When I Broke the Cookie Rule

I'm an artist and a caregiver for someone who calls me 'Daddy', but we never really use those labels too seriously. It's more about a nurturing dynamic between two adults, kind of like playing pretend grown-up roles while being open and honest with each other. Recently, though, I did something that made me feel naughty as if I was in trouble for being a kid again, I broke the rule about eating cookies before dinner time. We agreed it would be my treat to have one only after the meal, but you know how hard those chocolate chip ones are to resist? So there I was, sneaking into the kitchen while they were out and indulging with an extra-big bite just for me. Of course, later on when we sat down at the table, my hands felt sticky from where I’d forgotten to clean up, a small act that had big consequences in our little universe of rules. It made me chuckle to myself but also feel a bit like a kid caught red-handed.