The Baker, Part 2: Sous Chef

Chapter 43

"Sean...Sean, dont. I mean it!" Ben was pointing a stern finger at his three year old, but that didn't stop the toddler from pouring orange juice on an unsuspecting and sleeping Hunter. The poor dog jumped up in shock and started whining from the cold intrusion. 

Ben quickly picked up Sean and said, "That's it, you're in timeout." Sean started flailing in arms in protest, but Ben was ignoring him. He set his son on his bed, then started taking all of the toys he could find. "Daddy," Sean cried. 

"I told you not to do that, Sean!" Ben shouted. "I tell you every time to leave that poor dog alone and yet you...ugh! No, no more!" He stuffed all of Sean's toys into a play chest and locked it. Best decision him and Cassie made was finding a toy chest that could lock, although they didn't know it at the time. 

Sean crossed his arms and yelled, "I wan'mommy!" Ben also locked up Michael's toy chest just so Sean wouldn't go digging around in there. Once that was done, he turned to his son and said, "Yeah, well, she isn't here. You stay in this room and if you come out, so help me God..."

He had to take a deep breath to calm himself. Before he could say anything he might regret, he left and harshly shut the door behind him. "Hunter!" Ben called. "Hunter, come here, pal." He went downstairs to find Liam trying to wash off his sticky dog. 

"Again?" He asked Ben. "He's so mean to him!" Ben sighed and got down next to them. He took one of the damp rags and helped wipe off the orange juice. "He's only three, Liam," he gently tried to explain. "When you were three you were a pain in my arse."

Liam light laughed at that. "This isn't working," he sighed, as Hunter remained a mess. Ben noticed that Sean didn't just get Hunter's head this time, but almost his entire body. "Let's get him in the bath," he told Liam. "It's too cold out to wash him down with a hose, so that'll have to do. We have to scrub down the bath before your mum gets home, though."

They both led Hunter up the stairs and got him into the bathtub. Thankfully, he was one of the dogs that enjoyed bath time...when it wasn't outside with a hose and cheap shampoo. He liked to be bathed in luxury. 

"There we go," Ben said as he scrubbed down the, clearly enjoying this a little too much, dog. The sticky juice was coming out with no problem. "I think Sean's the one who needs a leash, not you." Hunter let out a loud bark, then licked Ben's face. 

"Daddy," a tiny voice said from the bathroom doorway. For a moment, Ben thought it was Sean and was about to let out a fury of punishments. The shirt, however, gave away that this was Michael. Ben would have felt awful for yelling at the wrong kid...again. 

Michael walked in to see them giving Hunter a bath and immediately wanted to help. Liam was quick to protest, but Ben gently reminded him that Michael wasn't the one who did this. "Actually, we should make Sean do this," he pointed out. Nevertheless, he got Michael to stand on his lap and helped him gently scrub down the dog. 

"You would never do this, would you, Mikey?" Ben asked. Michael furiously shook his head, then told him, "No'ay, daddy." Ben chuckled and kissed his head. Once he deemed Hunter clean, they drained the bath, then got him out. 

Hunter was clearly upset that his pampering was over. "You let him do this to you, don't you?" Ben asked as he dried Hunter's head, while scratching behind his ears. He scrunched up the dog's face once he was done, then said, "Thank you for not biting his head off. Yet." He placed a kiss on Hunter's nose, then let him run off and shake whatever water was left over on his fur. 

"Now for the hard part," Ben sighed as he looked at the fur infested bathtub. He and Liam got to work and started scrubbing down the tub. It took a lot of elbow grease, but they managed to make it look cleaner than it's been in a while.