Void
"Will daddy play robots with me when he gets home again?" Jason asked as he sat at the kitchen table, setting up his robot action figures.
"Maybe," Sam smiled as she slide a tray of onion rings out of the oven. "He should be home from work any minute."
Right on cue, the back door opened and Freddie stepped into the kitchen wearing a huge grin.
"What a day!" he said happily.
"Daddy!" Jason cheered, jumping down and giving his father a hug.
"Hey, buddy," Freddie chuckled, bending down and scooping up his son.
"Why are you so chippy? What happened?" Sam asked as she gave him a quick. "Did your bosses hideous toupee fall off?"
"No," Freddie said. "Well, yes, but that's not what I'm so happy about. So, I'm sitting in the cafeteria, eating my pudding cup-"
"I knew you took the last pudding cup!" Sam snapped, swatting his shoulder. "I called that last night!"
"Ow! Sorry!" Freddie winced. "I'll go buy you more after dinner, okay? Now can I continue?"
"I guess," Sam sighed. "Pudding thief…"
"Anyway, I'm sitting at lunch, eating my pudding-"
"Your stolen pudding."
"-And the vice president of Product Development came over to me," Freddie went on, ignoring his wife's comment. "Apparently the president of that department just retired last week, so he's taking over that position and he wants me to take over his old position. I'm going to be the vice president!"
"Holy chiz, that's incredible, baby!" Sam exclaimed, throwing her arms around Freddie. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Freddie said. "I'm still in shock. I mean this is a huge promotion. I've only been at the Pear Company for a few years."
"Yeah, but you're clearly the biggest tech freak there," Sam said. "Of course they would give you a promotion!"
"Guess it couldn't have come at a better time," Freddie said, putting a hand on Sam's stomach. "With the new baby coming in six months, we could use the extra cash."
"Definitely," Sam nodded. "So when do you start?"
"Tomorrow," Freddie said.
"Wow, they're really throwing you right in, aren't they?" Sam frowned.
"I know, but I'm going to do some preparations tonight," Freddie said. "So after dinner I'm going to be pretty busy."
"Daddy?" Jason said, holding up one of his robots. "Wanna play with me?"
"Oh…" Freddie said slowly. "Um-"
"Dinner's not for another twenty minutes," Sam told him suggestively.
"Well, okay Jason, sure!" Freddie said, sitting down at the table and picking up an action figure. "We can play."
….
"Thanks for letting me come over for dinner," Carly yawned as Sam slid a plate of meatloaf in front of her. "Andy had to help his mother with her taxes and I'm just too tired to even try cooking. I'm too tired to even call for delivery."
"Yup, a new baby will do that," Sam said, picking up Carly's one-month old daughter, Clarissa, from her playpen. "You have her bottle?"
"Yeah, they're in the diaper bag," Carly said. "You sure you don't mind taking care of her while I eat?"
"Carls, it's fine," Sam said. "Trust me, I remember what this is like. You helped me out with Jason when he was first born and I felt too exhausted to function, and you better remember this and help me out again when the second baby comes. So just eat and lie down on the couch for an hour. I'll handle Clarissa."
"You're the best," Carly said, giving her best friend a small smile.
"Mommy, when's daddy coming home?" Jason asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Um, I'm not sure," Sam said. "You know he had to stay a little late at work tonight because of his new job. I'm sure he'll be home in time to tuck you in."
"But I wanted to play dinosaur with him," Jason said sadly.
"Well…maybe he can read you a dinosaur book when he tucks you in," Sam said. "Hey, why don't you go watch T.V. sweetie?"
"Okay," Jason mumbled.
"Aw, poor Jason," Carly commented, eating her dinner.
"I know," Sam said. "Freddie's worked late every day this week. Usually him and Jason would play together when he got home from work, but lately he hasn't really had time since he got that promotion. But since it's the weekend tomorrow, I'm hoping Freddie finally has some time to spend with him."
"Hopefully," Carly nodded as she finished the last of her meatloaf. "Well, I'm off for that one-hour nap. Wake me up if Clarissa gets too antsy for you."
"We'll be fine, just sleep," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "But like I said, remember this in six months."
Just as Carly left the kitchen, the back door opened and Freddie dragged his feet in.
"Hey," Sam smiled, giving him a short peck on the lips.
"Hi," Freddie sighed. He looked down at the infant in her arms. "What's Clarissa doing here?"
"I told Carly I'd give her a little break," Sam said. "So I'm watching Clarissa while she just takes a quick nap. She's beyond exhausted."
"I'm right there with her," Freddie said, sliding down into a chair. "This new job is definitely a lot more demanding than my old one."
"But don't you like it?"
"Yeah, I love what I'm doing," Freddie said. "But I just wish I wasn't so tired when I came home from work. Plus I still have a lot more to do tonight."
"Really? They make you bring work home now too?" Sam frowned.
"Yeah, hopefully it won't last too long, though," Freddie said. "Hopefully it's just until I get settled into the position."
"Well, Jason's been waiting for you to come home all day," Sam said, shifting Clarissa in her arms. "He wants to play."
"I'm a little tired…" Freddie said. "And like I said, I've got more work to do…Man, he's really been waiting for me all day?"
"Yeah, but he understands you're busy," Sam said, seeing the guilty look on Freddie's face. "Just try to make it up to him this weekend. Hey, why don't you take him to the park or something? I bet he'll love that!"
"I can do that," Freddie said. "Yeah…that will be fun. Tomorrow I just have to run into the office for an hour but I can take him after."
