Here's a story to go with my Mother's Day fic! Like Mother's Day, I'm also posting this one a day later than I had hoped. Happy belated Father's Day to all of the fathers out there! I'd like to dedicate this story to my Grampy who passed away earlier this year, and also in memory of my father and other grandfather. I love and miss you all.
Thank you NikitaKaralis for giving me the idea for this story!
"Oliver, you need to be up and ready in 12 minutes. You may have more power in this city than the mayor, but Mass still starts at 9 AM for everyone. No acceptations."
Oliver grumbled in response to his wife's babbling. Nearly every Sunday, the morning never failed to begin this way. By now he should have been used to it. Next month would mark a year since he married Grace. Before then, he hadn't kept up the practice of going to church. Seeing as Sunday was the only day he didn't have to get up with the sun, he had no intention of leaving the house before 10. Now that he had Grace and Annie, he had found a whole new joy in it. Nonetheless, he still had his stubbornness waking up.
"I mean it," she spoke again. "10 minutes or we're leaving without you."
This was odd… Grace was usually far more patient than this. At this point, she would have ripped the blankets off of him and called Annie and Sandy to finish the job. Was she still mad about the little argument they had the night before? Argument may even be too strong a word. The 'debate' had been about where they were going to spend their summer holiday. Grace wanted to go to the South of France while Oliver wanted to go to England. This was going to be Annie's first international trip. He wanted to show her (and Grace) where he had grown up. With this, Grace had no choice but to surrender. This was the only thing he figured might be upsetting her; even though she seemed too had moved past it.
Whatever the reason behind her disposition, he wasn't about to aggravate it any more. He got up and dressed, and then met his family downstairs with a minute to spare.
…
After the tension with Grace and then an awkward and silent car ride, Oliver had hoped spirits would be lifted after church. No such luck. Here had been reminded what day it was – Father's Day. Not only did his daughter and wife fail to mention it, but Grace was still standoffish. Like most times when they quarreled, Annie stuck by her side. Maybe it was some mother/daughter rule he didn't know about. He was on his own. What a lousy way to spend your first Father's Day, he thought.
When they got home, Grace went off somewhere leaving him some time alone with Annie. He was almost thankful for this. Maybe Annie would remember and he wouldn't have to keep debating whether or not to bring it up. Again, no such luck. With this, he resolved to remind them both at lunch. However, Grace took her meal in the office. What on earth would she possibly be doing on a Sunday? There were no phone calls to be made. Any task she might be doing would be paperwork or filing. Now he knew she was avoiding him.
"Annie… can I ask you something?" He said as they ate.
"Yes, Daddy?"
After wiping his mouth with his napkin, he started. "Do you know why your mother has been angry with me this morning?"
"Who said she was angry?" Annie replied without looking up from her plate.
"Well," he hummed. "Nobody… but she seems to be staying out of my way. Also, this morning she seemed to be pretty irritated."
With a shrug, she said, "I haven't noticed anything. Maybe she's just tired or in a bad mood."
"I suppose… but-" he stopped short. He felt silly 'whining' to his eleven year old daughter about something as trivial as hurt feelings over some holiday. It wasn't like it was his birthday or anything.
"But what?" Annie probed.
"Never mind."
"C'mon, what is it? I won't tell Mom, I promise."
"It's not really a secret." He then thought a moment before continuing. How foolish was this? He was never one to get hung up on a once insignificant day. Alas, here he was now. "I'm just feeling a bit down because neither you nor Grace has wished me a happy Father's Day. I have to admit, I'd forgotten about it myself, but after the mention at church I would have thought you two would have at least given me a smile."
Eyes now widened, Annie looked around the room as if in search for something. "Gee," she began. "I'm really sorry, Daddy. I didn't even hear it said at church. I must'a been daydreaming." Then offering the second half of her sandwich forward, she finished, "I really wish I'd remembered. You can have the rest of my lunch… Happy Father's Day!"
Oliver couldn't help the small grin that touched his lips. "Thank you," he said, "but you know I don't care for peanut butter and chicken sandwiches."
The little girl rolled her eyes. "You won't even give it a chance."
"You're damn right I won't. I feel sick enough as it is just watching you eat it."
"Fine." She surrendered. "Well, I guess I'll go find Mom and remind her what day it is. I'm sure once she realizes she'll come and find you."
"Why don't you finish your lunch first?" he suggested.
"I'll take it with me." Grabbing the half she had before offered, she dashed out of the dining room to go find Grace.
