The Failure of a Father

Ch 20: An Amazing Day at the Park

Finally, it was Friday, the day everyone loves and endears. The students were happy and lively, knowing that the weekend is drawing near. Michael got up and stretched out his arms, he looked at Stephanie.

Stephanie covered her face with a pillow, shielding herself from the sun rays that crept through the window. "What time is it, Michael?" She asked groggily.

He looked at the wall clock. "Five minutes to seven o'clock." He replied.

"I'll take a snooze, wake me up if it's seven." Stephanie said, going back to sleep.

"Alright, if you say so…" Michael chuckled, when Jamie came in, already freshened up.

"Don't let Stephanie go back to sleep, she's a heavy sleeper." Jamie advised the older teen before him.

"Alright, fine, I'm up…" Stephanie responded groggily, rubbing the dead skin off her eyes.

Michael chuckled. "Come on, Stephanie, don't be in a bad mood now," The Afton teenager patted her back. "you're a pretty heavy sleeper, remember that time in Hurricane, when we had our sleepovers?"

"Oh, ha ha…" Stephanie giggled. "I was a heavy sleeper, and your mom ended up lecturing me for missing breakfast."

"Hello, children." Julius said, coming in with a cup of coffee. "Get ready, no time to waste."

Later, at 7:00 am…

They have already freshened up, the Williams family and Michael sat on the table for breakfast.

Their meal consisted of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, strawberry yogurt, and oranges for a healthy touch.

"Slow down, Jimmy!" Julius chuckled. "You're not in an eating contest."

Jamie did as told22, he slowed down on eating.

Later, they finished eating, and Michael washed the dishes. They got ready for school and work, turning off all appliances and lights in the house, locking all doors, and going away to school and work.

Abigail handed down the keys to Stephanie.

Later, they arrived at school. Robert hugged Michael, and he was very excited for their upcoming date.

"Michael! I'm excited for my date tomorrow!" Robert said, hugging Michael tight.

"Yes, yes, Rob, I know you're excited but put it aside for a little bit." Michael responded to his glasses-wearing friend. "We have a test to take today."

"Yeah, right, sorry." The glasses-wearer said as he let go of his friend.

"Hey, Rob!" Elijah said, ruffling Robert's hair. "You're going to go on that date with Mary, right?"

"Yeah, I'm still going on that date." Robert said. "Too bad, Michael and Jamie can't go."

Later, the bell rang, meaning it's time for class.

"Dang it." Robert said, adjusting his glasses.

"Come on, Rob, it's not a big deal." Michael patted his back. "It's Friday, and we'll only spend 8 hours here. Besides, it's the weekend tomorrow."

They went into their classroom, ready to take today's test. The teacher handed down papers to every student in her class, and as she handed Stephanie one, she told her. "Alright, Stephanie, do a good job, alright?"

Stephanie nodded in response. The teacher smiled, as she handed Michael, Robert, and Elijah their papers.

And so, the students took their test immediately. Stephanie read the questions carefully, and wrote the correct answers to each of them. She encountered some difficult ones, but managed to give the answer. It was smooth-sailing for Michael and Robert, as they quite studied a lot before the test.

Elijah was struggling for a bit, and he didn't read the questions carefully. He knew many of them, but he still struggled to get the answers to these questions.

Later, the students finished their test by lunchtime. As they headed out, they were handing their papers to Mrs. White for her to record them.

In the cafeteria…

Michael, Stephanie, Robert, and Elijah were seated together in a table talking about their plans for the weekend.

"Also, Stephanie, tell Jamie he can come." Robert said to Stephanie. "If he doesn't want to, it's fine."

"Alright, Robert." Stephanie said, when Jamie suddenly sat down with them, he was done eating. He puts his hands under his chin while waving his feet around as if he was walking.

"Of course, I'll come, Robert!" Jamie said to Robert.

"Oh, thanks, little guy." The nerd responded as he patted the boy's head.

"That's the spirit, Rob." Elijah said to his friend.

