Chapter 9
"Alright, little one. You can go on and play on the playground if you want." Logan told his son when they had arrived at the park. "I'll be right here, watching you while you…"
"Come on! Push me, Daddy!" Milo ordered and pointed to the swing set while jumping up and down. Logan sighed and suppressed a smile.
"Well, I might, if you'd stop giving orders and ask nicely."
Logan raised one single eyebrow at him and then followed his little boy over to the swings when Milo mentioned the magic word "please".
They were soon joined by other children and their mothers – Logan started a conversation with the mother of a little girl named Lynn, who lived only a few streets away from the Huntzbergers.
But Milo wasn't really keen on sharing his Daddy with that lady and her daughter – who, additionally, seemed to have no interest in playing in the sandbox and wanted to play "princess and prince" with him instead. The little boy was having none of it and quickly began to complain about his fate.
"Daddy! I don't want to play that stupid game with her!"
Logan eyed him somewhat sternly and shook his head, while he and Rita, Lynn's Mommy, seated themselves on a park bench.
"Be a gentleman, Milo, and play with Lynn. I'm sure she'll let you choose the next game." Logan answered and gave him a nod in the direction of where Lynn was sitting on the lawn and looking rather expectantly at Milo.
"Of course you can choose the next game to play, my dear. Lynn doesn't mind at all, do you, honey?" Rita said and sounded quite similar to his Daddy, Milo reckoned.
"No, Mommy. Milo can choose the next game." Lynn answered a little reluctantly, which sounded not really persuading to the boy.
"See, buddy? Nothing to worry about. Now go and have a good time, Rita and I will sit right here if you need anything. And please don't go anywhere near the street, that's far too dangerous, okay?"
The unspoken "or else" was hanging in the air and Milo could sense that his Daddy expected an answer from him. He considered giving him the cold shoulder for his lack of help, but he quickly decided against it when he saw the serious expression on Logan's face.
"I won't go anywhere near the street."
The little boy tried hard to sound as innocent as possible – and he succeeded, because Logan's expression turned immediately into a bright smile. "Good boy. Now go."
Milo suppressed a moan and went over to where Lynn was sitting and already playing with her two stuffed animals – one of them was a lion, the other one was a stuffed ballerina. He made a grimace when the girl offered him the ballerina to play and even expected him to talk with a high pitched voice, like any little girl would do.
"No, I won't! That's stupid! I want the lion!" The little boy grunted and held out his right hand for Lynn to give him her toy.
But the little girl was having none of it – she smiled briefly at Milo, then suddenly started to scream and wail, as if someone was murdering her. Milo could only look stunned – he was even more stunned when Lynn's Mommy and his Daddy came running by and asked what had happened and Lynn told her Mommy through fake tears how mean Milo had been to her.
Milo then kept his gaze firmly on the ground; he didn't want to see how angry his Daddy was with him. He didn't even do anything to that stupid girl! It was all her fault! And now, he would be in serious trouble with his Daddy… for doing nothing wrong!
He closed his eyes for a few seconds and wished he could be still at the swing set and his Daddy would push him until dinnertime.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw two very familiar shoes in front of him – the ones his Daddy always wore when he went outside with him.
"Milo?" His Daddy spoke to him… and he didn't even sound angry!
The little boy looked up and straight into two blue, curious eyes, eyes that were just like Rory's. Then he looked to the side and saw that Rita had taken her daughter over to the park bench where his Daddy had sat with her only minutes ago and now spoke to her calmly.
"Would you like to tell me what happened?" Logan crouched down so he was at eye-level with his son.
Milo nodded and suddenly felt tears prickling behind his eyes. He looked up at his Daddy again and felt his lower lip starting to wobble.
"I didn't do anything to her! She just started crying… I just wanted the lion and not that stupid ballerina to play with… And I told her that! And she just started to cry…"
As soon as he had started explaining, he felt some tears running down his cheeks. Logan listened to his little one's explanation and nodded, then used a thumb to gently wipe away Milo's tears.
He believed him. As a Daddy of a five-year-old, he could easily tell if a child used crocodile tears to get something they wanted and manipulate others. Lynn looked as if she was a little professional at these things.
