The following morning went off without a hitch.

Goofy woke up early enough to make breakfast and drive Max to school, after a lot of convincing to have him eat more than a piece of toast before leaving.

And later, even more convincing to let him drive them to school instead of letting him walk.

Goofy couldn't tell, but Max was definitely not on board with being seen with his dad on the first day of school, one could even say he was embarrassed to be seen with him.
But being the goof he was, he didn't seem to notice, and Max had to force it a little in order to go into the school without any trouble.

After a goodbye and I-love-you, Max went in to start his first day of school while Goofy went off to work being a mall photographer. Working as one did have its ups, but also its downs.

Since he was exceptionally well at his job, he was usually hired to take school photos at the end of the school year which resulted in a lot of money, but it was also a hassle.
It didn't seem to help that he seemed to be the only certified photographer in all of Spoonersville as most of them only stayed for about a week or less before realizing there wasn't anything interesting to take photos of and that the only career was to open a studio to take professional photos of families and children.

While he wasn't the best and definitely not a mild-mannered one, Goofy, as usual, always tried to be positive and look on the brighter side of things.

The beginning of the school year was also a great sum of money for the parents that wanted to celebrate their children's new school year and acceptance into some of the high-ranking schools in the country. Goofy couldn't help but feel warmhearted and gush at the parents for caring so much for their kids, despite the kids hating the fancy clothes they were wearing or the fact they were even having their pictures taken at all.

A couple of weeks went on by and Max was beginning to adjust to his new school fairly well, especially since P.J. was attending the same classes as he was. Goofy kept himself busy with his job, shopping at the grocery store and doing various assortment of chores around the house and yard, things seemed to be going well for both of them.
Yet, as time went on, Goofy couldn't help noticing that he and Max didn't seem to spend much time together anymore.

Of course, he understood that Max needed to go to school and do his homework, but he seemed to be spending more time with P.J. and some new friends he met at school. Goofy was proud of Max for doing well, but since he wasn't there all the time, it left Goofy with practically nothing left to do on his days off from work.

Eventually, the house didn't have a single speck of dust left to dust, the clothes were all washed and put away, the fridge and pantry were stocked to the brim with food, hardly any dishes needed washing anymore, the floor was beginning to look shiny (though slippery) and he wasn't giving the weeds any chances of growing in the front or back yard.
For the first time in a long time, Goofy realized there wasn't much he did for himself, he didn't seem to have much of any hobbies or personal projects that didn't involve cleaning or arranging the house. All he really did was sit down to read the newspaper, watch TV or read a book, things that were only pastimes and not hobbies.

Ever since Max got out of school for the summer, they had been spending most days together and now it's come to a sudden stop.
Max was usually only free on the weekends, and he usually spent them having a sleepover with P.J. or spending time with his friends at the skate park or the mall. Goofy, being the diligent father he always was, kept his schedule open to spend some time with his son and kept his distance to let Max have his freedom, but always made a point to let Max know he was there for him when he needed him.

But now that was over for the time being and Goofy had no idea what he should do anymore on his days off.

After being bored for a good 15 minutes, checking the clock that didn't seem to move past the 8:30 mark and not feeling like watching T.V., Goofy look a look out on the grass and noticed that it was looking a little dry.
Finally happy to have something to do, he went to put on an old denim shirt, running shorts and sandals to water the lawn and maybe even some of the plants that were growing just outside the house.

He carried on and whistled a tune as he grabbed the hose and began to water the lawn first to get the harder part over with. Goofy hadn't been out for more than half an hour and he already felt hot, so he made sure to splash some water on himself, wishing Max was here so they could maybe get into a water fight and maybe go for ice cream later. That sounded like fun.

At least, in Goofy's mind, it did.

"Yoo-hoo! Petey-pie!" A lovely, but shrill voice was heard from close by and Goofy recognized it immediately as Peg Pete, the wife of his next-door neighbor and old high school pal, Pete. He looked over to the next yard and saw that Pete was dressed in a suit and carried his briefcase, ready to go to work at his car lot for the day. The huge man looked agitated as he tried to go to his car, but Peg kept calling him back.

"What is it, Peg?! I'm gonna be late fer work!" Pete almost shouted as he looked back, holding his arms out as if to show he was all dressed and ready to go. Peg herself came out, wearing a smirk on her face.
"Come on, ookum snookums! You know you can't leave without at least sayin' goodbye!" She held out her arms as if expecting a hug from her husband. Pete groaned and ran a hand over his face in frustration, showing he had no patience at the moment.

