Chapter Three “Operation: Total Disaster”
825 Words
The next morning was quiet.
Too quiet.
Daniel slept peacefully on his stomach, one arm stretched dramatically across the empty side of the bed.
Then his eyes opened lazily.
He glanced at the clock.
7:12 AM.
For three full seconds, he stared at it blankly.
Then—
“OH MY GOD.”
Daniel flew out of bed like the house was on fire.
“LOIS! LORRAINE! EVERYBODY WAKE UP!”
Instant chaos.
Tiny footsteps thundered through the hallway while Lucy’s crying exploded from the baby monitor.
Daniel grabbed both older girls at once and rushed them into the bathroom.
“We’re doing teamwork today,” he announced frantically.
“What’s teamwork?” Lorraine asked sleepily.
“It means nobody drown.”
“What?!”
Before either girl could react, Daniel somehow managed to bathe Lois and Lorraine at the SAME TIME.
Water splashed everywhere.
Lorraine screamed because Lois “used all the bubbles.”
Lois screamed because Lorraine kicked her accidentally.
Daniel looked two seconds away from passing out.
“Everybody rinse! RINSE!”
Five minutes later, he shoved towels at them and sprinted toward Lucy’s room.
The moment he started bathing Lucy, the baby screamed like he had personally betrayed her ancestors.
Daniel panicked immediately.
“WHY ARE YOU CRYING THIS LOUD? IT’S JUST WATER!”
Lucy cried harder.
“Okay, okay, okay, I’m sorry!”
After what felt like surviving a natural disaster, Daniel carried Lucy in one arm while dragging the other girls behind him toward their bedroom.
Clothes were flying everywhere.
One sock landed on the ceiling fan somehow.
Lorraine wore her shirt backwards.
Lois refused to wear the pink shoes because “pink is for babies.”
And Lucy?
Lucy fought every single piece of clothing like a tiny angry wrestler.
“PLEASE,” Daniel begged while struggling with her onesie. “Your mother does this in five seconds!”
Lucy responded by crying directly into his face.
By the time everyone was finally dressed, Daniel looked like he’d fought in a war.
Then came breakfast.
Or… attempted breakfast.
Daniel opened the fridge confidently.
Then froze.
Ice cream.
Juice.
Half a lemon.
Three pickles.
And a suspicious container nobody wanted to identify.
“That woman stocked NOTHING useful,” he muttered.
Lois appeared beside him. “What are we eating?”
Daniel slowly looked at the ice cream.
Then at the girls.
Then back at the ice cream.
Five minutes later—
“ICE CREAM FOR LUNCH?!” Lorraine screamed excitedly.
“YEAHHHH!” Lois jumped around the kitchen.
Daniel pointed proudly. “See? Cool dad.”
At exactly 7:56 AM, reality punched him in the face again.
“I’M LATE.”
He rushed upstairs, took the fastest shower known to mankind, threw on a suit, grabbed Lucy’s diaper bag, school bags, his laptop, baby bottles, random socks, and car keys all at once.
Outside, his elderly neighbor waved cheerfully.
“Good morning, Daniel!”
Daniel stared into space while carrying Lucy, two backpacks, and a lunchbox upside down.
“…Morning.”
He almost walked into a tree.
Twenty stressful minutes later, all three girls were safely strapped into the car.
Lorraine was singing loudly.
Lois kept asking if school allowed chocolate ice cream.
Lucy had started crying again.
Daniel looked exhausted already.
He dropped Lois and Lorraine at school after apologizing seventeen times for being late.
Then he checked his phone at a red light.
14 missed calls.
His eye twitched.
“Fantastic.”
By the time he finally reached his company building, his tie was crooked, one sleeve was rolled higher than the other, and there was baby milk on his shoulder.
At the daycare center downstairs, the nanny smiled politely.
“Good morning, Mr. Cole.”
Daniel handed Lucy over carefully like she was explosive.
“She cries sometimes,” he warned.
Lucy immediately stopped crying the SECOND the nanny carried her.
Daniel stared in betrayal.
His best friend and coworker, Marcus, walked into the lobby just in time to see him standing there looking completely destroyed.
“…You look horrible.”
Daniel sighed deeply. “Vivian left yesterday.”
Marcus blinked once.
“Oh.”
“I had to bathe all three kids this morning.”
Marcus started laughing already.
“They fought me, Marcus.”
“I can see that.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Lucy screamed like a police siren.”
Marcus laughed harder.
“And somehow,” Daniel continued dramatically, “there was no food in the fridge except ice cream.”
“You gave your children ice cream for lunch, didn’t you?”
Daniel paused.
“…Maybe.”
Marcus looked horrified.
Daniel straightened his tie proudly anyway.
“But it’s fine. I can handle this.”
Right then, his phone buzzed again.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
"Mr. Cole, your daughter poured yogurt into another child’s backpack."
Marcus burst into tears laughing.
Daniel stared at the message silently.
“…It’s still under control.”
- Writer