"It's okay, little one. I believe you. Come here."
He opened his arms and invited the little boy into a warm embrace and hugged him tightly.
Milo calmed down almost immediately. Logan stood up with his son in his arms and patted his back gently, while Milo rested his head on his shoulder.
"How about we two go and build a sandcastle? Or do you still want me to push you?" Logan asked kindly and waved Rita, who dragged her daughter with her and smiled apologetically at him and then left the park.
He put his son down and handed him a handkerchief for his running nose.
"There you go."
Logan smiled at Milo and ruffled his hair. "Are you okay, son?"
Milo just nodded and then smiled meekly at his father.
"Where did Lynn and her Mommy go?"
"I think Lynn's a little tired and in need of a nap, so her Mommy took her home."
"Was that why she was being so naughty?", the little boy asked of his father, then stated: "Crying to get others in trouble is very naughty."
Logan tried hard not to start laughing, so when Milo didn't get an immediate response, he tugged on his father's shirt sleeve. "It is, isnt' it, Daddy?"
Logan smiled, nodding. "Can't argue with that, champ. It's not nice to manipulate others, even if you're tired."
"What's m'nipulate, Daddy?", Milo asked, furrowing his brow until Logan put his right hand gently on his head and used his thumb to rub the furrows away.
"That means that you try to get others to do what you want. Lynn did that by crying and that is indeed naughty, just like you said, my smart boy."
Milo nodded, as he understood. Being tired made him do almost all the naughty things he did, but he'd never admit it out loud, because that would mean more stupid and mean and generally unfair naps.
"Alright then. Come on, let's head over to the swings, shall we?", Logan asked and stood up.
Then he suddenly grabbed his son and hauled him up into the air, tickling him and swinging him around. Milo squealed with delight.
They played for about half an hour before Logan called it a day and told Milo that they'd go home now. Milo, who had just started building a new sandcastle, frowned at the announcement.
Logan shouldered the bag he had brought with him and held Milo's jumper up to indicate him to put it back on. But apparently, his little boy had other ideas.
He dropped his gaze and simply continued to shovel layers of fine light brown sand on top of his new sandcastle. Maybe he would turn the whole building into a really high mountain, after all. One where people could use sledges and skis to ride down the snowy slope. He'd never tried either because it seldom snowed in Boston and there weren't really any high hills or mountains, but he'd very much like to try. Maybe his parents would take him for a ski trip when he was a little bigger. But he couldn't very well ask his Daddy now, because then he'd have to look up and acknowledge his presence and that would mean that he'd have to go home. That was too high a risk, he decided.
"Milo, come on now, champ. We have to go home", Logan tried again, with a little edge to his voice.
This time, Milo didn't even look up from his work.
Logan groaned inwardly as he watched his son flat out ignoring him. He contemplated whether he should just give in to his boy's wish and let him play for a little longer, but after checking the time on his wrist watch, decided against it. It was almost five o'clock.
He squatted down in front of his son to be on the same level as Milo and said: "It's getting late, little one. We really have to go home now." When that didn't have the desired effect, he tried a different tactic.
"Aren't you getting hungry? It sure can't be fun playing with an empty tummy."
Milo looked up at him and bit his lip while considering his father's words.
"Can I have waffles for dinner?"
He knew perfectly well that he wasn't allowed sweets for dinner and that waffles were only a special breakfast treat for his birthday or Christmas. He also knew that it didn't bode well to push his luck, but he couldn't quite help it at that moment. He hadn't had the chance to taste waffles in forever and his Daddy always made them special just for him, with lots of yummy syrup or sweetened whipped cream and cocoa powder on top.
Logan sighed and shook his head patiently.
"Sorry, but no. You know that waffles are not an appropriate dinner. How about grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken soup? You can even have a chocolate biscuit later. How does that sound?"
That, Milo could live with. He got up and let Logan help him putting his jumper back on, then stretched both his arms up at his Daddy.
"Carry me please!" he ordered firmly.
Logan couldn't help but smirk at that – why did the little guy even bother using the word 'please' when he all but ordered him to pick him up?