"Peg, I don't got time for this!"

"Come on, pooh bear, just a hug and a wittle kiss is all I ask!" Peg's voice became sweeter and mushier as she puckered up to entice her husband to come closer, but all it did was make him embarrassed.

"P-Peg, stop it... what if someone sees...?"

Upon hearing this, Goofy hid himself as to not ruin their private moment, watching Pete get red-faced and Peg stilling waiting for that hug while holding herself out for a kiss to go with it.
Goofy felt a little red on the cheeks, but not on the same shade and intensity as Pete.

"Then, let them see! I don't mind tellin' the whole wide world how much I love my sweet cakes," Peg replied as her expression and tone changed to a sterner and demanding one. She meant business and wasn't going to budge on it.
Peg placed both hands on her hips, as if daring Pete to try and challenge her on that, but Pete knew better than to try. Peg was one heck of a cook, and he knew that she knew how much he loved it and she would hold it back from him until he did as she asked.

A small stare-down commenced as Pete groaned in frustration and seemed like he was going to explode of either embarrassment or anger or both. Goofy winced as he waited in anticipation for what Pete would do next, a complete opposite to Peg, who still stood still and kept her gaze on him.

The explosion never came, Pete just let out a huge sigh and gave up.
"Oh, alright," he groaned, giving in, as he walked close to her. Being a really big guy, he had to lean forward a little bit so he could give her what she wanted.

Peg couldn't contain her excitement as she returned to her happy, blissful state, accepting her husband's hug and took advantage to give him several kisses all over his face, much to Pete's disgust. It wasn't that he didn't love his wife, he loved her more than anything.
He just hated showing emotions as he felt it made him look weak.

"P-Peg, Peg, that's enough. I really gotta go." He tried again, but this time more softly, Goofy could've sworn he was almost pleading with her.

"Oh, sweetheart... I sometimes wish you could stay home and spend the day with me. You work too hard." Peg replied sadly as she ran a hand through what little hair he had left, fixing it.

"I know, honey, but I'll be home as soon as I can, okay?" Pete placed a hand over hers, closing his eyes as if to remember the feeling of it on the side of his head.

Peg didn't reply right away, she gave him one more kiss and put her forehead on his.
"Do your best, I know you'll make me proud."

"I will, baby."

"I love you..."

"... I love you too."

"I love you more!" Peg's smile returned as did her sweet voice.

"Peg, please, let me go to work."

"Oh, alright, you big lug." Peg finally let Pete go, giving him a smack on his behind which left Pete red-faced again as he hurried to his car and drove away before someone saw.
She waved lovingly and waited until his car was out of sight before heading back inside, humming to herself.

Goofy felt embarrassed for seeing the whole thing. That was definitely a private moment he had no business being a witness to.

But he also felt something else...

Sure, Pete and Peg had been married for 15 years and he was happy for them both, he knew they were genuinely in love with each other, and he always did his best to support them in any way he could. They were all friends in high school after all. Even back then, Goofy remembered Peg telling him how much she adored Pete, she could go on for hours talking about how she knew the huge beast had a heart with a lot of love to give.

Love... when was the last time he himself felt that...? Goofy wondered and the water from his hose seemed to slow down to a trickle.

No, no, he loved Max, that would never change. He's always felt loved, and he always loved his son as well as his friends, he tried to convince himself.

But his mind couldn't stop thinking about the open display of affection he had just witnessed, and it seemed to revive some old feelings within himself that he wasn't so sure he liked having them returned.

The sky seemed to darken, and rain began to fall, seemingly to coincide with how Goofy felt in his heart.
It also seemed to ruin his plans for watering the lawn, which would explain why it felt so hot today.

Goofy didn't do anything for a minute or so as he tried to process these new developments within himself.
As if in a trance, Goofy walked over to the porch, already soaking wet as he sat down on a chair, his gaze fixed on something from far away.

It must've been nice to have someone to come home to, someone who would keep you company, encourage and hold you close when you felt sad and... by Jove, he realized, he missed having that feeling.

Sure, it had been years since... she had passed. But he was doing perfectly okay with Maxie, his job, his house and his friends in this town, that was all he needed.

... right?

That was all he needed... wasn't it?

Thunder sounded in the distance when Goofy went back inside.

Max was quietly looking at this textbook, bored to near tears when he looked out at the window and noticed that it was beginning to rain. And that it was a really bad one too.

