One day while walking Max

 

A prediction of rain kept Suzie from going outside and Timmy under foot.  As if attached like a refrigerator magnet to his mother’s apron, Tim was bored.  He didn’t want to watch a movie on the television and Suzie only wanted to play with her dolls, without her brother around.

The smell of fresh, warm cookies soon filled the kitchen and suddenly caught the attention of both children.  Dolls abandoned and scattered about the living room floor, Suzie heads to the fridge to get the carton of milk.  Tim, unable to reach the plates on the shelf, climbs up on a dining room chair and waits.

What at first was thought to be a loud clap of thunder, was in fact the oven exploding into a ball of fire, with chocolate chips and cookie dough shooting out in all directions like shrapnel.

One dog walker out on the sidewalk, braving the slight drizzle, heard the explosion.  Sam tied Maxwell to a small landscaping tree and told him he’d be right back.  Sam hurried to the front door and rang the bell and then knocked several times.  From the front porch he could hear yelling and screams coming from inside, but he also smelled fresh baked cookies.

Evelyn opened the front door.  There was a swirl of smoke coming from her apron, cookie dough splattered on her face and in her hair and in her free hand she held a red fire extinguisher.  “I made cookies,” she said to Sam, who couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“I thought I heard an explosion.”  Sam replied.

“Yes, every now and then the oven does that.  It’s all right.”

Max thought he’d been patient enough and he didn’t at all enjoy being in the rain, so he let out a few hearty barks, in Sam’s direction.

“OK then, if you don’t need any help, I’ll get back to walking Maxwell.”

“Thank you for checking on us.  Can I get you a couple of cookies?  They’re Charcoal-Chocolate Chip.  It’s my own recipe.”