He was happy to oblige anyway.
"Come here, you." Logan chuckled as he picked him up and carried him out of the park.
It couldn't be that hard. Daddy was pretty engrossed in watching his stupid TV programme where all the people were talking about boring things and although he wasn't supposed to, he knew that he could do it.
He wanted those biscuits really badly. And Daddy telling him no after he'd mouthed off just a tiny-winy bit at him was completely unfair. He'd promised him biscuits as a treat after lunch, after all. A promise was a promise - even though Milo knew deep in his heart that Daddy wasn't really treating him all that unfairly by taking away dessert from him for being cheeky. But he didn't listen to that part of his mind now. He completely felt in the right while he sat on the tiled kitchen floor, hugging his stuffed kangaroo Linus to him and going through all sorts of different strategies of how he could reach the forbidden cookie jar that was on the top shelf of the kitchen counter, way out of reach for little boy's hands.
If he could just manage to get one of the kitchen stools over to the counter quietly and without his Daddy noticing it, he'd be fine, he was sure of it.
Then, he could climb on top of the stool and from there on top of the counter and if he tried to step onto Mommys cook book the same way he had stepped onto the book to get Daddy's electric razor the other week, he could reach the jar and devour his well-earned prize. Then he'd just put the jar back where it belonged, climb down quickly, put the kitchen stool back as well - again, ever so silently - and Daddy would be none the wiser.
Daddy didn't really like those nut-chocolate cookies anyway, but they were Milo's favourite. At least they were now - now that he'd set his mind on getting them.
He pushed all thoughts about what could possibly go wrong or what would happen if he got caught aside and, with a last quick look to his sweet goal that rested on top of the far-away shelf, he got up. First things first, he needed one of the kitchen stools.
So he stood up and turned around - and walked straight into Daddy.
"Daddy!", he squealed and jumped a little, almost stepping on Daddy's feet, but Logan just gathered him up and settled him against his hip.
"Careful, baby boy. There's no reason to stomp all over me", Logan joked and smiled at the little boy who laid his head back to be able to look up at him.
"I'm not a baby, Daddy", the lad told him almost indignantly while putting his legs around Logan's waist.
"I know that. You're almost an old man now", Logan answered. "What are you up to, anyway? You've been terribly quiet for quite some time."
A look of pure guilt crossed his little one's face, but as quickly as it came, it was gone. Logan payed it no mind. He cast a quick look about the kitchen anyway but seeing neither a mess nor anything else that he deemed suspicious, he shrugged it off as a side effect of having been startled.
When Milo squirmed to be put down, he let him go and took his hand.
"Are you hungry? You could have some fruit or a yoghurt as a snack. Or those special oatcakes with butter", Logan asked which Milo shook his head to.
"Can you use your words, please?", Logan prompted.
"No", Milo whined, distractedly, seemingly lost in thought. Logan squatted down so the boy payed attention to him.
"No? No you can't use your words or no, you don't want a snack? You're going to have to be more specific and more polite, too."
Milo gulped at his Daddy's tone.
"No, thank you, Daddy. I'm really not hungry...?", he said instead, turning the last bit into a question and thinking that he was indeed a little hungry, but only for cookies.
Not for yucky oatcakes - which he usually really liked - or fruit.
Logan ruffled his hair and stood straight again.
"Alright then. I'm going to start preparing the vegetables for dinner in about an hour, so if you want a snack later, you can have some carrot sticks and an oatcake."
Milo made a face at that, but Logan ignored it wisely, not wanting a discussion about proper snack food now.
"Come on, let's go into the living room and see if we find something fun to do. Maybe pick up the toys you left all over the place", he said instead and led Milo into the living room, where various toys lay scattered about.
Milo groaned but complied, still too occupied by his earlier masterplan to get his cookies. He just needed to get his Daddy to leave him alone for a few minutes - in the kitchen - that would be all it took, he thought. And it needed to happen before his Daddy started dinner, of course. Yucky veggies, by the way. He really had to come up with a plan to avoid those in the near future and he often wondered why it was okay with his parents to skip something as important as dessert but why it was never okay for him to just skip some yucky broccoli or pepper on his plate when he wanted said dessert. But right now he had more important matters at hand.
