You Call It Chaos, We Call It Family

Chapter 3

A barefoot Mason ran off to the bathroom late at night that day. His bedtime was usually at 9:00pm and Claire had already had his bladder clocked, knowing he was usually up exactly two hours later to pee. It had been that way since he had left diapers behind.

With this in mind, mom and her boyfriend didn't disconnect from their surroundings until after eleven at night every time that Owen slept over.

But tonight, the seven-year-old hadn't gotten out of bed until almost midnight. The boy tiptoed towards the bathroom. He inched closer, glad Claire had her bedroom door closed, otherwise he would be in so much trouble.

It took him two minutes to pee and wash his hands before he quietly tip toed his way back to his bedroom. Mason froze mid step once he was walking by Claire's bedroom door and frowned at the sound of his mother giggling. It wasn't like the usual giggles he heard from her; these were more playful, almost squeals. Mason pursed his lips and got curious.

"What happened with keeping it quiet?" Owen chuckled. "It's not my fault that your scruff tickles, baby..." She giggled again. The boy outside her room tilted his head, hearing this from the other side of the door.

"Wait..." Claire groaned before Mason couldn't be able to hear anything else. The kid blinked and, biting on his lower lip, he rested his ear against the door. He wasn't able to make out a word, and the sounds he was able to hear were too muffled for him to understand.

He frowned and reached out for the doorknob. He turned it around but the door was locked. Claire never locked the door to her bedroom. Disappointed and a little puzzled, the kid walked back to his room and went back to bed.

That following morning, Mason made it to the table after his shower, already dressed for summer school. He noticed Claire had a big smile on her face, one that she usually had whenever Owen had slept over. It was probably that tickle war or whatever they had going on late at night.

"Hey babe." Mom kissed the top of her son's head once she saw him there. "You know, I've been thinking." She brought the milk out of the fridge before reaching for his cereal in the cupboard. "You are turning eight in a couple of months, so how about you start preparing your own bowl of cereal from now on?" She smiled, placing the things on the table for him to do it.

"Where's Owen?" Mason wondered before he reached for the cereal and served some in his bowl, then managing to pour milk without spilling it. "I want to ask if he wants to come to my soccer game on Friday." The kid smiled before bringing the spoon to his mouth.

Claire nibbled on her lower lip and smiled back. "He is in the shower, but he is taking you to the bus stop today, maybe you can ask him then?" She suggested.

Mason nodded while nibbling on his Cocoa Puff cereal. "Can we call dad tonight? I want him to come too." He let his green eyes fall on Claire's.

"Um...yeah." She frowned and brushed her fingers against her forehead. "Remember we have Lizzie's game today, so it will have to be after dinner, okay?"

"Yep." Mason grinned, excited that he would be able to talk to his dad and tell him about how well he was doing in practice. The kid lifted the bowl up and brought it to his lips, just to catch Claire staring back at him and giving him a look. He chuckled, and with his head down, he put it back on the table and finished his milk with the spoon.

****

"Is this the first time you come to one of her games?" Claire tried to muffle her laughter against Owen's shoulder as they made their way to the side of the field. Mason was walking ahead of them, in charge of finding them a good spot. Both Lizzie and Mason played in a forward position, so the kid and his mom always found a spot near on the left corner, close to her.