Breaking Ties

3

Nick

When my alarm went off, Ava was already out of bed, which surprised me. She hadn't slept most of the night, and when she crawled back into bed with me in the early morning hours, I was sure she'd be out for a while.

Instead, I woke up alone and her spot was cold. I had to be in the office for a meeting soon, so I hopped in the shower and got ready quickly.

As I headed down the hallway, I could hear Ava in the boys' room. "You two are in major trouble." I couldn't help but chuckle, but I knew I needed to get that out of my system before I went in. No matter what chaos the boys had gotten into this morning, I couldn't walk in there laughing when Ava was trying to be serious. They were always into something, and my mind was already swirling with the possibilities of what it could be today.

Growing up with two brothers, I knew all about the trouble boys could get in to, and our sons were no exception. If there was trouble to be found, they'd find it. Whether it was stuffing cotton balls into all the drains in the house or putting fake tattoos on their little sister or bringing a snake from the garden into the house, Mason and Chase were always coming up with a new way to drive their mom crazy. There wasn't a boundary or limit they didn't try to push, and while I respected the effort, I knew Ava and I were going to have our hands full. They were thick as thieves, and hardly ever fought with one another. Even at three and five, they were already conspiring against us, so God help us in their teen years. I had no doubts Chase instigated nearly everything, but Mason wouldn't let his little brother get into trouble on his own. Their relationship reminded me of my own brothers, so much so that it was scary. Mostly because I knew all the hell we put my parents through while we were growing up.

Ava and I always tried to be a united front when it came to parenting decisions, but sometimes it was hard to play the strict dad role when all I wanted to do was bust out laughing. One reason I respected my own father so much was that he had always found a seamless balance between keeping us in line but still letting us be kids. That was something I strived for.

I pushed the door open. "What did you two do now?"

Ava was standing in front of the door to their bathroom with Sophie on one hip and her hand on the other. Mason and Chase sat in front of her, devious looks on their faces, in a pile of vibrant-colored stains on the floor. "Is that makeup?" I asked.

"Nail polish, actually." Ava rolled her eyes, handing Sophie to me. She bent down and rapidly started picking up the bottles that had spilled all over the floor. Some paint had gotten on the boys' faces and arms, but most of it was on our white carpet. Shades of pink and purple and red were now spattered all over it. "While I was getting Sophie dressed, your sons were supposed to be watching cartoons peacefully, but I come in here and find this. They somehow got into my nail polish and painted each other." She huffed in frustration.

This was definitely one of those times I wanted to laugh more than lecture the boys. It was a disaster—an expensive disaster—but the sight of them was hilarious. Although, I knew Ava kept the nail polish on the top shelf of the closest, so that meant they climbed up several shelves to get it, which was incredibly dangerous.

"Boys, you know you're not supposed to touch Mommy and Daddy's things unless we tell you it's okay. You could have gotten really hurt." I set Soph on the ground and then bent down to eye level with them. "Do you see the mess you made?"

Both looked down at the ground, embarrassed that they were now in trouble. "When we get home tonight, instead of playing with your iPads before dinner, we're going to have to clean this up. And you can't have them back until it's all cleaned up."

"That's not fair!" Mason cried. "It was an accident."

"Yeah! We didn't mean to," Chase echoed.

"Well, sometimes bad things happen even when you don't mean to," Ava said gently. "That's why it's important to listen to Mommy and Daddy. Now both of you need to get in the bathtub or we're going to be late for school."