Treat
Percy didn't want to be stuck with two giggling little kids all day, but that's where he was. His daughter, Alison, and her best friend, Robert, were playing together in her room. He wondered when Robert would pop the dreaded question: where was Ali's mom?
The real answer was that she ran away and was obviously never coming back, but Percy liked to tell people that she was gone. And he never elaborated, hoping it would give him sympathetic looks- a single father raising a six-year-old child.
But in this case, Robert probably wouldn't believe him. He was a smart seven-year-old boy, and he was good at guessing when people were lying. Like last time, when the kids had discovered that Percy was hiding ice cream from them.
Percy was about to start cleaning out the kitchen when Alison burst into the room, almost in tears. "Where's Mommy?" she demanded. "Robert has a mommy, but no daddy."
Percy sighed, wondering what he was going to say. To make it even worse, Robert had just walked into the kitchen. Both the kids were staring at him expectantly. It was times like this he hated his ex-wife.
"How about...we go get some ice cream as a treat?" Percy suggested. He knew a distraction was the only way to get the kids off the subject, and it worked. Both kids nodded eagerly.
"Can my mommy come too?" Robert asked.
Percy agreed, and called Robert's mother, Annabeth, to meet them at the ice-cream store. He had never met her before; the babysitter had always dropped Robert off at their house and picked him up.
When they finally walked out the door and to the ice-cream shop, Robert ran into the arms of a stunning young woman. Percy assumed she was his mom, but she was beautiful! He almost wanted to run into her arms himself.
They introduced themselves, and began to order. Percy noticed that Annabeth didn't order anything, while he himself ordered one of the largest dishes on the menu for him and his daughter to share.
When the kids had finished eating, they were sticky and messy. Annabeth suggested that the kids go and wash up in the bathroom while the adults clean up the table. Once the kids were gone, Percy stood up.
"Well, Ms. Chase, I hope to see you again soon." Percy tried to be as formal as possible, but Annabeth put her arms out as if to hug him.
They did, and Annabeth mumbled in his ear right before they let go: "I don't know about you, but the real treat of the day was you, not the ice cream."
Percy smiled, and two years later, he was in the same spot, smiling the same smile. Except that smile was for a camera, and a family picture. Percy was married to Annabeth, and she would never leave him. Because she was his treat. And he was hers.