Busy Man
"Honey, I'm gonna be late, I gotta go." The spiked blonde hair man says as he leans into me and kisses me sweetly, also kissing the dark hair toddler that is squirming in my arms.
"Zell, this is your vacation and it's the middle of the day. Why are you letting them drag you into work again?"
Zell, my loving husband, just sighs and kisses me again.
"I'm the only one who knows what needs to be done, and how to do it. I'm sorry sweetheart."
"If you must. But don't forget about tonight. I'll call the babysitter and remind her as well."
"I won't forget. I'll be home before you know it. Bye honey…bye Riley." Zell says as he quickly ducks out the front door.
"Buh-bye dadda…" Riley spoke as he waves at the retreating figure on the sidewalk.
I walk over to the window to watch him leave. I adjust Riley in my arms and sigh to myself. Here we go again…
There's a little boy out in the driveway
His basketball in hand
Saying Daddy could we play a little one on one?
You pat him on the back and said not now son
I'm a busy man
My gaze lands on a little boy in the driveway. He's got his daddy's eyes, but his momma's hair and sweetness. Alexander throws the basketball he had been playing with at Zell as he walks by the 8 year old.
"Hey dad, wanna play with me? You promised you'd show me how to shoot the ball."
"I'm sorry Alex, but I got to go into work for a while today." Zell says as he bounces the ball back to the disheartened little boy.
"But that's what you said yesterday too." Alex whimpers.
"I promise I'll show you tomorrow. I'll see you later, son. Bye Alex."
His sister's out on the sidewalk
Setting up a lemonade stand
Hey Daddy don't you want to buy a glass from me
You say maybe later, can't you see I'm a busy man
I watch Alex drop the ball to the ground and sulk away. It wasn't the first time it had happened. Zell had promised the poor boy a week ago that he'd show him how to shoot the ball. Alex sits down on the front steps of the house and watches his father pass his younger sisters.
Kailyn, six years, and Samantha, four years, are trying they're hardest to sell lemonade and homemade cookies at a stand I helped them make. Kailyn is the spitting image of Zell but is the sweetest, quietest little girl you'll ever meet. It's Samantha, the little carrot top, who does all the talking to the pedestrians.
"Daddy!" Samantha exclaims, forgetting about the person at the stand. Kailyn takes the woman's money and hands her a glass of lemonade, pouring an extra one as she does so. Kailyn brings the glass over to Zell and smiles sweetly.
"Wanna buy a glass, daddy?" Kailyn asks him.
"I would love to girls, but I don't have any time to waste. I really must get going. Save me some and maybe I'll buy a glass tonight after work."
"You always work." Samantha pouts as she puts her little hands on her hips.
"I promise I'll buy some later. Bye girls." Zell says as he quickly kisses them on the foreheads and jumps in his car and speeds away.
You got to go, got to run
Hit it hard and get it done
Everyone can see you're going far
You got responsibilities
A crazy schedule that you keep
And when you say that time's a-wasting
You don't know how right you are
Busy man
I swear it's been like this forever. Ever since we started our lives together, I've had to contend with Zell being an Instructor and apart of SeeD. I love him to death, but sometimes I think I come in second. And now that we have a family, it just seems to have gotten worse. I still work in the Garden's Library, but he still thinks he needs to work overtime. Zell wasn't like this at all when we were teenagers. He was carefree and an adventurous soul. But ever since we had Alex, he's changed into this workaholic. Zell doesn't want his children to grow up like he did. Even though he did have a family later on in his childhood, Zell doesn't want to take a chance that his own children can't have whatever they want out of life. This causes him to be paranoid about taking days off or calling in sick. He's proud of how far he's gotten in the ranks of Garden, but he's also scared of disappointing Squall Leonhart, his boss. Zell thinks that if he even takes one day off that Squall will take away his position and rank. Now because of that, Zell never refuses to go on missions or cover for another instructor. Sometimes I wonder if he even knows the meaning of the word "no".
There's a woman in the bedroom crying
Saying I thought we had plans
You say honey I'm sorry I'll make it up
When the job slows down and I'm not such
A busy man
Alex, Kai, and Sam are sitting on the floor in front of me, playing a couple rounds of Candyland. Riley is curled up in my arms as I sit in rocking chair.
"Mommy? When's daddy coming home?" Alex asks as Kai takes her turn in the game. I don't know how to answer him. It's such an open-ended question. I look over at the clock and close my eyes for a moment, trying to blink back a few tears.
"When he gets all done at work." I answer.
"When's that?" Kailyn ask me now.
"Never…he don't wanna come home." Sam states.
"Don't say that. Daddy will be home in a little bit. In the mean time lets get you guys ready for bed."
Eventually the four of them are sound asleep in their beds, while I am still awake. The clock next to our bed reads 10pm now. I hate to be so pessimistic, but I knew this was coming. My eyes move from the clock to the picture frame on the nightstand that holds one of our many wedding photos. We are gazing into one another's eyes. I wonder if he was even thinking about work then too? The thought of that and our ruined plans for tonight cause those tears to return. They start to trickle down my cheek, slowly turning into a heavy stream. Once again work has won, hands down. Makes me wonder if it's something I'm doing wrong. Maybe Samantha was right…maybe he doesn't want to come home.
About 11:30pm, Zell sneaks into the darkened bedroom only to hear me sobbing still.
"Honey?" He whispers with concern in his voice.
"I thought we had plans."
"I'm so sorry. I promise we'll…" He started, but I decided to interject.
