Poster
"Alright Tyler, what are the rules for when I'm gone again?" Sam said as she pulled on her jacket.
"Stay off the roof, don't eat more than five Fat Cakes a day, and stay away from the microwave," the twelve-year old recited.
"Good," Sam smiled. "And make sure you listen to your dad."
"Sam, relax, everything will be fine," Freddie assured Sam. "Go have a fun time with Melanie in New York."
"Um, last time I left the kids home with you for the weekend there was a fire," Sam pointed out.
"Okay, you're exaggerating there," Freddie said. "All I did was burn the chicken I was cooking."
"The fire department was still called," Sam smirked.
"Yeah, yeah, you'll never let me forget that, will you?" Freddie sighed.
"Nope," Sam said, leaning up to give her husband a quick kiss goodbye. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too," Freddie said, kissing her back.
"Gross! You two are disgusting," Tyler cringed, standing up and heading out of the room.
"Where are the girls?" Freddie asked, rolling his eyes. "Don't they want to come say goodbye to you?"
"They're not home; they said goodbye to me before the left," Sam said. "Emma's at soccer practice and Ashton is out with Danny. Speaking of Danny, please don't give Ashton a hard time this weekend if she wants to bring him over."
"I never give Danny a hard time!" Freddie defended.
"You give every guy who even looks at the girls a hard time," Sam said. "But seriously, Ashton said something about wanting to have him over to watch a movie with her tonight, so just be cool, okay? I know that's real hard for you, considering how big of a nub you are-"
"Just can't leave without getting one last crack in, can you?" Freddie said, shaking his head.
"But just try your best," Sam said. "As in don't come down here and sit in between them for the entire movie."
"But what if they try to kiss or something?"
"Dude, they've been dating for five months," Sam said. "I'm sure they've already done a whole lot of kissing."
"Ugh!" Freddie moaned.
"Have fun," Sam said, giving him one last peck on the cheek. "I'll see you in a few days. Don't set the house on fire this time."
…..
"Wow…I'm officially the lamest guy on the planet," Freddie said later that evening as he sat up in his and Sam's bedroom. "My wife leaves for the weekend and I'm sitting here bored and lonely."
"Dad?" Tyler said, coming into the room. "Can I-"
"Tyler! Just who I wanted to see!" Freddie exclaimed, jumping up. "How about you and I spend some time together, huh? We can play a board game or order a pizza or-"
"I was just gonna ask you if I could go over to Kirby and Huey's house," Tyler frowned. "Kirby said him and his dad are out now and can pick me up. And Emma's at their house too with Quincy so she can take me home."
"Fine," Freddie said. "Go ahead. I'll just sit here bored all by myself then."
"You could watch a movie downstairs," Tyler pointed out.
"No, I can't," Freddie said. "Apparently Ashton's bringing Danny over for a movie tonight an I'm not allowed to 'intrude' on them."
"Well can't you just be like most old guys and go to sleep early then?" Tyler asked.
"Okay you can go now," Freddie snapped.
For the next few hours, Freddie busied himself in his office, working on some apps he had been playing on for the past few weeks.
"Wonder where Ashton is," Freddie commented, looking at his watch. "It's almost ten o'clock."
Just then he heard the front door open and slam shut.
"Alright, there they are," Freddie sighed. "Guess I should give them a few minutes alone before I walk out. God…Sam's really killing me with this!"
So after a few more minutes on his computer, Freddie finally stepped out of his office and walked out to the living room.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna sit in here with you guys," Freddie said right away. "I'm just gonna get my Pearpad and go up to-Hey, what's going on? Ashton?"
Instead of seeing Ashton and Danny on the couch, Ashton was sitting alone, looking down at her lap.
"Oh, I didn't think anyone was home, I didn't see any cars…" Ashton mumbled.
"Emma took my car tonight," Freddie said, sitting down next to her. "Honey, what's wrong? I thought you were bringing Danny over."
"So did I," Ashton mumbled. "But seeing as we just broke up…"
"You guys broke up?" Freddie repeated. "Oh Ashton, I'm so sorry. What did he do? I'm going to kill him. How dare he-"
"He didn't do anything, daddy," Ashton sighed. "He didn't cheat on me or do anything rude like that. He-He just told me that he didn't think we should date anymore."
She wiped her eyes. "That was it…"
"Honey, I-I know how much you liked him," Freddie said gently, handing her a box of tissues. "I'm so sorry."
"I really liked him," Ashton nodded. "I-I was even planning on telling him I loved him soon. I thought we were gonna be a couple like Emma and Quincy or you and mom. You know, one of those couples who are together forever?"
She let out another cry and Freddie wrapped his arms around her. Though Ashton had been out with her fair share of guys the past few years, Freddie had never seen her like this. She was absolutely brokenhearted.
"Oh Ash, you-you'll find someone like that," Freddie said. "Danny-Danny was a moron for not realizing what a great girl you are! One day you're gonna find someone who realizes how perfect you are."
"That's such a dad answer," Ashton sniffed as she wiped her eyes with a tissue. "I know it's stupid to be so upset over one break-up. I know I'll find another guy eventually and blah, blah, blah. But right now I just feel so-so-"
"Empty?" Freddie offered. "Miserable? Confused?"
"Yeah," Ashton whispered shakily.
"Getting your heart broken is one of the worst feelings in the world," Freddie said heavily. "I wish more than anything that you didn't have to experience it, Ashton."
"How am I supposed to feel better?" Ashton mumbled.
Freddie gave her a small smile. "Well there's no magical solution to fix a broken heart. You just-You just have to give it time. And surround yourself with people who care about you. Believe it or not, Ashton, you will feel like your normal self again soon."
"I will?"
Freddie kissed the top of her blonde head. "You will. I promise. But right now, I know it hurts. So-Well…gee, I guess you'd rather have your mom or your sister here but-but I'm here. Maybe I can help you feel better?"
Ashton buried her face in shoulder and let out another cry, and Freddie rubbed her back soothingly.
Over the years, Freddie had held Ashton for many reasons. When she afraid of the dark as a toddler, when her favorite doll broke, when their family dog passed away, when she broke her ankle the day before cheer tryouts. And now he held her again, wishing there was more he could do to fix her broken heart.
