Page 10 of Broken Chorus

That was it, that was the very last straw, he was getting slippers the next time they set foot in a place that sold them, even if that meant they looked like the pair his grandfather wore.

“Unky Hawk aren’t you gonna fix him?” Dani pleaded, lower lip trembling in a way that always preceded a deluge of tears.

“Yes,” Hark said as he carefully took the squishy lion by the paw and struggled not to grimace. “But not with hugs.”

“Why not!”

“Because he’s a bit beyond the ability for hugs to fix.”

“But you said….” Dani wailed until Hawk pressed a finger to her lips, desperate for her to shush so she didn’t wake the other two.

“I know what I said sweetheart, but….”

“You lied!”

“No, no no, I did not lie, it’s just…” Hawk stammered, brain choosing that moment to go completely blank.

“Liar! Liar! Liar!” Dani hollered, stomping her little foot until Hawk scooped her up under one arm and marched her and the soiled lion into the laundry room and sat her on top of the dryer where she kicked her feet against the side of the machine until he pinned them to the metal.

“Dani!” He snapped, instantly regretting it when her eyes got wide, and her mouth fell open in a tiny o. “Mr. Whiskers will be just fine after a magical trip through the washing machine.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

“Pinky promise?”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

“Then it not real promise!”

“It’s the best I’ve got right now, okay,” Hark said as he glanced around until he’d spotted the detergent pods he’d put on a high shelf. Reaching for one, he nearly tripped over the little stool that was supposed to be in the kitchen so Ella could reach the cabinet where he kept her after-school snacks and juice boxes. If he put them in a lower one, her siblings devoured everything they could get their grubby little hands on, leading to an impromptu grocery trip on the way to pick her up from school. Three different attempts at childproofing had failed, including a stunningly epic moment when Hawk hadn’t been able to get the door open to dispense treats. While Dani had been on the verge of tears, six-year-old Liam had grabbed a butter knife from the drawer, stuck it through the opening, and pushed down on the tab that was keeping the door from opening. He’d had a big smile on his face when it popped open and his sister’s hugged him and even let him choose the first snack. Meanwhile, Hawk had stood there scratching his head and staring at the damn thing like it had personally gone out of its way to make him look like an idiot.

An idea bloomed, one he hoped would buy him a few minutes to get his shit together, put a pot of coffee on and get a bath run for her.

“Not okay,” Dani pouted as she stared at Mr. Whisker’s still dangling from his hand.

Yeah, he should have figured on that.

“Well, how about you sit right here, and you can watch for a little bit?” Hawk suggested. “Then you can see how much fun he’s having in there.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she parked her butt on the seat, put her elbows on her knees and leaned forward, staring into the hole where he placed Mr. Whiskers.

“It be okay Mr. Whiskers,” she said as Hawk added the pod and closed the door.

She even waved at the little critter as he turned the washed on, then promptly wailed like all hell was breaking loose when water began to spray all over him as the drum began to spin.

“No. No. No. Get him out! Mr. Whiskers! Mr. Whiskers!”

“Dani, honey it’s okay he’s just getting a bath like the one I’m about to go run for you.”

Her mouth dropped open, her eyes widened, and she stood, stunned into absolute silence as soap started spraying against the inside of the glass. “You’re gonna do that to me! I’s not that dirty!”

“No, I’m going to give you a normal bath,” Hawk explained.

“Why can’t Mr. Whiskers have a normal bath!” She whined, trying to pull the door open to save her toy. “Poor Mr. Whiskers. He can’t swim! He’s gonna get drownded!”

Fortunately, once the machine was operational, it couldn’t be opened.

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