…
"Mommy!"
Grace sat at Oliver's desk with the phone in her hand. "Just a minute, dear," she said holding the mouthpiece away from her face. "I'm on the phone with my father. I'll be off in a few minutes."
"But Mom, it's important."
"Is it an emergency?"
"Well, no… but-"
Cutting her off, Grace said, "Please Annie, I promise you I'll only be five minutes."
"Oh alright."
While Grace finished her phone call, Annie sat in her mother's usual chair. She was glad that she hadn't given Sandy the entire remains of her lunch on her way to the office. As she sat, she kept a close eye on the clock. When five minutes passed, she flashed her mother a signal. Staying true to her word, she said goodbye to her father, quickly handed the phone to Annie so she could say 'hello' and 'happy Father's Day', and then hung up.
"Now," she started. "What's the matter?"
Not wanting to waste any more time, Annie went straight to the point. "Daddy brought up it being Father's Day. He said he was sad that you and me forgot. He also thinks that you're mad at him."
"Oh no," she groaned. "I tried hard not to appear mad… I was only trying to give him very little attention. What did you say to him?"
"I told him I was sorry that I forgot and that you weren't mad. I said you might just be tired or something."
"Good. Did he suspect anything?"
The child shook her head. "No, I don't think so. But I did tell him that I was coming in here to remind you what today is. I said that you would go find him."
"I suppose I should, shouldn't I?"
"Why do they have to mention these days at church? He said that he had forgotten until then. We did such a good job keeping quiet."
Grace chuckled at the faint distress that sounded in her daughter's voice. "We did. I hadn't thought about the possibility of anyone else bringing it up. Aside from anyone in the house that is, but we've had that covered."
"Me neither." Annie agreed.
"I'll go find him now. While I'm gone, why don't you to your room and finish working on your present for him? I'll be up in a few minutes."
"Okay," she nodded.
…
"There you are," Grace greeted as she found her husband in the family room. "I've been looking all over for you. What are you doing in here?"
"Just thought I'd relax today," he answered as he remained lounged on the couch.
Walking over and sitting down next to him, Grace took his hand. "Darling, I'm so sorry for forgetting what day it is. I feel terrible. I wanted to make it extra special… I don't know where my head has been."
"Are you alright?"
Noticing concern in his voice, she assured, "Oh yes, I'm fine. You know as well as I do how busy work been. I'm so very looking forward to our vacation next month."
"Even if we don't go to the South of France?"
"The more I think about it, the more I think England is the better choice," she said as she snuggled closer to him. "I would love to see where you grew up. And I know Annie will enjoy that trip much more than France."
Giving into his wife's cuddles, he wrapped an arm around her. "Are you just saying that because you feel bad for forgetting Father's Day?"
"Partly," she grinned. "But I do think Annie will enjoy learning more of your history. In all honesty, so will I."
Oliver laughed. "Am I really so fascinating?"
With a chuckle of her own, Grace replied, "You are to us." Tilting her head closer to his, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips before saying, "I love you so much, Oliver. I hope you'll forgive our forgetfulness. You're the most wonderful father and husband. Annie and I are blessed to have you at the head of our household. I promise we'll make it up to you somehow."
"Don't worry about, Grace. I overreacted. I mean, a year ago I was barely aware of the day. I don't know why I was feeling so upset."
"I will too worry about it." She reiterated, "Today was supposed to be special. You and Annie went to great lengths for me on Mother's Day. I really want to make it up to you. I know Annie does as well. Even if we have to celebrate a couple days late, we'll do something."
Oliver smiled. "I don't need a big fuss. I just want to spend a nice quiet evening with you and Annie. Maybe we could go out to dinner?"
"If that's really what you want."
"That's really what I want," he repeated.
"Then that's what we'll do." Before standing up, she said, "Happy Father's Day, my love," and gave him another quick peck. "I'll go and make the reservations." She started for the door, but didn't get very far as Oliver caught hold of her hand and pulled her back down beside him. "Did I forget something else?" she questioned.
Shaking his head, he answered, "No, but there's no reason to rush, is there?"
"I guess not… but I really should make some calls before it's too late to get a table."
"My dear, just mention my name and I guarantee we'll get a seat."
"Well…" she sighed. "I can stay for a few minutes longer. I promised Annie I'd check the spelling on the card she's making you."
"So, I'm getting a card after all?" he teased.
