Fatherhood

Number 1 Dad

When Maori and Abby didn't come, I decided to get my fat, lazy, dad ass off of the couch and get them myself. I walked over to the kitchen and opened the oven. The steam escaped and the smell of freshly baked brownies filled my non-existent nose.

I reached into the oven to grab the tray of brownies. As soon as my hand encountered the tray, I realised my mistake. I jumped back as soon as I felt the hot pain. I didn't yell though; I bit my tongue and ran over to the sink and turned on the cold water.

"Aotearoa, you are supposed to use the oven mitts," I heard Maori laughing from behind me. I turned my head to see her leaning against the door frame.

"Where did your boyfriend go?" I asked, changing the topic.

"He is on the toilet," She sighed as she grabbed the oven mitts and pulled the brownies out of the oven. She placed them on a small wire rack.

"I'm sure they taste better than they feel," I joked as I turned off the tap. I looked down at my hand to see small burn scars developing on the tips of my fingers. This was going to be annoying.

"School ends in about half an hour, you should probably be leaving soon to pick up the boys," She said.

"Oh right!" I remembered that I was going to pick them up today. I grabbed the keys off of the bench and started to speed walk out the door

"Papua goes home with Torres, you don't need to pick her up," Maori called as I left.

I jumped in the car and before I knew it, I was driving off. It had been a while since I had picked up the boys myself. Usually work is so busy, I never get home on time. It was a bit of a drive, but I couldn't wait to surprise them. The triplets would be the most excited. Good thing I dressed up for this.

Driving was a little more difficult than I thought. The scars on my fingers were painful, but I just had to grin and bear it. The pain kept me awake at least.

I arrived at the school and pulled up into the pick-up zone. It had been a while since I had done this so I wasn't sure if I was meant to get out and look for the boys or just wait for them to find me. I decided to stay in the car. I know, as an embarrassing dad, I should be actively looking for a way to annoy my sons, but I was just too tired at the moment.

I spotted Tokelau sitting on one of the benches talking to his little friends. I looked around for Niue and Cook, but I couldn't find them. I called out to TK and he quickly said goodbye to his friends and jumped in the car. He seemed pleasantly surprised to see me waiting for him.

"How was school?" I asked.

"I won the Kahoot in school today!" He announced.

"That's great!" I celebrated. I heard a small commotion going on just outside the window. I looked out to see if it was Niue or Cook. It wouldn't be surprising since those two always get in trouble. It was Cook. He was looking down at a small cake that had gone splat on the ground. The other kids around him were pointing and laughing. Cook looked like he was going to cry.

I stepped out of the car and walked over to where Cook was standing. I picked him up and put him on my shoulders. I knew he always felt better when he was higher than the others. The other kids stopped laughing at him as I opened the car door and let him sit in the front seat, next to me.

Before I got in the car myself, I had recognised another familiar face in the crowd of laughing. I picked him up when he wasn't aware. It caught Niue by surprise and he started trying to fight back. When he realised it was me, he calmed down.

"That is not nice, you shouldn't bully your brother," I scolded him as I put him in the back seat next to Tokelau. Niue pouted and folded his arms angrily. Cook attempted to hit Niue but couldn't reach as he was sitting in the front seat.

"Hey! No hitting," I demanded. Cook still seemed upset.

"Did you make that cake?" I asked, calming down a little. Cook nodded his little head.

"It was for us to eat after school, but Niue pushed me and made me drop it," Cook explained.

"I didn't push you!" Niue shouted.

"Yes, you did! I saw you!" Cook shouted back.

"If you guys don't behave in the next three seconds you two won't be having dessert!" I shouted as I drove off. I still needed to pick up Sammy from the senior school pick up zone and I had already pulled out the no dessert card.

I started driving off around to the senior school pick-up where I saw Sammy sitting on the bench by himself. I waved over to him and called out his name. He looked over to me and then away. He seemed embarrassed. I remembered what it was like to be in high school. I wasn't going to embarrass him yet. Sammy stood up, looking at the ground and got in the car.

"Hey Sammy, how was your day?" I asked.

"Just drive," Sammy sighed.

"Yes sir," I joked as I drove off.

I thought about how sad the boys all were. Well, not TK, TK was being a good, happy kid. I remembered the café I stopped at this morning. It seemed like it would make a nice treat for the boys.