Because I felt bad that my niece and nephew had the one thing I know every parent dreads, I decided to let Treville have the same problem
"Hey dad, my teacher wanted me to hand this to you," d'Artagnan said, walking into the kitchen with his backpack in hand.
"You didn't get into another fight, did you?" Treville asked with a glare.
"No." d'Artagnan rolled his eyes and sat at the table, opening his backpack to get his homework out. You get in two fights in one week and they don't let you forget about it. He just opened his reading book when he heard his dad set the paper down with a sigh. "What did I do?"
Treville looked at d'Artagnan with a smile. "You didn't do anything. Did a classmate leave your class early today?"
"Yeah. He complained his head was itchy and the teacher sent him to the nurse's offices. Then our teacher handed that paper out and told us to personally hand it to our parents."
Treville nodded and got up to do the one thing every parent dreads. "d'Artagnan, your classmate that went to the nurse's had head lice."
"What's head lice?"
"Lice is this little bug that crawls around on your head, making your head itch and lays eggs."
d'Artagnan paled at the mention of bug and laying eggs. "Do I have a bug in my hair?"
"That's what I have to check for. Now just do your homework." Treville started to part d'Artagnan's hair, thanking his lucky stares that his hair was black so it would be easy to see the eggs, but the bug itself might be hard.
"Dad's acting like a monkey," a voice said from the kitchen doorway. "Should we be concerned?"
"Aramis and Athos, please go in the family room and do your homework for now until I make sure your brother doesn't have lice," Treville said, not looking up from what he was doing.
"Lice?" Athos asked.
"I have a bug in my hair that's going to lay eggs," d'Artagnan said, not working on his homework. He was too worried about that stupid bug. "What's going to happen if I have the bug?"
"If you have even an egg, I'll have to get a special shampoo and put it in your hair, then I have to take a special comb and get rid of the eggs. If you still have them, then I'll have to either put coconut oil in your hair or mayonnaise."
"You can't put mayonnaise in my hair!" d'Artagnan was about to bolt out of the chair but his dad held him still.
"That's if nothing else works. We might have caught this early."
"He'll be okay, though. Right?" Athos asked.
"Oh yeah. If anything else, dad can just shave his head," Aramis said.
"I don't want my head shaved! The other kids will make fun of me." d'Artagnan was now close to tears.
"Boys. Will you please go in the family room and do you homework. I'll make dinner once I'm done." Treville listened as his the boys went into the family room. "d'Artagnan, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."
"But you might have to shave my head."
"I'm not going to shave your head." Treville pushed d'Artagnan's head down so he could look under and sighed when he saw about three eggs. With a sigh he reached into his pocket for his cell phone and dialed Porthos cell number.
"Porthos, can you stop by the corner store for me and pick up some RID…Yes…I will pay you back…Thank you."
"Do I have the bug in my hair?"
"I'm afraid so. There's no idea how long your classmate had head lice but it would seem you now have it."
"So now what?"
"Well, Porthos is going to get that special shampoo I talked about and we'll put that in your hair. Aramis. Athos. Come in here please."
"Did you find the bug?" Aramis asked, walking into the kitchen.
"No but I did find some eggs so I need to check you two as well."
Athos said next to d'Artagnan looked up at his dad." But we're not in his school."
Treville smiled as he started to part Athos's hair. "It doesn't matter. Once one person in the household has it, the others will get it as well. Porthos is getting what I need."
"So if Aramis has it he might have to get his head shaved too," Athos said, laughing when he saw the horror on his older brothers face.
Treville laughed and looked at all three of them. "For the last time, I am not going to shave your heads. However, if you keep repeating it I might just do it." He smiled when all three boys clapped a hand over one another's mouths. He tilted Athos head to the side and sigh when he spotted an egg behind his ear. "Athos, looks like you have it too."
d'Artagnan bowed his head when he heard his brother had lice. "I'm sorry I gave you lice."
"It's okay. Brothers have to share everything right? Remember when Aramis shared that 24 hour bug?"
d'Artagnan smiled and nodded, glad his brother wasn't mad at him. He watched as his dad looked through Aramis's hair and sighed as well. "Sorry Aramis."
Aramis just waved him with a smile. "No worries. As long as dad doesn't do you-know-what, I'm good." He then looked up at his dad. "So what does this shampoo do?"
