My Daddy "The Fonz"

Chapter 9/Part 1: Starting Over

~Sorry, it's a bit of a shorter chapter. I haven't really been in the best of mindsets lately...Trying to get the energy. If ya'll have any ideas for what you want to see next, just let me know!

Bobby's POV:

I'm so excited! Daddy says that he wants me back for good! I don't gotta stay at the Cunninghams' house anymore, unless I want to. Daddy says that maybe I can be babysat by Joanie or Richie on a couple weekends though so he can have adult time, whatever "adult time" means. Kids are so much more fun I think. Daddy has a whole lot more rules though. Most of them probably came from Mr. C (I'm guessing). That part I don't like so much because I have chores now. Blah. And he won't let me go play with anyone unless I finish cleaning my corner of the room and do the dishes. He says I'm a pretty good boy with keeping the rules, except for throwing "tantrums." He says I have too much of a temper and that I probably got that from him. When I don't listen, he'll say that Mr. C will come up to "tell me what for." I don't know if he's telling the truth. He hasn't done it yet anyway.

"Daddy, can I go downstairs to play with Joanie?" I ask as nicely as I can.

Daddy raises his eyebrows at me. That usually means he thinks I'm "up to no good." Daddy then plops me on his lap and stares at me. "Did you finish the doorknob polishing like I asked?" Door Knob polishing is the dumbest chore in the world. I think he just made it up so I don't cause trouble.

"Well, sorta..." I look down at his collar so I don't have to see his eyes.

"Bobby David, I can tell you're lying. Did you–or did you NOT polish the doorknobs?"

I blow a puff of air so my bangs float up to the ceiling. "Well, no...But who cares if the doorknobs are shiny? The shine comes right off when people use them."

Daddy doesn't say a word. He just stares at me, and then he stares at the doorknob, and then back at me, then back at the doorknob. When I don't budge, he puts one finger up. Great. He's counting. I hate it so much when he does that.

"Fine!" I shout as I grab a rag with polish and stomp over to the doorknob.

"Bobby DAVID, get back here." Now what?

I hope he doesn't decide to wallop me for yelling...The "Fonz" hates it when people yell at him. He says only he can yell, but he doesn't like to. I shuffle back over to Daddy and cover my butt just in case. "Yeah?"

Daddy sighs and grabs my shoulders. "Bobs, I'm not making you do this stuff just to torture you with boredom. You see me? You see my nice clothes? My nice bike?"

"Yes," I say. What is he going on about?

"Well, I got this nice stuff all by my-own-self. My daddy was long gone–and so was my mom–so I had to learn how to work hard. Now look at me, see?"

I nod. I guess that makes sense. "So you did as much as you could, even polish door knobs, to get nice stuff?"

"Pretty much. It took some time. It wasn't overnight. But building a hard working attitude goes a long way. It really does. That's why I care so much about the details. You know that if you miss just one part to a car, like the piston, it won't run right? You need all the parts. Details are everything. Even door knobs matter, kid." Daddy pats my head then turns me around to get going to the door. I guess I've got no choice here. Aw well. Maybe one day I'll be a mechanic like Daddy.

Once I get done, he checks it all over before I can put the rag and polish away. I always know when I've done a good job because he'll give me two thumbs up. I love it when he does because that means I can go play. "Can I go now?" I ask.

Daddy is so silly sometimes. He's not even hearing me. I go up to him and knock on his forehead. "Hello? Can I go now?"

When Daddy snaps out of it, he quickly grabs my scary story book from his side table. "Hey, Bobs, what if instead, we have a fun night with some of the kids from school? You need to start making friends other than Joanie. I mean, Joanie is nice and all, but she's too old for you. You need some kids your own age too."

"But I don't need more friends. All the kids at school are mean and stupid."

"No, they are not, Bobby. You just gotta approach 'em with confidence. You gotta MAKE them like you, in nonviolent ways of course–unless you're me."

Whatever I say is just gonna make Daddy more stubborn. He always wins. "Fine." I sit on the opposite end of the couch and fold my arms. I hate when he makes me do stuff I don't wanna do.

"Oh, Bobs, it'll be fun! We can scare the socks off 'em! I've got some tricks up my sleeve."

I can picture that bully at school peeing his pants in front of the whole class because he gets soooo scared...That sounds like the perfect plan. "Okay, let's do it! What all do we need?"

"Don't you worry about that. I'll plan everything. You just set your tent out in the living room and grab all the flashlights you can find while I handle all the rest."

Me and Daddy trade thumbs up while we start getting ready. This is gonna be the best night ever!