When Love Isn't Enough
Chapter 3
"Seth, I'm gonna need you to stay a little longer. There's a meeting at 6:15."
"Mr. Scott, I can't. You see it's my daughter's birthday and I promised her and my wife I would be home."
"I understand. But, if you leave then you can say goodbye to your job. This meeting is very vital."
"Sir, you really aren't leaving me with any choices. I made a promise that I would be home by 6. Can't you reschedule the meeting?"
"Nope. So, if I don't see you by 6:15, then this is a goodbye to your comic book." His boss then hung up.
"Great, just great." Seth said under his breathe.
"You've made the right choice." Mr. Scott said while seeing Seth walk in the board room.
"I hope my wife thinks so." He replied, clearly ashamed that he had let his family down once again.
Meanwhile:
"Hey, this is Seth. I'm not here at the moment so leave a message and I'll try getting back to you."
"Why aren't you picking up?! I can't believe you! You let us down once again. I thought you changed. And by the way, don't bother calling back!" Summer said in the phone angrily.
From the background, Katie appeared.
"That was daddy, right? He's not coming is he?"
"I'm sorry baby." Summer said shaking her head.
"I should've known."
"Well who knows. Maybe he's stuck in traffic and he will be here soon."
"Mommy, I'm 7, not 6 anymore."
Summer gave a little laugh.
"I know sweetie. I'm sorry."
"So, I guess it's just the three of us tonight."
"We're used to it though. And we don't need your daddy to have fun. It's your birthday what do you want to do?"
"Well, I wanted to spend time with daddy." Katie responded sadly.
"Try not to think about that. What else do you wanna do?"
"I guess the next best thing would be to go shopping."
Summer laughed.
"That's my girl. I say, the three of us go on a little shopping spree with daddy's credit card."
"Sounds like fun!" the little girl said, cheering up.
"Okay, so let me go Jessie and then we'll be on our way."
Seth looked at his watch. It was already 8:30. He had just gotten out of the meeting and listened to Summer's message. He was in big trouble.
He stepped into the house very quietly and noticed the three girls on the couch watching "The Valley".
"Mommy, this makes no sense." Jessica said.
"Sure it does. This is where April finds out that 3 years ago Jake had a child with a girl who happens to be her mother, who left her when she was a little kid." Summer rambled on.
"Huh?" Jessica said, very confused.
"Never mind."
Seth laughed to himself. Even after all these years, Summer would never give up her love for "The Valley". Seth then decided to interrupt.
"Hey guys." He said uneasily.
Summer ignored him and then said, "Hey girls. Why don't we get ready for bed and then we can finish watching this episode?"
"Okay." The two of them answered racing up the stairs.
Once the girls were upstairs, Seth decided to break the silence.
"Summer, we need to talk."
"You know what? No. I've given you enough chances to talk. Maybe tomorrow when I calm down a little, but now I am too angry at you, so no."
Summer then went upstairs to the girls.
About an hour later, Seth decided that since Summer wouldn't talk to him he would talk to Katie.
Seth knocked on her door.
"Come in." She said in a tired voice.
"Oh hey sweetie you're up. Um, can I talk to you?"
"I guess."
"I just want you to know that I am very sorry I wasn't home earlier. I love you so much and I just can't stand it when you're mad at me. I mean, I understand why you are mad, I would be mad too, it's just..."
"Daddy, you're rambling!"
"Right, sorry. Let me get straight to the point. You have a right to be angry with me, I'm sorry, and just remember, I love you." He said, then kissed her forehead, and started walking out the door.
"Daddy?" He turned around.
"I love you too." She gave him a little smile.
He smiled back. "Good night sweetheart, Happy Birthday." Seth then walked out of the room, smiling to himself, happy he had made things right with one of his girls. The rest of the night was silent. Summer had said not one word to Seth.
It was early in the morning and Seth was pouring himself a cup of coffee. He then heard footsteps coming down the stairs, it was Summer.
"We need to talk."
"Yeah." He said quietly, afraid of what was going to happen.
"Look, I'm just going to get right to the point. This is hard, but Cohen, I want you out. Out of this house by this afternoon."
"Summer..." He said shocked.
"Cohen, lets face it. You're never home and whenever you are we fight. You're never here to clean the girls' scrapes from when they fall. You're never here to tuck them into bed. You're just never here whenever they want their daddy. I'm sorry, but, I just can't do this anymore."
"So what does this mean for us?" He asked, still shocked about what just happened.
"I don't know. I'm not saying anything about a divorce. I just think we need a break."
"What about the girls?"
"Well obviously they are staying with me. You're never home to take care of them. If you wanna see them, then just make sure I know you're with them."
"If this is what you really want..."
"Seth, it's for the best." She said with tears forming in her eyes.
He nodded sadly.
"I'll be out by this afternoon. I love you." He said softly and slowly, while walking away.
Next Chapter-
How will the kids react to Seth moving out?
A/N - Thanks for all of the people that reviewed the other chapters. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!