So he had to be specially good, so his Daddy wouldn't think that he couldn't leave him alone without checking on him every other minute.
"How about you start picking up your plushies", Daddy said and Milo immediately knew that it wasn't really a question. He sighed and did as he was told, knowing that Daddy really didn't like being told no by now.
Logan smiled proudly at his little boy as he watched him picking up his toys and wondered how amazingly good he was being since the incident with the pool and the talk they had about refusing to do something he told him to do. He'd also had a chat about that with Rory who, after some time to ponder on it, agreed with him. Not just because it would be easier to handle temper tantrums about Mommy's or Daddy's instructions before they even got to the point of no return, but also because she thought that it would be better for Milo to see his parents being on the same page. Telling one or both of them no when he was being told to do something got him one or two swats, depending on the gravity of the situation. Although both Rory and Logan didn't like it - probably even less than Milo did - she agreed in the end and deemed it fair.
He continued watching Milo cleaning up his toys for a while and decided then and there that some sort of reward was in order - sure, Milo had grumbled and pouted during lunch and eventually told Daddy in a not-so-polite way what exactly he thought of green beans so Logan had decided that losing dessert was a perfect consequence for that, but other than that, he had been incredibly well behaved.
When he saw that Milo had started talking with his plushies while lazily dropping them into the right toy box, he knew that it was only a matter of time until the boy began pulling them out of it again for play. So he decided to help him a little, so that they could get on with the day. He checked his watch and then settled beside Milo, who had just pulled two of his plushies he had put away seconds before out of the box again.
"Come on little man, let me help you", Logan murmured and quickly put the toys back where they belonged, which earned him a pout from the boy.
"But, Daddy..! I was playing!"
"No buts, they've been lying around here since yesterday and if you want do start a new game, they have to go into the box", Logan told him and searched his mind for a game they could play together - one that kept the little bundle of energy occupied for longer than ten minutes.
Milo had the perfect idea. "Can we play with my play-doh, Daddy?"
"Of course we can, little one. Let me go and get it from your room. You can put away the plushie-box like the big boy you are", when he saw Milo hesitating, he added: "Or do you need help with that? You know where it belongs."
Milo shook his head quickly. "I know, Daddy!", he cried and jumped up to obey his Daddy. He already had the most brilliant plan ever to get his Daddy to stay with the play-doh while he went and got taken care of his cookie-plan. He smiled.
It didn't take long for the two of them to get all of Milo's favourite colours out of the play-doh box and Milo had Logan rolling the material flatly out onto the coffee table in the living room, where both of them sat now, each of them occupying a chair, as well as Linus the kangaroo.
Logan winced a little when the boy asked him to roll out "every" single colour he had, so they could make colourful play-doh men.
"All of them? Are you sure that we need eight different colours, buddy?", Logan asked him, almost groaning.
Milo nodded his head eagerly, smiling widely. "Please, Daddy?"
And he already knew that he had beaten his Daddy.
"Alright, Mr. Wheedle. I'll do it, but only because you're my favourite son", Logan told Milo with a smile and the little boy giggled.
"I'm your only son, Daddy", Milo pointed out seriously. "I have to be your favourite, because there's only me."
He liked when Daddy made jokes like that, it made him feel special. And he liked when Daddy was being silly. He couldn't always understand when Mommy and Daddy joked with each other or other adults, but they always made sure to fool around with him plenty as well.
"Hush, you", Logan tickled his neck a little with his forefinger, which earned him a squeal. "I could always turn into the tickle-monster and tickle you to death. Just you wait!"
He growled a little, leaned in and nibbled a little on Milo's neck, who burst into laughter and tried hard to wiggle away, but Logan grabbed him and held him firmly in place.
"Nooo, please, Daddy! No tickle-monster! I'll be good!", Milo shrieked. "I'll never tell you that again, even if it's true!"
Logan rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Little know-it-all, that one. He relented and stopped his assault, leaning back in the chair and letting Milo breathe again.
