Choco Muffins

"Are you ready?" Zak asked his two-year-old daughter, Kaia.

"Mm hmmm," Kaia replied, her brown eyes dancing with excitement.

With a flick of the switch, the mixer whirred. Milk, flour, sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla began to blend together in the stainless bowl as Zak controlled the speed.

"My turn," Kaia said, trying to slide her little hand under Zak's and take the mixer.

He knew letting go would be a disaster. And he also knew his daughter had an independent and stubborn streak. When they meshed, all hell would break loose.

Realizing he needed the chocolate chips and they were over on the table, he had a dilemma.

Zak turned the mixer off. "We need the chocolate chips. Will you get the bowl from the table?"

"No." Kaia peered down into the bowl, going up on her tiptoes on the top step of the stool to get a better look. "Daddy, get the choco chips."

He set the hand mixer on its bottom. "Okay, but don't touch the mixer."

Zak stepped around the stool and took a few steps forward, reaching for the bowl. Before he could turn back, the mixer's sound echoed, and Kaia laughed before her high-pitched scream bounced off the kitchen walls.

In his hurried frenzy to rescue his daughter, the toe of Zak's slipper caught on the rug, the chocolate chips flying across the room. Looking up, he saw Kaia holding the mixer in the air, the white concoction scattering drops all over his daughter, the cupboards, sink, counter, and floor.

"Oh, no," Zak said scrambling to his feet to get the device out of Kaia's hand before anything else happened.

"Who is going to clean this up?" Mona asked, arms crossed in the doorway.

"Mommy!" Kaia squealed. "Surprise. Choco muffins!"

WC: 296
Prompt: 5/20/24 - "Who is going to clean this up?"