"Well, the shampoo will help kill the lice and their eggs. You keep it on for about ten minutes, then I wash you hair to form the shampoo and once that's done I will have to go through your hair inch by inch with a special comb and get out all the eggs."
"That sounds boring," a new voice said. Everyone looked up when Porthos entered the kitchen, plastic bag in his hands and pop in the other. "Here you go dad. One special shampoo for the runts. Clerk even suggested I get this spray to and spray the couch, chairs, and their beds."
"Does Porthos have lice?" Athos asked, digging the box out to look at it.
"Lets find out." Porthos sat in the chair and let his dad do what he needed. He knew he didn't have lice. His hair was short and the gel he uses would never hold the eggs. After five minutes his dad smiled and looked at his brothers.
"Well?" the three asked.
"No lice or eggs," Treville said.
Aramis stomped his foot on the floor and glared at his older brother. "That's not fair. We have it."
"Let's just eat so we can get this done and over with," Treville said, breaking up the fight he knew would start. "I want to be done with this by at lest nine." Treville had d'Artagnan clear the table and the others set the table while he pulled the chicken bake out of the over.
"So how was school, boys?" Treville asked, cutting his chicken.
" I passed my English paper," Porthos said.
"You worked really hard for a week on that paper," Treville said with a smile. He patted Porthos on the shoulder. "Very good."
"I finally got to kiss Chrissy on the cheek," Aramis said with a smile.
"EWWW!" d'Artagnan and Athos said at the same time while turning their noise up in disgust.
"Aramis. How many times have I told you? You can not be kissing girls at school," Treville said, hoping he would get a call tonight from the girls parents.
"That means you have lice and cooties," Porthos said with a grin.
"No I don't."
"Yes you do."
"No I don't."
"Yes you do."
"Alright. No fighting at the table," Treville said. "Athos, how was your day at school?"
"It was okay. We got to play Follow The Leader in gym class. Then one of the girls got sick after I made them spin really fast twenty times in a row."
"Athos. You know not everyone can spin in a circle for a minute and not get dizzy like you. d'Artagnan, please tell me you had a good day at school without giving me gray hairs?"
"Um…I didn't eat the paste my friend dared me to eat for a quarter."
"Thank you," Treville said, glad to know at lest one of his sons behaved at school for once.
"I told him if he had a dollar then I would."
Treville mentally smacked himself in the face while the other three just laughed and high-fived their little brother.
"We taught you well," Aramis said.
"How is it I'm not getting phone calls from the school on you boys?" Trevilled asked.
"They have to catch us first," Porthos said with a grin as he watched his dad put his head in his hands.
After everyone was done eating it was time to get this all over with. Treville had all three boys line up and put the shampoo in their dry hair first and made them sit at the table and do the rest of their homework. He set the timer and sat with them, reading the paper while Porthos sprayed nearly the entire house before he watched TV in the family room. When the timer went off he had them one by one get on the counter so he could wash their hair.
"Alright Aramis, grab that towel and dry your hair that way. I have to comb through it while it's wet. I didn't see any lice so I think you just have the eggs and if we get them all out then we're done."
Aramis nodded and did as he was told as he watched d'Artagnan and Athos get the same treatment. When they were done and towel drying their hair, Aramis sat in the chair as his dad took a comb with very tight teeth and start to comb through his hair.
"I think we really caught this early," Treville said, getting all the eggs he could find out of Aramis's hair. "You look clear. Go get a shower and in seven days I'll look once more to make sure I didn't miss any. Athos, you're turn."
By nine, Treville put the comb down and looked down at d'Artagnan. "Alright d'Artagnan. You look clean as well. Go get a shower and get ready for bed. I'll have to drive you boys to school tomorrow so the nurse can check to make sure you're clear." He watched as d'Artagnan ran up the stairs before heading into the family room to join Porthos.
"Finally done?" Porthos asked with a laugh at the look his dad had.
"If you even start scratching your head I'm shaving it." Treville just laughed at the look Porthos gave him. "I'm kidding. But if you do start scratching your head I'm treating you tomorrow."
Porthos just grinned and was about to get up to head to bed when he saw his dad scratch his head and laughed. "Need me to check you before I head to bed?"
"No. It's one of those that when someone even talks about lice your head itches."
"Keep telling yourself that." Porthos laughed when he felt a pillow hit him in the back of the head as he headed up the stairs. The next morning he made sure to put more of his gel in his hair than normal.