He held his arms out to me. “Daddy!” I yelled, throwing myself around him excitedly. He hugged me hard, pulling me close.
“How was school?” dad asked, pulling away from the embrace and heading into the house.
“Boring!” I exclaimed emphatically. “I couldn’t stop thinking about our movie date and the day simply dragged on and on,” I dramatized, tossing my bag to the floor.
Daddy laughed at my performance and grabbed the car keys from the counter. “Well then, I shant keep the princess waiting,” he joked, bowing deeply before me. I curtsied in response and giggled at his gesture.
“Milady,” he motioned to the door. “Your carriage awaits.”
Fifteen minutes later, and he’d already purchased the tickets to a monster movie. I had hoped he’d remembered that I hated creepy movies.
Laden with popcorn and soda, we trudged up the theater stairs and picked the middle seats in the empty back row. The film started slow, but adjusted pace and soon filled with lots of gore and violence. I jumped and grabbed daddy at every scary moment and he affectionately wrapped his arm around me and held me close.
In the end, the good guy won and the bad guy was killed on some unknown planet. Chatting about the lame special effects and how the main character reminded us of my great uncle Sal, we drove home.
“Thanks for the date, daddy,” I said as we pulled into the driveway. I leaned over the center console and kissed his cheek before hopping out of the car.
Mom was home early and had wrecked the house. “Jill?” dad called when he walked through the entry. “Where are you?”
She rushed out of the laundry room, a pile of clothes in her arms. “Michael, have you seen my black suit? The one I wore to my cousin’s wedding?” she hurriedly bit out as she made her way to their bedroom.
“It’s hanging in your vanity. What’s going on?” daddy asked as we followed her. A suitcase was opened on the bed, already full.
“I’ve been called out of town for work.”
We were surprised. Mom was her own boss and managed a few employees. She never left.
“Why?” daddy wanted to know, absently folding the clothes she threw to the bed.
“One of my cases just went national and I have to get to L.A. tonight,” she explained, tossing shoes from her closet.
“But, what about your family? And my job? What about your other clients? How long will you be gone?” dad questioned.
“Michael,” she sighed loudly, stopping to stare at him in frustration. “For now, I’ll be gone a week; Helen’s going to cover for me at the office until I get back. And you’ll be able to quit your job and take care of the family,” she said with contempt. “Isn’t that what you want?” It was the most contact I had seen between my parents in years.
“Abby, go to your room honey. Mom and I need to talk privately,” dad told me, moving me to the door. It shut with a thud and I spent the rest of the afternoon tucked away, thinking of how daddy was all mine while mom was away.
***** ***** *****
We spent the week together going to movies, jogging in the park, and having picnics in the car on the colder days. Soon it was Friday and I was headed home for the long weekend, eager for another date with daddy.