Two days? Really?
"What were you thinking? We had a roof? Where is the roof?" Jace demanded from his children. He hardly ever lost his cool, but when you come home to see your house altered, unexpected things happen.
Graham shivered. His father was not happy. Not at all. It was Gavin who answered, as sly as a cat. "Dad, we knew you wanted to play catch. As a matter of fact, I think fondly on those times on vacation when we would play catch." Gavin stopped, letting his words sink in. Graham calmed down seeing his father calm also.
"We really want to be able to play catch here too dad," Gavin said. He was smooth. Real smooth. "So this was our solution."
Jace shrugged. "This project we could have done together if you wanted it bad enough. I think this goes without saying, but I don't want any confusion so both of you are grounded 'till kingdom come. Got it?"
Graham let out a little sigh of relief. Gavin's eyes sparkled with excitement. Jace just stared at his sons. He was sure this was pay back for his teenage years. "EW! GROSS!" Graham yelled out. It was the first sound he made all night. Graham pulled his shirt up over his nose. Gavin darted for the basement stairs. "DAD!" Before Jace could respond the smell smacked him in the face.
Sun Li, who watched Gavin set off the stink bomb, was already in discipline mode. She grabbed Gavin by the ears. "You know better!" She said sternly. "In addition to your forever grounding, you will have double duty chores every day until your birthday. And you will clean THAT up before you march straight to bed."
Jace smiled at his wife. She was on it.
Gavin begrudgingly cleaned up the flask. It was excellent. While it lasted. The stink bomb was pretty potent. He smiled. Grounding for a few days? Extra chores? There wasn't much left they could do to him. And he had left one more surprise for his family.
Jace closed up the house ensuring all the doors were locked. He turned the lights off and checked on the boys. The house was quiet, and he was ready to sleep in his own bed. Jace was pretty sure the stink was still on his hands. One more wash, he thought. Jace entered the bathroom and received an unneeded shower.
"GAVIN!" He yelled into the silent house. Down stairs Gavin laughed. He knew he'd have the last laugh.
