Sherman looked out the cabin window, observing the night time sky. He was at Camp Clearwater with his friends Carl and Mason. They had spent the entire day canoeing, rock climbing, zip-lining, and doing all sorts of great things.
To say the day had been fun would be an understatement. It had been a blast.
Now, it was time for bed. Carl was sitting on his cot, reading a comic. Mason was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth.
Sherman had been ready for bed awhile ago. He had been so excited to spend his first night at camp. But, at that thought, he also realized that this was his first night away from home.
And, it was also his first night away from Mr. Peabody.
To be honest, he really hadn't thought about his dad all day. He was too busy having fun. But, now that the excitement was over, he realized that he missed Mr. Peabody.
He wasn't use to Mr. Peabody not being there to tuck him. Now that his dad wasn't there, Sherman felt empty. It felt like something was missing, and he knew what that something was.
Sherman sighed, a tear dripping down his face, as he thought about the previous morning.
Sherman's alarm clock rang loudly in his ears. He groaned, stuffing his head under the pillow while trying to hit the snooze button.
His hand hit the button, silencing the alarm. He sighed in relief, closing his eyes for more sleep.
His slumber lasted for about a minute as his door creaked open, the light from the hallway flooding his room.
He groaned a second time, once again hiding his facing underneath his pillow.
He heard footsteps approaching his bed. A hand grabbed his blanket, pulling it off.
Sherman lifted his head to see Mr. Peabody standing next to his bed.
"Sherman, you have to get up."
Sherman looked over at his clock, blinking his bleary eyes. "It's only 5:10."
"Yes, I let you sleep in only ten minutes. You should have gotten up at five sharp. But, I know how you are when it comes to getting up early. But, sometimes you have to get up early. If you want to go, you have to get up, now. Otherwise, we'll be running behind schedule." Mr. Peabody placed his paws on his thigh.
Sherman furrowed his eyebrows, "Go? Go whe - " His sleepy mind finally shifted into gear, operating at maximum thinking capacity.
Sherman bolted straight up, "Oh, yah! I'm going camping. Wahoo!" The now excited boy reached for his glasses, placed them on his face, and zoomed past his dad, knocking him over.
The white canine rubbed his head, adjusting his glasses after his unexpected fall.
"Sorry!" Sherman yelled from the bathroom.
Mr. Peabody chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Amazing what a little motivation will do to you."
Mr. Peabody held a checklist in one paw and a pen in the other. He checked off an item off the list.
"Toothbrush?"
Sherman held up his blue toothbrush. "Check!'
"Toothpaste?"
A tube of Colgate toothpaste was placed into his backpack. "Check!"
"Pajamas?"
"Check!"
"Flashlight?"
Sherman switched the flashlight off and on several times before placing it in his bag, "Check!"
After checking off the last few items, Sherman was all set. The van that would take him to camp was parked in front of Peabody Industries.
Mr. Peabody and Sherman took the elevator down to the lobby then walked towards the doors. Mr. Peabody looked at his son with a sad smile, "Well, have fun, Sherman. And stay safe. You never now what kind of danger lurks out there."
Sherman looked at his dad with a playful expression, "We've been to the Amazon Jungle, Mr. Peabody. If I can survive that, I think I can handle Camp Clearwater.
Mr. Peabody chuckled as they walked through the main entrance, "I know you can, Sherman."
They quickly approached the van. The side door of the vehicle slid open. Sherman's friends Mason and Carl waved to him. He waved back.
He turned back to his dad. "Well, I gotta go, Mr. Peabody."
Mr. Peabody nodded, "I know. Have a great time, Sherman. I'll miss you."
Sherman smiled, "I'll miss you, too, Mr. Peabody. But, it's only for two days."
The white beagle wrapped his arms around his son, "I know. But, that's two days without my son."
Sherman choked back a sob upon hearing that. He wrapped his arms around his father, hugging him tightly.
They pulled away. A tear slid down Sherman's face. Mr. Peabody affectionately wiped it away. "But, I think I'll manage. Now, go. Your friends are waiting for you." He pushed Sherman towards the van.
Sherman walked over to the van, looking back at his dad before going inside. "I love you, Mr. Peabody."
Mr. Peabody smiled warmly, "I love you, too, Sherman." He waved goodbye.
Sherman did, too, the van door closing behind him. He looked at his father through the window. He gave a final glance at Mr. Peabody as the van drove away.
Sherman wiped a stray tear from his face. He was here to have fun, not sit around and cry.
But, his emotions got the better of him as his thoughts drifted towards his canine parent.
Mason came out of the bathroom. He looked over at Carl, who was still reading his comic. He then looked over to where Sherman was.