The sound of thunder rang through the school as the teacher talked about complicated algebra problems that Max couldn't see how they would be useful in any way. He sulked in his chair and sighed. It was barely about to be 11:00 and he already wanted to go home a couple of hours ago.

He decided to glance over to his best friend P.J. and saw that he was more into the subject than he was. Max wasn't surprised, especially since P.J.'s dad threatened him with punishment if he showed up at home with a bad report card, so P.J. had a lot of motivation to do really well in school, which helped Max out in turn since he could usually bribe him with food in exchange for letting him copy his answers. Thankfully, his dad never seemed to notice.

His dad.

Max couldn't help feeling wistful, it had been a while since summer ended and he had been so busy, he didn't even realize he had stopped hanging out with his dad. Maybe it might've been because he missed him or that he was just THAT bored, but Max couldn't help wondering what his dad was up to that this moment in time.

Maybe he was having way more fun than he was right now.

No.

No, he couldn't let Maxie see him like this.

Goofy sulked in the cushioned chair in the living room, his face crinkled with depression and sadness as his eyelids blinked slowly to the sound of the cassette player playing a song that was all too familiar to him.

He honestly didn't think he would find it.
Maybe deep down in his heart, he prayed he wouldn't find it.

But there it was, in the attic, sitting neatly on top of everything else in that gawrsh-darned box as if the universe was mocking him, knowing that this day was coming.
The tapes took a little while to find, but Goofy knew that finding the player was already at the half-way point, leaving him no reason to not finish what he started.

He let out another long sigh as a tear threatened to fall out of his eye. He hadn't heard this song in years and for a good reason too; it was a pretty obscure song, but it was special to him and Loofa.

His darling, his Coo coo..

They would dance to it together for what seemed like hours on end, holding each other close and feeling like everything was alright in the world because they had found each other, two bizarre pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly together.
They would stare into each other's eyes dreamily and he always found her the most beautiful when she was tired after a long day of keeping their trailer tidy and taking care of their baby. He always felt so scared because he could only find odd job after odd job, nothing was ever the same and he could only earn enough for that day or two, if he was lucky enough.
There were even days when he felt like she deserved better, but she always found a way to quiet those fears and calm his anxious worry. Even now, as he closed those eyes, he could hear those words in his head as if he heard them yesterday, even though he couldn't exactly remember what she looked like the night she first said them, he could remember her voice clearly.

"Oh, Goofy... I love you for you, no matter how clumsy you are or how strange our lives look. When I look at you, I see a hardworking man that risks an arm and leg to fix someone's plumbing one day and carry a piano the next. Not even the day you came home covered in nearly dry cement and I had to spend most of the night to chip you out of there ever wore down the love I feel for you.

"And if I had the chance to marry you and bare Max all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat. There isn't a thing about you I would change, Goofy, for anything in the world. You're everything I need."

Little did he know that those were the words that would carry him on all these years.

Goofy picked up the photograph again, having taken it down from the wall so he could look at it and remember.
She smiled so brightly that day, just like she did every day as she went on to do her best while he went to do his.

He had never seen a beauty truer than when he took that photo, it would eventually inspire the job he currently had, and it paid well enough for the house he and Max lived in.

But yet he looked at the photo and he wished she was here now; she would know exactly what to say to make him feel better.

The music came to a close and the tape player stopped with a click, signaling that the tape needed to be flipped over, but Goofy couldn't find the strength to do so as he let his arms fall back to the sides of the chair and let out another sigh, closings his eyes.

"Loofa..." he whispered, letting the name fall on his tongue.
He knew he was acting very much unlike his goofy and happy self, but the truth was that he felt hurt and sadness just as much as any other person.
The only reason he never showed this side to Max was to encourage him and keep him going, he knew he was Max's pillar of strength and if he let that show? Well, what else would he have left?

Growing tired with the sound of the rain, Goofy slowly got up to take the tape out of the tape player and carry both along with the photograph up to his room.

Maybe all he needed was a nap and this would all fix itself.

A few days passed and Goofy had been sure that it was just a passing, fleeting feeling that was going to go away.

But he was wrong, more wrong than anything he had ever been wrong about in his whole life.

If anything, it got worse as the week progressed and it was getting harder to swat it away. He just couldn't get his mind off of that day and the feelings that showed up on his doorstep as a result.
It wasn't that he never had these feelings before, it was that he always pushed them aside because he knew Max needed him to be his dad more than ever. But that was way back when Max was only a little kid, 2 years old... little Maxie.

