Grandpa wasn’t up when I came down for breakfast. There was no radio being played. Voices drifted out into the kitchen from behind the construction sheet. I heard Tom say, ‘She’s a bit feisty – isn’t she?’
Ben replied, ‘I think she’s struggling. She clearly has no control over her grandfather or that naughty dog.’
I could feel my defences rising. How dare he say that I am ‘struggling’? Some things hadn’t gone to plan but I was in control.
Tom chuckled. ‘I can’t believe her grandpa was walking about with a pair of Baxter’s fluffy pink handcuffs.’
‘I might rename her Little Miss Chaos. I wonder what we’ll witness today,’ Ben said.
What the hell did he just call me?Little Miss Chaos? A red filter slipped in front of my eyes.
‘I’m starving,’ Tom moaned. ‘I forgot my lunch today and I didn’t have any breakfast.’
‘Same here,’ said Ben, before striding through the sheet and coming face to face with me. Shock swept across his face.
‘Sorry,’ I said, in a sugary sweet voice, ‘you’ll have to excuse me as I am struggling out here so I can’t make you a cup of tea.’
He cleared his throat. ‘I’m sorry you heard that.’
I scowled at him before marching out of the kitchen. Once I’d sat in the living room and tapped out a lengthy and angry message to Connor and Kate about ‘know-it-all’ builders, I calmed down.
Kate responded with several laughing face emojis, and Connor sent me a message which read:
You’ll be kissing him soon.
After muttering things about Connor’s humour, I ventured back into the kitchen. The radio was on behind the construction sheet and there was no sign of Ben.
I decided to seek my revenge on them both using food. If they were hungry then they could suffer with the delicious smell from the wonderful breakfast I was about to cook for Grandpa and me. With an evil smile I walked out to the fridges and selected ingredients for a full English fry-up.
Soon there was a delicious aroma wafting out from the kitchen and Grandpa appeared with a huge smile on his face. ‘This is going to be the breakfast of dog sitting champions,’ he cried, rubbing his hands together with glee as I checked on the sizzling sausages under the grill.
Seeing both Ben and Tom’s hungry faces as they came into the kitchen to wash out their mugs gave me so much pleasure as I laid the table for breakfast.
Grabbing my plate piled high with sausages, bacon, eggs, tomato and hash browns, I grinned at Ben and Tom. ‘Little Miss Chaos is hungry.’
As Grandpa tucked into his fry-up, he pointed to Ben and Tom hovering by the sheet. ‘Why not give some to the fellas?’
I glanced over my shoulder and let out a silent chuckle. Turning back to Grandpa I said, ‘I don’t think there’s enough, Grandpa.’
He glanced at the pile of spare food still on the grill and gave me an odd look. I ignored him.
When I sat down and started to tuck into my food, Grandpa nudged me. ‘You really should offer the fellas some food.’
I shook my head. ‘No, not after what I heard them saying about us this morning.’
Grandpa leaned closer. ‘What did they say?’
‘They said I was struggling to control you and Humphrey.’
Grandpa put down his knife and fork and scratched his white chin. ‘I quite like that.’
I rolled my eyes.
He continued. ‘I like how the fellas over there think I am difficult to control.’
‘Grandpa, Ben called meLittle Miss Chaos.’
To my horror Grandpa chuckled. ‘That’s funny.’
