Hank walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. “What time did the kids get up?” he asked his wife.
“They’ve been up since the crack of dawn, impatiently waiting for their sleepyhead father to get up,” Allison said. “It’s Christmas morning, Hank. You know that your sleeping late is torture to them. They are eager to open their presents.”
“Those kids are up to something, I know it,” Hank said. “Did you hear them giggling when I came downstairs? Giggling, wearing mischievous smiles on their faces, like they’ve concocted some devious plan. They’re up to no good, I tell you.”
“Calm down, Hank. Finish your coffee so we can join them at the tree and they can open their presents,” Allison said.
A few minutes later Hank and Allision walked into the family room where the kids were waiting for them. As soon as Mom and Dad walked in, they started giggling and laughing again. “See what I mean?” Hank whispered to Allison.
Ignoring Hank, Allison said to the kids, “Time to open presents. Let’s all gather around the Christmas tree and see what Santa brought you last night.” The laughing and giggling coming from the three children got even louder, but Allison was determined to get control of things.
She bent down to grab some gifts, when all of a sudden she stood up, jumped back, and screamed. The kids started shrieking with laughter while Hank ran over to Allison to see what was going on. He looked at the tree and immediately ascertained the situation.
Hank really tried hard to not smile and to sound very serious. “Okay, which one of you guttersnipes took Lizzie out of her cage and put her on the Christmas tree? Are you trying to give your mother a heart attack?”
All three kids were rolling on the floor and even Allison started laughing.
Written for Sadje’s What Do You See. Top photo credit: Nathan Dumloa@unsplash. And for Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge. Bottom photo credit: Claudia Nass at iStock.