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[15:24] Nick
Remember when we decided to have kids?
What were we thinking?
(Charlie reacted: 🤣)
[15:27] Charlie
Oh god
Who’s the culprit this time?
What have they done where and why?
👀
[15:28] Nick
Ahhh it’s not a big thing
I’m just being a bit of a grump
You know how I get when I’m baking
(Charlie reacted: 🤭)
[15:31] Charlie
Yup, fully aware 🤣🤣
(Nick reacted: 🖕)
[15:32] Nick
How’s the conference?
You able to get away soon?
We miss you!
(Charlie reacted: ♥️)
[15:33] Charlie
Miss you all too
It’s been great
But I’m very much looking forward to my own bed
(Nick reacted: ♥️)
Should end in next 10 or so
Then I’ll be on my way home
[15:35] Nick
Okay great
Could you go to Tescos for more sweets?
(Charlie reacted: 🤣)
[15:35] Charlie
Seriously Nicholas?
Was the giant tub of Celebrations you ate two nights ago not enough?
(Nick reacted: 🖕)
[15:36] Nick
Cheeky bastard 🖕
(Charlie reacted: 😘 )
Maybe you can just stay in London instead of coming home
Maybe we don’t need you huh?
[15:37] Charlie
Fine, fine! 🤣
I’ll behave
And nice try, like you could all live without me
(Nick reacted: 😘)
What are the sweets for if not for you?
[15:38] Nick
For the gingerbread house
[15:52] Charlie
Nick, I got LOADS of sweets last weekend
That should be plenty to decorate the house
[15:53] Nick
Yeah
You’d think
One Hour Previously….
Nick loved baking, ever since he was five and his Grandma had taught him how to make scones. He loved the outlet baking gave him to be creative and to show his love for people through food. Today was no exception. Tara and Darcy were throwing their annual Christmas party and Nick had planned for weeks to bring them a gingerbread house as a gift.
Nick also loved his family - especially his three small children. He very much loved them for their huge personalities, their adorable quirks, and the way they would throw their tiny arms around his neck when he picked them up in a spinning hug, shrieking with delight.
What Nick didn’t love, however, was when his precious children insisted on helping him make said gingerbread house.
“Papa, Papa!” Amelie squealed excitedly. “Can we help, it looks like SO much fun!”
“Yeah!” Theo chimed in. “PLEASE Papa?”
“I like shinsherbread!” little Flossie added.
Nick sighed, looking sadly at all his carefully divided pots of multi-coloured sweets and chocolates, the piping bags of icing, and the blank canvas of the gingerbread walls to which he was thoroughly looking forward to wiling away a few hours in baking bliss whilst the children watched Elf on the sofa.
He ran his hand anxiously over the back of his neck, while thoughts of the chaos that happened when you combined children and baking ran through his head: of sticky hands and chocolate-smeared nightmares; at the miniature stained glass windows he’d carefully made from boiled sweets being covered in globs of icing; of fingerprints ruining the fondant and crumbs in the ganache.
But, because he loved his children, Nick tried to find the positives that they wanted to help: how cute they’d look in their personalised aprons with ‘Star Baker’ written below their names; the giggles while they created something together; their shining eyes and happy smiles.
“Okay, fine,” Nick agreed, to cheers from all three of them. “You can help me today, my little sous chefs. Aprons on, Amelie can you help Flossie tie hers properly, please? And what must all good chefs do?”
“Wash our hands!” their little voices trilled as one.
“Good job,” Nick smiled affectionately, as the children jostled for a space at the sink.
Maybe this won’t be so bad, Nick thought. Maybe it will be fine and we’ll create something wonderful together.
Twenty minutes later, Nick realised that his thoughts couldn’t have been more wrong.
There were blobs of icing everywhere, with rogue Jelly Tots scattered across the table and Daisy was trying her best to snaffle chocolate that Theo kept dropping on the floor. This certainly wasn’t the relaxing baking experience Nick had envisioned; instead, it felt like all he was doing was attempting to put out the fires created by his three tiny mischief makers, his gingerbread dreams swiftly going up in smoke.
“No, Theo, be careful please, you know Daisy can’t eat chocolate!”
“Meelie, please be gentle with the chimney!”
“Flossie, darling, sweetheart… please don’t lick the chocolate buttons.”
Nick knew he was struggling to let go of his perfectionism and he was honestly trying to relax, to enjoy the moment - even though the sweets weren’t in the right position and the icing was looking a bit drippy - when the doorbell rang, plucking him out of his sugar-induced anxieties.
“Right, Papa needs to answer the door quickly, don’t touch anything!” Nick pleaded, lifting a towel from the counter on his way out of the kitchen to wipe both sugar and the remaining shreds of patience from his hands.
After signing for the parcel from the delivery driver, Nick walked back into his kitchen to see all three children suspiciously dive under the table.
“Amelie? Theodore? Florence?” Nick asked with dread. “What’s going on?”
Sheepishly, they raised their heads to look at him, their cheeks bulging so much they resembled three human hamsters. It was then that Nick noticed all his sweet bowls were empty.
“Did you eat ALL the sweets?” he asked incredulously.
Silence.
Nick stared closer at the gingerbread house.
“Where has the front door gone?” Nick exclaimed crossly. “Where is the candy cane door, which one of you ate it? Come on, fess up please or I’m calling Father Christmas!”
The children threw their hands out, pointing at Daisy while their mouths furiously chewed the contraband to get rid of the evidence. Daisy barked excitedly at being falsely accused of the theft, her tongue lolling.
“Can we watch Elf now Papa?” Amelie piped up.
“Jesus wept!” Nick sighed, lifting out his phone to text Charlie.