Channing had his friendship group locked down.
The only question was whether his relationship with Max was secure forever, or just another passing trend…
Chapter 12
MAX
The TV was on and Max and Channing were sitting next to one another on the couch at Channing’s house.
Max was busy sending a message to his friends Harrison and Michael while Channing was seemingly attempting to scroll through as many channels and streaming services as possible without actually choosing what to watch.
Max glanced over at Channing and recognized the glazed, tired look in the boy’s eyes.
He’s not going to last long.
And if he gets too tired, there might be trouble.
I think it’s time to take some pre-emptive action…
After picking Channing up from a playdate with his friends, Max could tell that Channing was tired and bordering on being a little bit grouchy.
Channing and his friends had played long and hard with one another. It had been delightful to sit back and watch his boy have such a great time, but Max was aware that too much of a good thing might be about to lead into something less favorable.
But rather than immediately lay down the law with Channing, Max decided to play it cool and see if some gentle persuasion could help keep the overtired boy in check…
‘Hey, I think it’s bath time,’ Max said, looking at the clock on the Channing’s living space wall. ‘My little boy needs his routine and bed, I think.’
‘Hmmmm, but what about a movie?’ Channing replied, pouting as he flicked from TV channel to TV channel. ‘We could have a bath after a movie instead.’
‘Wecould,’ Max replied, keeping his voice nice and even. ‘But I’m not sure you’d enjoy a movie seeing as how tired you are. You had a lot of fun with your friends today, and I’m thinking what you really need is a nice long soak in the tub and then a bedtime story.’
Max watched Channing and could see that the boy was trying to work things out in his head. Channing evidently felt like staying up late and watching a movie, but it was clear that he also knew just how tired he was.
Max leaned over and patted Channing on his knee.
It was no use trying to force Channing into making a decision, but at the same time Max also knew what was best for his boy. And if that meant applying a slightly firmer approach, then that was fine too.
‘Okay, I’m going to help you decide,’ Max said, smiling. ‘You come for a bath now and I’ll give you an extra five-minutes playtime at the end with your rubber duckies. How does that sound?’
‘Okay,’ Channing replied, immediately springing off the couch and making his way to the bathroom with an excited spring in his step.
‘Bath time it is,’ Max said, more to himself than to Channing.
But if Max thought that the promise of rubber duckies and playtime was going to curb Channing’s potential grouchiness, then he had another thing coming…
* * *
‘Weeeeee!’ Channing exclaimed, sliding up and down the bathtub on his back. ‘Splish! Splash!Splooooosh!’
As a wave of bath water rose up the side of the bath and crashed down onto the bathroom floor, Channing appeared to be having a great time. But Max could already see that Channing was crossing the line from being a tired boy to a naughty one.
Still, Max wanted to give Channing one more chance.
‘Boy, I’ll ask you again,’ Max said, his voice firm. ‘Please don’t slide like that. Have fun but keep the water inside the tub.’
‘Maybe,’ Channing replied, gripping the handles at the side of the tub and seemingly readying himself for another swing and splash. ‘Or maybe not…’
‘I’m warning you,’ Max growled, his patience now wearing thin. ‘Donotmake another big splash.’
