Romeo did hear his dad call him down for breakfast, but he wasn't feeling too hungry anymore. His dad basically called him a baby. He suddenly hears footsteps coming toward his room. The door opens and he sees his dad peak his head in.
"Hey, Bug, are you coming down for breakfast? You have school in a little bit." Calvin says. Romeo just shakes his head.
"Po- Dad, do you think Papa could pick me up after school? Maybe I could stay there for the weekend." He says. Him and his sisters usually go to their grandparents every other weekend to spend time with them. They loved having their grandkids over. They just went last week, but maybe if he's away from home for the weekend, his dad will be nicer to him when he comes back.
Calvin gives his a confused look. "Buddy, you and your sisters just went last week, remember? It's mine and Mama's weekend." He says, starting to get a little uneasy. Was he really that mean to him that he doesn't want to come back home after school?
Romeo just shrugs, getting up and walking downstairs to eat. Calvin follows him, going to the stove to make his plate. He stacks a couple of pancakes, adding bacon, sausage, and eggs. He also pours him a cup of orange juice and a cup of water. The girls already went upstairs to get dressed, so it was just Romeo and Calvin. He puts the food in front of his son and kissed his head.
"There you go, son. Eat until you're full, okay?" He says, repeating what he says to all three of his kids everytine they eat. He wants to make sure theyre healthy. He sits across from him so he can have a few more minutes with him. It didn't fly over his head when Romeo called him "Dad" instead of "Poppy" or "Dada". He always took pride in those names. He really made his son feel bad.
Romeo finishes eating, and takes his plate to the sink. Calvin follows him to his room so he can talk to him while he gets dressed.
"Romeo, I want to apologize for how I spoke to you earlier this morning. I should have never said what I did about your coping being babyish nonsense. That was wrong and Poppy is really sorry." He says, trying to talk to him in a way that will make him feel safe and comfortable.
Romeo looks at his dad after hearing his apology. That's what he wanted all along, for his dad to comfort him and tell him it was okay. He doesn't think he acts like a baby. He just needs comfort from his parents.
"Thank you for apologizing to me, Dad. I'm sorry again for being rude to you and Nugget. I'm gonna do what Mama said and do better with my temper." he says. Calvin nods, but doesn't feel like they're okay. Why isn't he Poppy again?
"Are we good now, Buddy? You forgive Poppy?" He asks, walking over and putting his arm around his sons shoulders. Romeo nods, hugging his dad's waist, not looking at him. He grabs his backpack.
"I'm gonna see if Sissy needs any help." