The Bad Parent

'Everyone ready?' Amy asked from the driver's seat.

'Yeah,' the three kids replied from the back.

'So, how was school?' Amy asked.

'Fine,' mumbled Mac. He was eleven and he was reluctant to give long answers to his parents.

'It was fun!' exclaimed Harry. 'We learned about invertebrates!'

'Yeah!' chimed in Liz, 'We did arts and crafts!'

'Wow! That sounds fun!' agreed Amy. Harry and Liz were eight and seven respectively. Their part of school was obviously much easier that Mac's but Amy was always glad to know that her kids were enjoying school.

'Where's Dad?' asked Mac, unimpressed with this conversation.

'Well, your dad was on a stakeout. So, I had to come. But he's probably arrived home by now.' Amy knew the kids were accustomed to Jake coming to pick them up, especially Mac. But she hoped they didn't mind this change today.

'We're still gonna stop for ice-cream, right?'

'What?'

'You know,' Mac said as if it was obvious, 'It's Friday, we always stop by the ice-cream parlor.'

'Oh,' said Amy. She was completely unaware about this. 'We actually have ice cream at home,' she said.

'Yeah, but we only have vanilla at home. We get other flavors at the parlor.'

'Mac, I'm not gonna spend $12 for you three when we have ice-cream at home.'

'It's just $12,' Mac grumbled.

'Hey! You don't get to determine how much money is 'a lot'!'

Mac groaned. 'I wish Dad was here,' he mumbled. Amy heard that and it hurt. But she kept telling herself that it was just a phase.

As they arrived home, they were greeted by Jake. 'Hey, you guys!' Jake exclaimed. The two of their youngest hugged him while Jake ruffled Mac's hair. It was sweet but Amy couldn't understand why they didn't hug her when she picked them up from school. Still, she loved her kids and she went to get their ice-cream.

'Kids, get your ice-cream!' Amy shouted from the kitchen. Mac was the first to come and grabbed his bowl and went. Amy sighed. Harry and Mac were the next to arrive and sat down at the table. Amy smiled. At least two of her kids still liked being around her.

'Mommy, can we have cookies?' Liz asked.

Amy knew that would only be worse. That would be too much sugar at once. She didn't need her kids to get a sugar rush. Besides, that would ruin their appetite for dinner. 'Umm… Sorry, sweetie, but no,' she answered.

'But we're hungry,' reasoned Harry.

'I'm sorry, baby. How about I prepare you two a mini-sandwich each?'

'No, we want cookies!' they both started shouting continuously. Amy had no clue what to do. Just then, Jake walked into the kitchen. Surely, he would have a solution.

'Hey, what's all the commotion about?' Jake asked. He saw the ice-cream bowls. 'Oh, vanilla ice-cream? You know what goes great with that? Chocolate cookies!' Jake exclaimed as he gave the kids a handful of cookies each.

Amy was dumbfounded. All she could do was look on as their kids thanked their dad for the sugary delight. After cleaning the bowls, Amy decided to revie some of the arrest reports her officers had submitted to them. Since she had to pick up the kids today, she had decided to bring the reports home. As she walked to their study, she heard some noise from the living room. When she entered the room, she saw Mac playing FIFA. She sighed again.

'Mac, did you complete your homework?' Amy asked.

'No, not yet,' the boy replied.

'Well, how about working on that?'

'Ugh, Mom! We just returned from school. Give me a break!'

Jake entered the room just then. Surely he would tell his son something, right?

'You playing FIFA?' he asked. Mac nodded. 'You up for a game of El Clasico?' he asked as he sat down.

'I call Real!'

Amy was done at this point. But she didn't want to show that she was mad. 'Okay,' she said slowly, 'I'm gonna look at some reports.'

'Okay, babe,' Jake said without looking up. Amy sighed yet again.

As she walked upstairs, she walked past her study and walked into their bedroom. Yes, she loved her work but she was just done today, done with everything. She flopped on her side of the bed as she curled up into a ball. She kept on thinking how the kids seemed to like Jake instead of her. And why wouldn't they? A dad who bought them ice-cream, gave them all the sugary substances they liked, and played videogames with them? How could she ever compete with that? She remembered how scared Jake was when they expected their first child. She constantly reassured him that he'd be a great dad. What they should have been discussing was how bad a mother Amy was going to be. She started crying into her pillow. And she did so for what felt like forever until she felt a pair of hands wrap around her from the back while someone spooned her. She immediately knew who it was.

'It's okay, Ames, it's okay,' Jake said as he softly wiped her tears. Eventually, she did stop and they stayed like that for some time

'Am I really such a bad mom?' Amy asked, breaking the silence.

'Hey!' Jake said in a loud whisper, 'Don't ever say that!'

Amy turned to face her husband. Jake put a loose strand behind her ear as he rested her head on his chest. He then started to stroke her hair. 'It's just,' Amy started, 'our kids like you so much. They prefer you to me at everything.'

'What? No, they don't.'

'Yes, they do! You're so good with them. All I am to them is their boring, highly strung mother.' She started sniffling again.

'Oh, Ames,' Jake said as he wiped her tears again. 'I know you don't wanna talk but can you answer me one question?' Amy nodded slowly. 'Who is the one who helped taught Mac to ride a bike, gave Harry the umbrella and was fine with being wet, makes Liz laugh the most, give our kids a hug every time they asked for it, pulls pranks on me with the help of the kids, started our own mini-heists for every Halloween, takes our kids to the mall for Christmas shopping, and helps them with their homework every day?'

'Me,' said Amy softly.

'Exactly,' said Jake as he smiled.

'But Jake, that doesn't mean the kids love me.'

'Another thing you should never say. Plus, if they didn't love you, why else would they sing and make breakfast for you every birthday and Mother's Day, always ask for your opinion, call you twice a day whenever you're out of town, help you around the house, and tell you that they love you more often than not? You are the ultimate mother/genius. And the kids know that too.'

Amy had tears in her eyes, happy tears. What would she do if Jake was not there to help her through everything? She couldn't even begin to imagine how difficult her life would be. 'I love you,' she told him.

'I love you too,' he said as they shared a soft, sweet kiss. 'So,' he said after they parted, 'you wanna help me make dinner?'

As they walked into the kitchen they saw Mac at the stove. 'Hey! What're you doing?' asked Amy.

'Oh,' said Mac as he looked at his parents with a smile, 'Well, it's either Dad or the both of you making dinner every night. Thought I could help with that tonight by making pasta.' Jake and Amy smiled at their son.

'Mommy! Mommy!' Liz called as she ran into the room, 'Can you help me read this story?'

'Mommy, can you help me with this project about invertebrates?' Harry asked as he entered the room.

As Amy looked on at Liz and Harry fighting over who got their mom's help first and Jake making sure Mac didn't burn down their house, Amy realized how much she loved her family and how much her family loved her. And she would never ever question either of those ever.