"Cool, I'll go tell him," Sam said. "He'll be so excited."
…..
"Where's daddy? I thought we were going to the park!" Jason asked for the tenth time the following afternoon.
"I don't know, honey, he said he was only going into work for an hour," Sam said, though Freddie had been gone for nearly four hours now. "I'm sure he's on the way home."
"You said that already!"
"Well…we'll give him a little while longer," Sam said. "Hey, there's cookies in the kitchen! Why don't you go grab one?"
Once Jason was out of the room, Sam quickly grabbed her phone and pulled up Freddie's number.
"Dude, where are you?" Sam hissed the second Freddie answered. "I thought you were only working for an hour!"
"I know, but just when I was about to leave I got a whole bunch of emails and now my boss needs me to finish okaying some new app designs by the end of the day," Freddie said.
"Well how long's that going to take?"
"Um, I don't know, probably a few more hours," Freddie sighed.
"A few more-what about taking Jason to the park?" Sam exclaimed. "He's been sitting here waiting for you all morning! You promised him!"
"I know, I know, but what do you want me to do, Sam?" Freddie said. "I-I can't just not do this. I'll lose this job!"
"Yeah, I know," Sam said heavily. "But…Jason's really going to be disappointed."
"Well, can't-can't you just take him?" Freddie asked.
"No, I have a doctor's appointment in an hour!"
"Oh…right," Freddie said. "Well-"
"Look, it's-it's fine," Sam said. "I'll just take Jason to your mom's while I'm out and then I'll take him out for ice cream or something. Maybe that will make him feel better. We'll just see you when you get home."
"Tell him I'm really sorry," Freddie said. "And that I'll make it up to him!"
"Okay," Sam said. "I will…"
…..
That night, by the time Freddie finally got home, it was after ten o'clock and Jason was fast asleep.
"I'm so sorry," Freddie said at once when he stepped into the house. "So, so sorry."
"Jason's already in bed," Sam replied simply, flipping through a magazine on the couch.
"How mad is he at me?" Freddie sighed as he flopped down on the couch.
"He's not mad," Sam said gently. "He's just upset that you haven't really been spending as much time as usual with him."
"But-But it's not my fault," Freddie said lamely. "This new job-"
"I know," Sam said, giving him a short kiss on the cheek. "But he's just a kid. He doesn't really understand that."
Freddie didn't reply.
"I got another picture of the baby at my ultrasound today," Sam said, handing Freddie a small, square picture of black-and-white lines. "You still can't really tell it's a baby, but…"
Freddie took the picture and stared down at it. "Is everything okay with the baby?"
"Yeah, the doctor said he or she is doing fine," Sam nodded. "Hard to believe in just six months we'll get to meet our new baby."
"Yeah," Freddie agreed.
"Listen," Sam said, taking a deep breath. "In six months…things are going to be crazy around here, Freddie. We're going to have another kid. And-And as much as we'll try to not let it happen, Jason might start feeling a little overshadowed. That's why these last few months with him as the only child are so important; it's never going to be just him again."
"That-That's right," Freddie said slowly.
"I know you're busy at work with this new position," Sam said softly. "But…Just-Just please try not to let it get in the way of your time with Jason. He loves you…he wants to spend time with his dad."
She got to her feet and gave Freddie another kiss. "I'm going to bed. You coming up?"
"Um, no, I-I'll be a little while," Freddie said slowly. "I have something I need to do…"
…..
The next morning Sam was in the kitchen making bacon for breakfast.
"Is daddy at work again?" Jason asked, sipping his orange juice.
"I think so," Sam said. "He was gone when I woke up this morning."
"He's always at work now," Jason mumbled.
"Aw, honey, I know daddy's been busy lately, but remember, he still loves you," Sam said, sliding a plate of bacon in front of him. "I'm sure in a few weeks once he gets everything under control at his new job, he'll have a little bit more time to play with you."
"No, he's just gonna keep working and working," Jason said bitterly.
Sam gave him a small smile as she rustled his hair. "Hey, how about me and you go see a movie today? That's fun, right?"
Before Jason could answer the kitchen door opened and Freddie walked in carrying a box of donuts.
"Morning!" he said brightly.
"Hey, we thought you went into work," Sam said as Freddie set the donuts down next to the bacon.
"I did," Freddie said simply. He turned to Jason. "Hey, buddy. Guess what you and I are going to do today?"
"What?" Jason asked curiously.
"We're gonna go science museum!" Freddie said excitedly. "And then we're going to go get milkshakes and go to the park!"
"We are?" Jason said.
"Of course we are," Freddie chuckled. "As soon as you get dressed, that is."
"Okay!" Jason said, jumping out of his seat. As he ran out of the kitchen, Sam turned to Freddie.
"Aw, that's sweet," she smiled. "But how'd you get the time off? Did you talk to your boss or something?"
"No," Freddie shrugged. "I quit."
"You-You what?"
"Well, I didn't exactly quit," Freddie said quickly. "I just took my old position back. That's what I was doing this morning."
"You seriously gave up the promotion?" Sam said.
"Yeah," Freddie nodded. "I did."
"But I thought you loved it," Sam said.
"I did," Freddie said. "But it was getting in the way of the people I loved even more. So it had to go."
"You don't think you'll miss it?" Sam asked.
"I'm ready, daddy!" Jason announced, running back into the kitchen, now fully dressed.
"Not as much as I've missed this," Freddie said, picking Jason up. "Come on, let's go have some fun, Jason."
