts, was able to open the drawer. He leaned his nose over to the files that sat inside. Too curious for his own good Stan ran his hands over the top before pulling one out at random- and a dozen papers that were inside fell out.

"Oh no!" Not wanting to get in trouble Stan tried to get the papers back in the folder and stuffed it back into the cabinet where it stuck up just a little bit. A short time had passed and Stan nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the sound of a man's voice on the other side of the door. He ran to hide as soon as the door handle turned.

When Dr. Tom's head faced his office his eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. His office was a complete mess. Little Stanley was only in there for twenty minutes but it looked to be longer by the way the room was set. Folders and papers strewn about the floor, a small potted plant turned over, books were on the floor, and noticeable smears were on almost everything.

"What- what in the hell happened in here?" the man cried out. He looked around, hand running through his shiny black hair. The office wasn't big so he didn't have to travel much until he spotted a foot under his desk. He bent down to see a terrified boy under it. "Stanley?"

Stan backed further into his corner under the desk.

"Stanley get out here right now!" Dr. Tom ordered. The preschooler did not budge. "Now young man, I don't want to have to drag you out myself. Out- now."

Stan slowly crawled from under the table but ran to the wall after.

"Look at what you did to my office! Look at it!" he yelled.

"I- I-I"- Stan stuttered.

"What were you thinking? How did you get in here? Look- just- just look at this mess you created!"

"S-sorry," Stan squeaked.

"Books and papers all over the floor. Chocolate handprints all over!" He glared down at the child. "What were you thinking? How did this happen? Do you know how much you just ruined? It's going to take forever to clean and organize everything now young man! Stanley you will look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Stan shook in the corner of the wall, tears burning his eyes. He did not like being yelled at. He wasn't done so too often by his parents, at least not by his mom. Grown-ups pointing and shouting at him frightened him. He really did something bad and he was going to be in so much trouble now. A couple minutes of yelling later the door opened and Sharon stepped in.

"Dr. Tom, I heard shouting, what is it?" she turned to see her son looking incredibly small, almost sitting down in the corner.

Dr. Tom glared his way at Sharon. "Look at what your 'precious son' did to my office Sharon!"

Sharon took a glance around. "What went on in here?"

"I'd like to know that myself! And look at these handprints! Just what were you doing with food in my office young man?"

Sharon looked at her son. "Did you bring your cupcake in here Stanley?"

"I'm- I'm sorry! Really!" the boy cried.

"How did you get in here? What made you think it was okay to go in here at all?" he then looked at his employee. "Did you allow him to go wherever the hell he wanted to?"

"Of course not! Stanley, I told you to tell me where you were at all times. You promised me you would stay in the lunch room," Sharon said sternly.

"Oh, so you went against your mother's back and went exploring on your own? Do these books not look expensive to you? And this desk is brand-new! And it's covered in your friggin' finger prints now! Like I'm not busy enough to now have to spend tonight cleaning this mess that you created instead of going home?" Dr. Tom raged on.

Sharon however was hardly listening to his rants. Her son was stock-still in fear now and she knew the man's words were falling on deaf ears.

"I'll take it from here Tom," Sharon stepped in front of him and went down on her knees to her son.

Dr. Tom crossed his arms. "Don't go soft on him Sharon, I hear your stories. Your son does things like this all the time."

"Let me handle it okay? He's my child." Sharon forced him to look at her. Stanley broke down on her shoulder and let out a screechy sentence but she was sure he had said 'I'm really sorry Mommy.'

Sharon went into the waiting area and found Becky who was thankfully free. She told her to follow into the lunch room and to keep an eye on her son. She had sat him on top the table and placed her hands on his knees. "Stanley hon, I need to talk to Dr. Tom okay? Stay with Becky at all times okay? Do you understand me?" The boy nodded as he had his hands pressed on his teary eyes. Sharon looked up at her co-worker. "Could you please take him to the bathroom to clean him up? Thank-you so much."

There were a lot of raised voices back in Dr. Tom's office between Sharon and him.

"I don't want you to walk away from this like it's nothing!" he argued.