"You're going to have fun holding this over our heads, aren't you?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.
"For a little while," he winked as he pulled her into a full hug.
Grace hugged him back, kissing his cheek in the process, bit she sneaked a peek at her watch. She really didn't these extra few minutes to spare, but she felt awful about hurting him. It hadn't been her intention to ignore or snub him earlier. She had been so thankful when he hadn't brought it up prior. Thank goodness he didn't appear to be catching on. She and Annie had worked hard to make everything for the evening perfect. What a shame it would be for him to find out the surprise with only a few more hours to go.
…
At long last 5 PM rolled around. Both Annie and Grace were more than relieved. They had spent a good part of the afternoon strategically avoiding him. They had to take turns with him and come up with clever excuses as to why the other wasn't around. Apparently the fibs were believable, because he still hadn't caught on to them. If anything, he was annoyed by the busyness. As far as he knew, Annie had been taking Sandy for multiple walks and working on card, and Grace had been fussing with dinner arrangements and making calls to her father and cousin. He couldn't get himself to complain again though. All in all, he was happy that he'd gotten his recognition (even though he still felt he was acting childish).
"Daddy, are you ready to go to dinner?" Annie asked as she entered her parents' bedroom.
"Just about," he answered while tying his tie.
"Mom's downstairs waiting, let's go!"
Oliver laughed. "I'm glad to see you're excited."
"I am," she giggled. "Mom said that we're going someplace new."
"Oh? Where are we going?"
"Um…" she stammered. "Uh, I-I forget the name."
"Going by the looks of your new dress, I'm going to guess it'll be a 'fancy joint', as you say."
"You like it?" She spun around, showing off the dark yellow dress with a blue floral print. Perhaps a bit too bright and light for the evening, but Annie was never one to abide by the laws of fashion.
"You look beautiful."
Taking her father's hand, she started pulling him towards the door. "You're ready enough now. Let's go!"
"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Annie was walking so quickly that he was barely able to turn the lights off on the way out.
They walked through the halls and down the stairs. When they got to the bottom, Annie took an unexpected direction.
"Where are we going? We're taking the car, aren't we?"
"Oh, yes…" she responded. "But, um… Drake just p-painted the door, so we have to use the side one."
"Painted the door?" he puzzled. "Why did he paint it? It looked perfectly fine as it was."
Before Annie could reply again, they – thankfully – reached the dining room. Still distracted by the paint and the door, it took Oliver a moment to notice the banquet laid out on the table. Amongst the feast were about two dozen balloons around the room, and there was a giant banner hanging on the back wall. When he did look up, both Annie and Grace yelled, "Surprise!"
In complete shock, Oliver reacted, "What's all this?"
"It's your Father's Day dinner!" Annie answered as she leapt into his arms. "You didn't really think we forgot, did ya?"
"I… you…" he stammered. "Did you have this planned the entire time?"
"Of course we did," Grace chuckled as she joined her family's embrace.
"We've been planning this all week," Annie continued. "That's why we had to tell you a few lies today… we didn't wanna ruin the surprise."
"Well, you certainly succeeded. I wasn't expecting this at all."
"Are you angry?" Grace asked with guilt in her voice.
"Of course not!" Oliver eased as he set Annie down. Then hugging Grace, he said, "I'm so sorry about my reactions earlier. I should have known there was a reason behind your lack of acknowledgement – especially when it was said at church."
"Yeah," Annie sighed. "Our plan really got messed up there."
"It's not matter now," he said, nudging his daughter's shoulder. "This dinner smells and looks delicious."
"Happy Father's Day, Daddy." she said softly as she gave Oliver one more hug. "You're the best dad in the entire world."
"And you're not a bad husband either," Grace added with a wink.
It took him another moment, but he then remembered that he had said something similar to her on Mother's Day. "I suppose I deserve that one," he chuckled.
Giggling herself, Grace said, "I love you."
"I love you, too." Annie chimed.
"And I love the both of you as well. Thank you so much for this." Giving them each a kiss on the cheek, the three then sat at the table and dug into the meal.
Though Oliver felt even more foolish than he did before, he couldn't help but feel an abundant amount of joy at the moment. Annie and Grace had wide smiles. They certainly did seem proud of themselves for what they'd accomplished. It was almost worth the hurt of feeling forgotten. Nevertheless, he knew that the next time Grace's birthday came around, it was her turn. Lucky Annie, he thought, she gets double the fun planning surprises!
The end.