"Hey. Hey, buddy! Take the picture, wouldja? We haven't got all day!"

Goofy shook his head and his perspective returned to the present.

He had been lining up the camera for a shot of a family. The dad wore a seemingly expensive suit and had a large mustache, looking like he was in a hurry while his curly-haired wife tried to shush him as to not let him spoil the fun for the children who did not care to be there.

"Uh? Oh, gawrsh, I'm so sorry!" Goofy stammered as he accidentally took photo after photo after photo, each one either not lining up correctly or having one of the family members not looking as decent.
"Hey! Not so much! I'm not paying for all that!"

"Hush down, dear, he's probably having a bad day."

"Well, I hope he better stop having one long enough to take a-What do you think you're doing there?!"

Goofy had still not managed to calm down the camera that seemed to move on its own, taking pictures of everything in sight.
Now it seemed like he was getting into his toys and tools that he used to try to grab the children's attention, the box was spilled, and toys were flying everywhere as he slipped and tried to keep his balance.
The children began to laugh at this spectacle while the parents argued and Goofy felt like he was finally getting everything together as the camera lined up and took one more shot.

Then the camera signaled that the roll was finished.

At first, Goofy was confused, but when he inspected it, he realized that he accidentally used up all the film and he didn't have any spares with him.

"Well?" The father snapped, waiting for a confirmation.

Goofy gulped and nervously looked over at the family.
"Well, uh... sorry, but, uh... I seem to have run out of film," he muttered sheepishly.

The father stormed out of there after having chewed out Goofy for about 15 minutes, talking about how he was an important businessman and he had no time or money to waste coming out to a crowded mall to take stupid photos with the family and that if Goofy was really a professional, they would've left 20 minutes ago with one good photo.
Goofy quietly listened as he browsed through the roll on the computer and tried to find one that was salvageable. He was no stranger to these sorts of outbursts as he knew he sometimes made mistakes and people didn't appreciate a person who wasn't perfect at their job.

The mother said nothing throughout the entire ordeal, and she later came to apologize to Goofy about the whole thing, but Goofy was quick to put on a smile and tell her everything was okay, which relieved her worries.
He had already looked through the entire roll and found that the only good photo that could be salvaged was the last photo that had both of the children smiling and looking straight ahead, which was all she wanted.

"Well, are ya shore, ma'am? You and yer husband aren't lookin'... well... so..." Goofy said timidly as he showed the woman the side of the photo where she and her husband were and they were both aimed at each other, the mother looked stern and calm while the father looked enraged and yelling.
In all honesty, it wasn't the kind of thing you would want in your family photo.

"Well, I'll take it, especially since this was the only one that has a good shot of the children smiling," she muttered forlornly as she reached for her pocketbook.

"Ya shore? I could make some arrangements for anotha' photo if you-"

"I appreciate it, but I don't believe my husband would want to return here after today... and if I can be honest, this is actually accurate in our marriage anyway." She passed Goofy the money for the one photo, plus an extra $20 as an apology for what happened.

Both the customer and photographer bid farewell and the studio was suddenly quiet once more.
Goofy would've been happier about the extra money if it wasn't for the fact he needed to buy another roll of film to replace the one he wasted.

He groaned and thought about his situation as he packed up the camera and began to clean up the mess he had made. This was definitely getting worse if it wasn't letting him do his job right or at least as right as he usually did. He had to do something to get his mind off of this and fast.

But how did he do it before?

Then, the idea came to his mind. Max!

Back when he used to feel like this constantly after she... well, passed, Max was always there to cheer him up and he distracted him from everything and kept him feeling upbeat about life despite the odds. They could hang out and do something together and the fact it was a Friday meant Max had no school to worry about tomorrow made Goofy excited with this new idea.

He then closed up the studio for the day and made his way for the nearest payphone. It was nearing 5:00, so he knew Max should've already returned from school by now. There wouldn't be a reason why he wouldn't be available to pick up the phone.

On his way over to the payphone, he passed by the video store and saw that they were having a half-off rental sale for the next 24 hours, which excited Goofy even more as he no longer needed to really think about what he wanted to do with Max.
Once he had arrived, Goofy input a quarter and dialed his house phone. He waited gingerly until the answering machine picked it up, he tried to hide his disappointment as he began to leave a message.