"I know what my son did was wrong and I am angry about it too. I will be talking to him later and he will be punished. But I do not want to hear you yelling at him again, Dr. Tom."

Dr. Tom raised his brows. He normally got along fine with his employees but when arguing with a mother, he never won.

"I'm just telling you Shar, he needs more than 'being talked to'. He's always doing things like this. If you tried something else"-

"You've only seen him a few times in his life!" Sharon said wildly. "And I know what you're thinking but I am not going to hit my son. It's such an out-dated way to punish a child. I know my son and smacking him and yelling will only make things worse. Let me deal with it. I'll make it up to you; I'll make sure he makes it up to you for what he did."

Dr. Tom sighed. "I hope you realize this means I will not be allowing him or any other kids to be coming in for a very long while."

Sharon sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry. I don't know what went wrong. I should have been better prepared."

All the man could do was nod; he didn't want to do anything to Sharon personally, she was a very good employee. She was right, this was between her and her child. Poor little Stanley was scarred the rest of the evening and night after what happened. He barely ate dinner and felt even more horrible when his parents lectured him on what he did wrong. He knew what he did wrong, he knew he shouldn't have walked off without telling his mommy, he knew he shouldn't have opened the door and walk in, he knew he shouldn't have done any of the things he did in the office. But on and on they went until finally it was time to get ready for bed. After his bath Stan settled into bed to have his mom tuck him in.

"Can- can I have a story tonight Mommy?" he asked softly.

Sharon gave a slight frown. "I don't think you deserve a bedtime story after all the rules you broke today."

Stan looked down as he held onto lovey Ruffy. "I know everyone hates me now."

Sharon sighed. "We don't hate you honey, we are just very upset with you." How she wished her son could make it up to Dr. Tom himself. Show him he knew he was responsible. But she knew her boss and a 'sorry' card with a four-year-old's scribbles wouldn't do anything. She then thought of something. "Stanley, what do you think you could do to make Dr. Tom feel better?"

The boy thought for a few seconds. "Say I'm sorry…"

"Anything else that might make him feel like you are really sorry?"

"Umm… give him a cookie?"

Sharon smiled. "When you made a mess at Grandma's house with your muddy shoes on her floor, what did you do that made her really happy?"

Stan thought. "Helped her wif cleaning it. I cleaned the floor wif her real good." He then smiled. "Hey Mommy! Maybe I can help Dr. Tom clean the mess I made there."

Sharon smiled. "I think that is a great idea sweetheart! I will tell him tomorrow okay?"

Dr. Tom wished he knew what he was getting himself into the next day when he agreed to allow Stan to help him clean up. Before they began Sharon went over things with both her son and boss. Again the man did not want to be told what to do and not do by an employee but he had to listen to her otherwise risk losing her as an employee. So he had to bite his tongue when it came to the four-year-old. He was there to help. And there was to be no yelling or shouting of any kind.

"So um, do you like cleaning back home?" Dr. Tom asked as he handed over a damp washcloth to the boy.

"No, I only do it when my mommy or daddy tells me," Stan said calmly. "I like baths. I like cleaning myself in da tub. Do you?"

"Umm, ya, sure. Why don't you start wiping off these hand prints of yours on my desk okay?" he couldn't help but shake his head and grin. "Wow, for such a little guy you sure made a mess didn't you?"

"It was the cupcake and my milk. My mommy said I couldn't have the other cupcake after I did this. It had two cupcakes in the package." Ten minutes later Stan went over to the potted plant he had knocked over yesterday. He picked it up on its side where more dirt fell onto the floor. "Hey Dr. Tom- whatta you want me to do wif this?"

Dr. Tom sighed; having a four-year-old helping him clean was certainly going to take more time than he thought, but also be more entertaining. He didn't hate kids, he just wasn't used to them. Guess Stanley Marsh was going to make him go through all the emotions one usually felt when dealing with a preschooler.

I really wanted to do this as soon as I thought of it. I didn't place it in the Tales of Toddlerhood section because stories there involve all the boys. There will be a part 2 to Stan's broken leg story next. In the meantime, please review this!

Lots of love: Rose, August 21, 2012