Sherman was facing away from him, but Mason could tell something was wrong. "Sherman, is something wrong?"
Sherman jumped slightly as his thoughts were interrupted. He rubbed his eyes quickly, trying to conceal his tears.
"Huh? Oh, yah, I'm fine, Mason. I'm just thinking about something." Sherman blinked to keep anymore tears from falling.
"You've been staring out that window for the past ten minutes," Carl pointed out, putting down his comic. "It must be something important."
"Don't worry about me, guys. I'm fine. Really," Sherman insisted.
Mason walked over to him, looking at him, "You sure? You don't seem fine. Are you - wait." Mason squinted his eyes at Sherman. "Have you been...crying?"
"What? Of course not! That's ridiculous. Why would I be crying?" Sherman folded his arms, looking away.
Mason shrugged, "I don't know. You tell me."
"You know, if something's bothering you, you can tell us. Maybe we can help," Carl suggested, taking his glasses off to clean them.
Sherman wrung his hands together, "Promise not to laugh?"
"That depends on what it is," Carl smirked, putting his glasses back on, "But, we won't. Right, Mason?"
Mason nodded.
Sherman looked at his friends and sighed. He turned back to the window. "To be honest, this is my first night here."
Carl and Mason looked at each other. Carl raised an eyebrow, "Well, yah, we only arrived this morning. It's our first night here, too."
Sherman shook his head, "No, I mean... " He hung his head, taking a deep breath.
"It's my first night away from home."
Carl and Mason's eyes widened.
"You mean...this is your first time camping?" Mason gawked in surprise.
Sherman nodded sheepishly, "First time being alone, actually. Alone and away from..." He trailed off, feeling no more words were necessary.
Carl and Mason exchanged nervous looks, unsure of what to do or say.
"Sherman, you - you miss your dad, don't you?" Carl hesitated.
Sherman let out a shaky breath, nodding. "Yah, it's just - I've spent so much time with Mr. Peabody. Now that he's not here, I feel...odd. And, it's not often that I'm separated from him."
"What about school?"
Sherman rolled his eyes, "Well, yah, obviously then. But, I have to go to school. Besides, the penthouse is only about fifteen minutes away. Now, the penthouse is like two hundred minutes away." He sighed. "I know it's silly. I'm going to see him tomorrow night, but..."
Carl shook his head, "It's not silly."
Sherman's head lifted, "It's not?"
Mason shook his head, too. "Not at all. I remember my first night away from my parents. I was sleeping over my cousin's house. The previous nights, my dad had been reading me a bedtime story, a really good one. When it was time for bed, I asked if they could read it to me. They didn't have the book. I cried for about half an hour."
Sherman and Carl snickered to themselves. "How'd they get you to stop?" Sherman put a hand over his mouth to quiet his snickers.
Mason smirked, "They called my dad, and he read another chapter over the phone."
They all laughed.
"See, Sherman? Every kid has to go through with this eventually. It's a sign you're growing up. It has to happen sometime, right?" Carl gave Sherman a pointed look.
Sherman made a face, "I don't really want to grow up. I like being a kid."
Mason shrugged, "So do I. But, you can't stay little forever."
"And, I'm sure Mr. Peabody understands that. He wouldn't have let you come here if he didn't. He's smart enough to know when to let you broaden your horizons."
Sherman lay his head down his pillow, thinking about Carl's words. "I guess you're right. I still miss him, though."
"You're bound to. And, that's perfectly normal. He's your dad, after all. I bet he misses you, too." Mason climbed onto his cot, getting under the blanket.
Sherman nodded understandingly, "I know he does. Thanks for the pep talk, guys. It was a big help."
"Glad to be of assistance." Carl gave him a thumbs-up.
Just then, their camp counsellor came into the room.
"Lights out. Good night, boys." He dimmed the light before heading back to his room.
Sherman sighed, quickly hopping out of his bed to grab his stuffed animal from his bag. He reached in for it and took it out.
When he pulled it out, his eyebrows furrowed. Attached to the stuffed toy was a rolled-up piece of paper.
He unfurled the paper and looked at it. It was a picture of him, standing next to Mr. Peabody, his father's paw resting on his shoulder.
Underneath the picture was a note.
No matter what challenges you face, no matter how far away I might seem, I'm with you. I love you, Sherman. -Mr. Peabody
Sherman clutched the paper tightly, his eyes beginning to tear up. He hugged the picture close to his heart. He wiped away a tear, smiling warmly.
Feeling he was ready for bed, Sherman climbed onto his cot. He set his glasses on the side table. His head hit the pillow and within ten minutes, he was out, thinking about Mr. Peabody.