"Heya, Maxie! It's yer dad. Listen, I was just callin' to see if ya'd like to do anythin' today, seeing that it's Friday and all. I thought we could rent a video, the store's havin' a sale! A-hyuck! We can pick up a pizza and soda pop too! We'll hang out together, you and me! I'll be home soon, Maxie... I love ya."

Goofy hung up the phone and tried to stay hopeful about why Max didn't pick up, probably hanging out with P.J...
He smacked himself in the face. Of COURSE, he'd be at Pete's! He always went there after school to wait for him to come home!

With renewed confidence, Goofy put in another quarter and made a call to Pete's house, knowing for sure that at least Peg would pick up. And, by golly, she did.
"Hello, Pete residence, how may I help you?" Came a sweet voice Goofy knew too well.

"Heya, Peg! It's me, Goofy!" Goofy replied with a smile on his face, it was nice to speak with friends.

"Well, hiya, Goof! I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you want to speak to Max?"

"Yeah, ya know it! Is he there?"

"Of course! He came here about an hour ago, he's been talking about wanting to do a sleepover with Junior, but I told him he'd have to ask you first."

Goofy's smile began to melt from his face. A sleepover? Well, surely, that plan wasn't set in stone just yet, Max still needed to ask for permission from him. Maybe he'd change his mind and want to hang out with him... right?

"... Goofs? Ya there?"

"O-Oh, yes! I'm here, Peggy, sorry I sort of spaced out for a minute," Goofy replied sheepishly.

"Right, so I was saying that it was a good thing you called. Want to speak to him?"

"Please."

Sounds of shuffling and small talk were heard as Peg instructed Max to hang up as soon as the call was done and to not take too long.

"I know, Mrs. Pete," Max's voice raised in volume as it sounded like he placed the phone to his ear and began to formally speak to Goofy.
"Hey, dad."

"Hey, Maxie. You get home safe?"

"Yeah, I did, dad. So, hey, dad. P.J. found out that the video store was having a sale today and his dad's taking us there as soon as he gets back from work!"

Goofy paused for a second and looked back at said video store, his heart felt like it was being crushed with what he was hearing.
It seemed he and Max really did think alike, but not as much as he would've liked.

"Y-Yeah, Maxie, I know. That's why I called; I was thinkin' we could do that tonight." He replied as he turned back to the phone.

The response didn't come right away, there was a pause as Max hesitated and didn't know what to say.
"Oh... well, uh... I mean, I've been looking forward to this all day, dad, we were even going to buy pizza and soda because P.J. got good grades on his last report card as promised by his dad. So, I was thinking we could have sleepover since it's Friday and we don't have school tomorrow."

Goofy didn't say anything, he hung his head low as he felt his gut wrenching.
On one hand, he really wanted to spend some time with Max as there hadn't been much of that going on lately... but, on the other hand, he knew he wanted Max to do something he would be happier doing, even if that meant doing these plans with his best friend rather than him.

"... dad?"

Goofy cleared his throat as he brushed off his severe disappointment and tried his very best to sound like it didn't bother him, when in fact, it did more than he was willing to realize.
"Yeah, Maxie, I heard ya! And I think that's a swell idea!"

"Really? You mean I can have a sleepover with P.J.?"

"Why, shore, son! You and P.J. have yerselves a great time!" Pretend like you have things to do, pretend like you have some things to do, pretend like you have better things to do, Goofy kept repeating in his mind to convince Max to go on ahead with his plan and not to worry about him.
But, somehow, Goofy felt he was also trying to convince himself that it was okay, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He carried on with a fake smile to disguise the growing sadness and disappointment he was beginning to feel.

"Thanks, dad!" Max sounded cheerful over the phone, happy with this new development, but he paused and asked more cautiously. "Are you sure about this, dad? If you want, we can do it instead."

"No, it's alright, son, go on and have fun. Maybe you and me can do this the next time the store has a sale! Heck, maybe even tomorrow! A-hyuck!"

"Okay, dad. I love you."

Right as Goofy was about to speak, the line suddenly cut, and he heard a feminine, monotone voice instead.
"Your time has expired. Please hang up and insert another quarter for an extra five minutes. If you wish for more time, please insert more change as required."

Hearing that just shattered Goofy's façade, having momentarily forgotten that he was using a payphone in the middle of the mall rather than using the phone at home. He let his fake smile disappear and let himself sulk as there wasn't any need to put on an appearance for anyone.

"I... I love ya too." He replied into the empty receiver before hanging up.

The mall seemed to be empty as he made his way over to the entrance.