"Let that be a lesson to you not to be lecturing Daddy again, little boy, or else I'll not be so lenient next time", Logan mock scolded and got to work with the play-doh.
Milo watched him for two of the colours, then he got up and started to move out of the living room, his plan firmly in mind.
"Where are you going, Milo?", Logan asked, somewhat distractedly.
"Gotta go potty, Daddy", Milo told him and quickly left. Logan shook his head smiling and concentrated on the play-doh. If he could get everything ready until Milo got back, he had a chance to finish dinner early and let Milo watch a Disney movie as a reward for being good.
Meanwhile, Milo took the shortcut from the hallway to the kitchen and, breathing a sigh of relief at seeing that his Daddy had closed the milky glass door that lead from the kitchen directly into the living room, he hurriedly grabbed one of the kitchen stools and dragged it as quietly as he could in front of the kitchen counter in question.
He stopped in his tracks, listening if he heard any footsteps approaching, then quickly climbed on top of the stool and from there, onto the counter. He huffed a little as he put Mommy's big cook book that she almost never used and placed it ruffly where he needed it. That made some noise, so he listened again. He felt his little heart pounding in his chest and he gulped. He knew that Daddy wouldn't be happy about catching him doing this - he was even almost sure that Daddy would think climbing on the kitchen counters and trying to reach the forbidden cookie jar as either dangerous or plain naughty, which both resulted in a time-out or a couple of spanks.
Still, he'd come so far already, he didn't want to stop now. As quickly as he could, he stretched himself to be able to reach the jar and when he finally got it, he snagged as many biscuits as he could into one small fist and carefully climbed down again.
He cast a quick look around, then laid his precious treat on top of the counter to shuffle back the book, hopped from stool to the kitchen floor and dragged the stool back to it's rightful place in front of the kitchen bar.
There, he'd done it, entirely without getting caught! He grinned victoriously and glanced up at the kitchen counter, grabbing the cookies and put one of them into his mouth. He munched happily, then quickly swallowed and gulped down the other three, thinking that he shouldn't dwell on them for too long, otherwise Daddy would surely come to check on him.
He swallowed again, then made his way back into the living room, this time through the direct way from the kitchen.
Logan looked up at him when he saw him enter.
"There you are! I was already wondering if you'd fallen into the toilet and gotten flushed away", Logan cried dramatically, to which Milo giggled, feeling a little guilty.
Logan smiled at him and waved him over. "C'mere and look. I've been a very good Daddy and rolled out all the colours for my favourite little boy."
Milo shuffled over, glad that Daddy didn't question him about his whereabouts and that he hadn't caught him stealing the cookies - although, it wasn't really stealing. Daddy had promised him cookies for a dessert, so technically, he only took them himself like the big boy he was. If Daddy thought that a little cheekiness and a high kitchen shelf was going to keep him away from his dessert, he was just mistaken.
Those thoughts in mind, he lingered a little at the door, then walked over to the table.
Once he was within arms reach from the coffee table, Logan made a sudden grab for him to pull him closer, but when he got a closer look at Milo's face, he stopped and frowned at him.
It all happend quite fast, so Milo didn't pay attention to his Daddy's sour expression on his face, his mind was already on the play-doh men he was about to put together.
Just as he wanted to climb on his Daddy's lap to do just that, Daddy stopped him and turned him around to face him.
"What's that, Milo?", Logan asked and used one finger to swipe something that reminded him very much of melted chocolate from one of Milo's cheeks.
Milo was shocked to say the least, and didn't really know how to answer. But that didn't really matter, because Logan already knew that he'd been eating cookies, the only question that remained was how he'd gotten them.
"If that's not interesting, I don't know what is", Logan started, quickly turning from funny and joking Daddy to stern Daddy. "Can you explain to me how exactly you managed to get your face all sticky and chocolate-y? Because I know for a fact that you weren't allowed to have chocolate or something of the sort. And I also know that the only chocolate we have is in the chocolate cookies and they are currently put away on the high shelf, so no little boy can get to them... Except if the little boy has been really naughty and got them by climbing on top of the counter to reach them."