The house is filled with the sounds of children running around, laughing and playing, enjoying the birthday party. All except for one little boy; the birthday boy himself.
"Come on Andrew, it's your birthday." you say kneeling in front of the pouting boy, "everyone is having a great time. All of your friends are here, your grandparents are here, Granny and Granda flew over from Scotland to see you. Cheer up, huh?"
He looks at you with those big eyes of his that just breaks your heart when you see the tears that have welled up.
"But where's Daddy? He promised he'd be here. Did he forget?" He asks in a small voice that has you pulling him in for a tight hug.
"Oh, Bug, Daddy didn't forget. I know he wants to be here more than anything, but sometimes his work keeps him so busy that he can't always make it home. But he didn't forget. How about after everyone leaves, we give Daddy a call and talk to on face time? That sound like a good idea?"
This seems to perk the little boy up and he smiles, nodding.
"Good. Now, let's dry those tears and go play with your friends, okay?"
"Yeah!"
You wipe Andrew's cheeks and he runs off to join his friends outside in one of the bounce houses you rented.
You let out a sigh, standing up and run a hand through your hair. You pull out your phone to see if there is a missed call or something from Drew, but nothing.
"Still haven't heard from that boy of mine?" Drew's mom asks, coming into the living room.
You shake your head, "No, and this isn't like him. He wouldn't miss Andrew's birthday for anything. I'm getting a little worried."
Your mother-in-law gives you a small smile, "Take some time and give him a call. Maybe he's just running late or like you said, got caught up at work. "
You nod and wait for her to leave before calling Drew.
"Hello?!"
Drew's gruff voice comes through the phone, though it is hard to hear him over the thumping music coming from the background.
"Drew?! Where are you?"
"Huh? Y/N, that you?"
"Yeah! Where are you?!" you yell into the speaker.
"I'm out with Dolph! Wanted to go out and celebrate our wins!"
You huff, "Go outside NOW! I'm not yelling at you over the phone. Call me back when you get away from the music!"
You hang up on him, feeling your angry rise, but trying to keep it under control. Don't get to angry until you hear him out completely.
In no time, your phone is ringing with Drew's name showing up on the ID.
"Drew, tell me you are not really where you said you are."
"Yeah. Dolph and some others wanted to go to the club, so I went with them. Why?"
"Why?! You are seriously asking me WHY? What about the fucking plane you were supposed to be on? You were supposed to be home 3 hours ago!"
"Oh yeah, I just decided to cancel. No worth the hassle of coming home, staying a couple of hours and then flying back out."
"Not, not worth the… IT'S YOUR SON'S FUCKING BIRTHDAY! Of course it's worth the fucking hassle!"
The line goes silent, and all you can hear is Drew's heavy breathing on the other end.
"What?"
You sigh, collapsing onto the sofa, "How could you forget Drew. We've been planning this for weeks. It's his fourth birthday and all he wants is for his daddy to be here and you're not. What am I supposed to tell him? That his buddies and going out to get drunk was more important? I just… I can't believe you forgot your son's birthday."
"Shit! What the fuck?! Fuck! Y/N, what do I do?!" Drew shouts, clearly upset.
You shake your head, "I don't know Drew. It's one thing when you forget and bail on me, but this is your son. He already thinks you don't care because of how little you are here. Now this? I… I don't know how to get past this. Something has to change Drew, something really needs to change."
You hang up the phone, tossing it to the side and dropping your head into your hands. Tears fill your eyes, heart breaking as you try and figure out how you are going to tell your son that Daddy's not coming home.
"Mommy?" Andrew's small voice comes from the in entryway.
You gasp, head jerking up to see Andrew standing there, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"H-he for-forgot? Daddy really forget?"
You can't seem to find your voice, your own tears blurring your vision. "I'm so sorry Bug." You whisper.
Falling to your knees, Andrew runs into your arms, clinging to you as he cries his heart out, knowing that his Daddy forgot his birthday and won't be coming home for a long time.