CHANNING
It wasn’t exactly like old times where a disappearing Max might mean no sightings for days or even weeks on end.
No, it wasn’t like that any longer.
This feeling of slight insecurity was in no doubt down to the situation that had happened with the strange, creepy Judd from the bar the previous night.
It hadn’t been a good night’s sleep, that was for sure.
And it also probably explained why Channing had slept in so late despite the usually pretty noisy Max somehow managing to wake up and leave the apartment undetected.
However, to Channing’s relief he found a note from Max saying that he had gone for a long run in the canyons with his friends. This put Channing’s mind at ease, and Channing set about his day with renewed enthusiasm.
There was plenty of paperwork that needed doing down at Bark Buddies, so Channing decided to head on down there and make a start.
Being a volunteer wasn’t all about giving out cuddles and treats, sometimes it involved sitting down at a desk and making progress on stacks upon stacks of funding applications and press enquiries.
It wasn’t exactly a thrill a minute stuff, that was for sure.
But Channing was good at this kind of thing, so knew it was a good use of his time. After all, volunteering wasn’t about his enjoyment it was ultimately about helping the dogs as much as he possibly could.
The office at Bark Buddies was a far cry from the chic, elegant office that Channing had at Green Sky Future. And the fact that the aircon was barely functioning wasn’t exactly conducive to efficient working conditions.
But it wasn’t the end of the world.
Channing was beginning to find the work hard going for another reason.
Every time he began to get into a flow, his mind cast itself back to the incident at the bar the previous evening.
Judd seemed like a mean, untrustworthy man.
It was a surprise to Channing that Max would ever associate with someone like that.
Why would Max even know Judd?
Max’s a good guy. Judd seems horrible.
There’s something I don’t know about here…
Channing was beginning to feel fed up with having to battle with thoughts of Max, Judd, and what had gone down. Suddenly, the circumstances surrounding Max’s arrival back in his life were beginning to swirl around in Channing’s overworked brain.
It was time to message the group chat and see if that might help…
Guys… help me out? I’m having a bad morning. I’m drowning in paperwork at Bark Buddies and had a difficult night last night. I’ll say more later, but for now can you just send a funny meme? Tell me a joke? Anything? Love you guys, Channing Xoxo
Channing didn’t have to wait long for a response. Both Tommy and Rick sent some classically giggle-worthy memes and it seemed to do the trick just fine. Channing was temporarily able to put the Max-Judd situation out of his mind and get on with his work.
I’m here for the dogs.
My dramas can stay where they belong… at home.
I just wish Max was here to help cheer me up…
After spending a few hours making inch by inch progress through the admin work, Channing decided it was time to check out.
Then after a quick play with some of the dogs, including of course the ever-loveable Tracker, Channing made his way home.
* * *
The journey home from Bark Buddies did little to de-stress Channing.
If anything, it made Channing more wound up. It felt like alongside the Judd situation, Max was also having to deal with too many other things too.
There was Kyle Peters at work.
Then on top of Kyle there was the pressure of knowing that the VP position was coming up at Green Sky Future.
Then on top of that still, the financial situation at Bark Buddies was being complicated by a land purchase deal that while good on the face of it, was actually far more complex to process than had been initially hoped for.
All in all, Channing was feeling the weight of the world suddenly coming down on his shoulders. And unfortunately, by the time he arrived home he wasn’t in the best of moods…
‘Enjoy your morning fun?’ Channing said, half-meaning it as a joke but coming across as a little spikey.
‘Ummm, it’s good to see you too?’ Max replied, looking up from the iPad as he lay stretched out on the couch. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Yeah, why shouldn’t it be?’ Channing snapped back, not even going over to Max for their now customary welcome home kiss. ‘So… you’ve literally finished the coffee?’
Channing could feel his blood beginning to boil.
Looking around the apartment, it was clear that Max hadn’t exactly been spending the time cleaning up after himself. Not only was the coffee finished, but there were a couple of splashes of oat milk on the worktop too.
‘What the hell?’ Channing snapped again, making a show of cleaning up the spilled milk. ‘I know I have a cleaner in the week, but you could at least make the effort at the weekend to keep this place looking clean?’
Channing shot a look of anger over toward a shocked Max.
‘Whatever,’ Channing said, his mood blackening by the second. ‘I guess I’ll just come home from a few hours ploughing through paperwork and clean up myself… it’s not like Daddies, or supposed Daddies, ever clean, is it?’
This was enough to prompt a clearly perplexed Max into action.
‘Hey, relax,’ Max said, springing up from the couch and walking toward Channing. ‘What’s got into you, boy?’ Yeah, I’ve had a chill morning. So what? I’m sorry you’ve obviously had a less good time, I really am. But please don’t be a jerk and take it out on me. Okay?’
Channing looked at Max.
It was clear that Max was a little pissed off himself at this point. Part of Channing wanted to confess his feelings of stress and anxiety over everything, but he couldn’t get the words out.
Talk to him, he’s your Daddy.
Make this right, Max will understand.
Just…
However rather than explaining what was wrong, Channing simply turned away from a frustrated Max and continued on with the cleaning.
‘Hey!’ Max snapped. ‘Don’t be so damned rude, boy. This isn’t cool. It’s not cool at all.’
‘Urgh. It’s always about you, isn’t it?’ Channing said, his voice highly-strung and full of spite. ‘Poor Max. You’re supposed to be a Daddy. And Daddies should know what to do or say! No, just keep focusing on yourself.’
Channing immediately regretted lashing out like that, but his pride prevented him from apologizing like he knew he should have. And it seemed like the comment was just about all that Max could handle too.
‘Okay, that’s how you see me?’ Max said, his voice trembling with anger. ‘Well screw you too. I’m outta here, man.’
With that, a clearly furious and hurt Max picked up his jacket and stormed out of the apartment.
Every bone in Channing’s body was aching to run after Max, but yet again he couldn’t force himself into action.
As he heard the sound of the building’s front door slam shut, something suddenly dawned on Channing.
I was a real ass just then.
Have I pushed him too far?
Is Max… coming back?
The prospect of losing Max all over again was something that Channing could barely contemplate. This reminded him very much of the times in college that Max would leave in a storm of emotion and leave a trail of chaos and hurt feelings behind him.
Except this time it was different.
Channing felt like it was he who was to blame in this instance.
What had Max actually done wrong? Nothing really.
Suddenly, Channing felt incredibly regretful about his behavior. The day had started off on an unsteady footing after a terrible night’s sleep, but since then it had only gotten worse and worse. This felt like the worst point of all.
The only thing that Channing could hope for would be that Max would realize that Channing was acting out of character and calm down and come back home to talk things through.
Hoping for Max to come back was one thing.
But Channing knew from painful experience that when the going got tough, Max more often than not chose to bail and not look back…