The next afternoon…

Robert dressed himself up in his date outfit, consisting of a red tux with a rose on it, dark gray pants, and black shoes. He had combed himself to look more handsome, and don't forget his orange-rimmed glasses.

He looked at himself in the front door mirror and did a finger gun, before he left to go on his date. Brandon and Harriet chuckled to each other, as Natalie came into their sight.

"Mom? Dad? Where did Robert go to?" Natalie asked.

"Oh, he's on a date with his significant other, honey." Harriet said to her daughter. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Mom." Natalie said. The youngest child, Jeremy, was coming down the stairs, wandering around the house just like what he does on every Saturday.

At Jean Juan's French-Mex Buffet…

Robert and Mary were at Jean Juan's, along with Stephanie, Elijah, and Jamie. They booked a seat for five, and they were led to a table.

Robert and Mary ordered themselves a fromage con queso, and two beef tamales. Mary ordered Stephanie, Elijah, and Jamie three bowls of huevos rancheros, and five cups of iced non-alcoholic tequilas.

At Ketcham Park…

Michael and his siblings have arrived. There were many people there, ranging from kids playing around to elderly people playing chess with each other.

C.C.'s eyes widened with amazement, as he looked around. "I've never been to a park before…"

"Now, now, buddy." Michael said to C.C. "Put it aside, we don't want you wandering off and going missing."

First, they played in the slide, built sandcastles together, and had fun on the climbing frame. Michael got Elizabeth her favorite vanilla ice cream with cherry on top, chocolate for C.C., and strawberry for him.

They sat down on a bench, licking their ice creams.

"How's your ice cream, Beth?" Michael said to his younger sister.

"It tastes good! It even has a cherry on top!" Elizabeth said, taking a bite of her ice cream.

After eating their ice creams, they went to clean themselves, and went on a stroll around the park.

C.C. looked around in wonder as they passed by different sightings, he saw people throwing coins in the wishing fountain, elderly people playing chess, and parents tending to their kin.

Back at Jean-Juan's French-Mex Buffet…

Robert stood up and held out his hand. "Wanna dance, Mary?" He asked charmingly.

Mary giggled and stood up. She held hands with her partner, and they begin to dance around joyfully. Robert spun Mary around, and he stopped, they held hands with each other, and then, they kissed each other on the lips.

Stephanie screamed and shouted in joy. "EEEE! Best couple ever!"

Elijah and Jamie danced around with each other out of joy, the spectators clapped. Roberto, Lori, Lincoln, and Ronalda were there in the last table, they looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

"Now this is what you call true love." Lori said as she laid her head on Roberto's shoulder.

"I can say the same, Lori." Roberto responded to his girlfriend.

"Even though Ronnie Anne and I are just friends…" Lincoln said as he playfully nudged Ronalda's shoulder. "…we can say that Robert and Mary are a nice couple after all."

Ronalda playfully punched Lincoln's shoulder in response.

Robert and Mary pulled themselves from the kiss, and they bowed down to the crowd.

The five began eating, and they talked with each other while sharing fun and happy times from the past.

At Ketcham Park…

The Afton kids were done with their stroll, they bid each other farewell before parting ways. Michael walked away to the Williams residence, while Elizabeth and C.C. retired to the Afton residence.

Michael opened the door to see Julius and Abigail in front of the TV.

"Hello, honey." Abigail greeted Michael. "How was the day out?"

"It was awesome, thanks, Mrs. Williams." Michael said to the Williams mother.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your day out." Julius said to the Afton teenager.

"Thanks, Mr. Williams." Michael said to the man. "I'm going upstairs, I'll take a nap for a bit."

"Suit yourself." Julius said before he and his wife turn their attention back to the television.

At Stephanie's room, Michael opened the door, and laid down on the pink soft sheets. He laid down for a nap, he closed his eyes and dozed off to sleep.

To be continued in Ch 21…

A/N: Hello readers, sorry that it almost took a week or two to do this chapter. I was busy working on the movie, and well, due to my laziness, I never wrote anything to end this chapter. BTW, I'm logged into Quotev, so I'll update my *recently backed up* stories there, but I'm still updating here on . See you all in the next chapter.