Chapter 2
When dinner rolled around, Nancy was ready to whip up whatever Liam wanted, but I stopped her.
“Don’t bother. Starting today, he’s on a diet.”
I glanced at his little fists, still wrapped in duct tape.
“He’ll be having a veggie sandwich tonight. No cheese, no meat.”
“What?! Just because I flipped you off, you’re gonna starve me now? That’s child abuse!”
Liam shot back with full-volume protest.
I shook my head and looked him square in the eyes.
“See? You know flipping someone off is wrong. And I’m your mom. You didn’t even apologize. This isn’t a punishment, Liam. It’s about your health.”
He puffed out his cheeks and mumbled something under his breath.
“You’re not even—”
Too quiet to catch, but I doubted it was anything good.
Midway through dinner, Liam gestured for me to take off the tape.
“You gonna flip me off again?”
He didn’t meet my gaze. “No.”
Then added quietly, “Sorry…”
[Not gonna lie, Emily’s got a talent for taming wild kids.]
[If he hadn’t apologized, his fingers would’ve gone numb.]
[More! I need more of this.]
[Though… isn’t she worried about Logan flipping when he gets back? The transmigrator totally wore down his feelings. He might blow up this time.]
Logan flipping out?
Honestly… kinda hope he does.
Whether Logan would explode remained to be seen. But Liam? He cracked first.
He looked at the lettuce-and-egg sandwich like it was radioactive.
“This? This is dinner?!”
I nodded. I hadn’t gone full boiled egg on him—yet. Baby steps.
“I want BBQ ribs!”
“Then you better get used to being hungry.”
Liam narrowed his eyes, huffed dramatically, then jumped off his chair and stormed off.
I sighed, stood up, nodded at Nancy, and grabbed a trash bag.
Time to hunt for hidden snacks.
I caught him mid-squat behind the bed, butt in the air, munching on a bag of chips.
As the stash hit the trash bag one by one, Liam’s hands trembled.
“You’re breaking the rules of engagement!”
I ignored him.
Panicking, he shoved the last of the chips into his mouth and chewed like his life depended on it.
I left the room. He sighed in relief—way too soon.
I hit the media room. Then the mini office.
Nice try, kid. Diversification won’t save you. I used to run this playbook myself.
This time, Liam broke.
“Nooo! Please, spare the snacks! I’m begging you!”
“That’s my limited edition snack box! I saved my allowance for months to buy it! I’ve never even opened it!”
“Take my soul, not my snacks!”
“Snacks! What am I supposed to live for without you?!”
He was full-on sobbing now, hiccuping and whimpering.
[Okay that was hilarious. Fat kid meltdown, but cute.]
[Usually I hate whiny kids, but Liam cries in baby whispers. Not the banshee wails. I’m still in.]
[Real talk—maybe deep down, he knew the transmigrator wasn’t really his mom…]
[Whoa. That last comment hit different.]
I knelt down and patted his back.
“We’re not throwing them away, Liam. Just keeping them somewhere safe. You’ll get them back. But only if you start eating real food first.”
He froze mid-sniffle, then slowly leaned his head on my shoulder, little hands clutching my shirt.
“Mom?”
“Yeah, baby. I got you.”
After that snack drama, Liam actually started behaving better.
But his snack-thieving habits? Still going strong.
By day two, we’d gone toe-to-toe at least three hundred times.
Then I pulled out the big guns.
“Okay, Liam. You want snacks? Fine. But for every bite, you gotta burn the calories. Deal?”
He scoffed. “Sure. Whatever.”
That night, I wheeled out a plastic ride-on car. You know, the ones shaped like a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.
Liam’s eyes lit up. “Is that for me?!”
I smiled sweetly.
Then sat down in it.
He blinked. “Oh… um, you can go first, Mom.”
Still smiling, I grabbed a belt and some rope, tying them around his waist.
“Today you had two bags of chips, one pint of ice cream, spicy Cheetos, two Hershey’s bars, and a cupcake.”
“A light walk won’t cut it. So let’s start a fun, heartwarming parent-child bonding exercise.”
Yup.
The bonding exercise was Liam pulling me in that car around the neighborhood.
“But I’m a kid!”
“And? You want snacks or nah?”
Silence.
Then Liam leaned forward.
And started pulling.
Face scrunched, legs waddling.
Liam Carter: toddler, snack addict, human sled dog.