"You make a lot of promises, ya know. You promised me. You promised Alex, and you promised the girls. And each one you broke. You should have heard them this evening. Do you realize what they think of you right now? They think that you don't want to be home. Please tell me that it's not true."
"Kitten, you know I'd love to be home with you and the kids, but I can't help it that I'm the only one who knows what they are doing there at work. Once it slows down, then I can take some time off. Right now is just a bad time for a vacation."
I wipe the tears from my eyes with the back of my hands, sniffling as well. Zell sits down next to me and brings me into his arms, holding me tightly.
"I'm sorry, Kitten. I really am. I'll make it up to you."
I bit my tongue. I knew if I let myself speak, I would just snap back at him. I didn't want to start a fight with him about this. We've already had so many. I'm just so tired of fighting…
Zell kisses me goodnight and tucks the two of us into bed and falls fast asleep. I barely sleep a wink the whole night. Zell slips out of bed at 6am and leaves again for work. It doesn't surprise me one bit, even though it is the weekend.
You got to go, got to run
Hit it hard and get it done
Everyone can see you're going far
You got responsibilities
A crazy schedule that you keep
And when you say that time's a-wasting
You don't know how right you are
Busy man
"That's Zell alright. All work and no play." Selphie, one of my good friends, laughs.
"It's starting to take a toll on the kids though."
"Awww…that's too bad. Maybe you should let him know."
I turn to see Celes, Selphie's oldest girl, holding Riley. She's watching my kids, and her younger sisters, Jade and Arienne, play video games.
"It's no use. It goes in one ear and out the other. He's still has that mentality that he'll be fired if he tells them no, even just once."
Selphie shakes her head and rolls her eyes.
"He is such a dope sometimes. But I think I know a way to get through to him. I know there's one person he'll listen to."
"You mean Irvine?" I ask.
"Of course. I'm sure Irvine will be able to knock some sense into Zell. And if he can't…the poor man will work himself to death then."
"What's so depressing is that's the truth. Work will kill him before anything else will." I sigh.
"Well there's always yourself. You might get to him first." Selphie giggles.
"Doubt it. I'm usually second to work…"
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work"
Zell's work ethic continued as strong as ever. I was beginning to think that maybe Squall's talk with him didn't help at all. Only time will tell I guess. The weekend was coming up in a day or so. That would be his true test.
There's a call one day from the office
They need you down in Trabia
You say no way, the weekend's mine
I got plans with the kids and a date with my wife
I'm a busy man
Alex and Kai are climbing all over Zell today, as he sits on the couch.
"Play with me first!" Alex says as he tugs on Zell's shirt.
"But I'm cuter." Kailyn shyly chirps.
"I'm older though."
The house suddenly goes totally silent as the phone starts to ring. Alexander and Kailyn climb off Zell and instantly quiet down. Riley, Samantha and me are sitting on the floor playing with colored blocks. The youngsters drop the blocks and watch their father pick up the phone. We all knew who was on the other end of the receiver.
"Hello? You want me to pack up? But Squall this is too short of notice. I'm not at all prepared for the mission…"
Zell's face contorts as Squall continues to chatter into his ear.
"I'm sorry Squall but I'm gonna have to refuse. There are other qualified and better prepared people for this mission. This weekend is mine. I got plans with the kids and a date with my wife. I'm a busy man." Zell turns to face the kids and me, a great big smile on his face. As soon as he hangs up the phone, the four of them run up to him and hug him tightly. "I should have done that a lot sooner. I'm sorry you guys." He says. "Especially you, Kitten. I'm so very sorry to you. It took me a while to realize the damage I had caused, but now that know, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to fix it. My place is here at home with my family, not there working my life away. I hope you'll forgive me."
I walk over to Zell and throw my arms around him, kissing his cheek furiously.
"I forgive you. I love you so much Zell."
"I love you too."
You got to go, got to run
Take a break and have some fun
Those that love you most
Say you've come far
Got some new priorities
In that schedule that you keep
And when you say that time's a-wasting
Now you know how right you are
Busy man
Zell and I sit together on a blanket spread out on the grass of a local park. Riley is in Zell's arms, very content to be there. I smile as I watch the other three children run and climb on the equipment.
"Daddy! Come push me!" Samantha calls out.
"Me too!" Kailyn yells.
Zell leaves his spot beside me, and walks over to the girls, Riley still in his arms. He pushes both girls on the swings. Alex joins in and pushes his youngest sister. Eventually the girls hop off the swings and start to chase after Zell. I laugh as he trips over his own feet. All four kids tackle him, giggling furiously. They all roll around in the grass, tickling and laughing all the while. I can't help but continue to smile at them. This is the day I had been waiting for. Finally we could be a real family. As I get up to join in on the fun, Zell's cell phone starts to ring. All of us glare at him.
"Oopps…I'll just turn that off." He blushes with a sly smile.
"What if that was Squall?" I ask.
"Doesn't matter. They know I'm busy this weekend."
I lean into Zell and try to kiss him on the lips, but four small bodies push the two of us to the ground. We have a good laugh as we chase the kids around the park.
When we finally have a minute to ourselves, I kiss Zell deeply.
"Mmmm…that was nice. What was that for?" He asks.
"I'm just proud of you, that's all. And because I love you, very much."
"And I love you too…" He smiles, kissing me back.
It may have taken a while to get to this point, but I know that he'll never go back to how it was. We can finally live happily ever after.
Busy man...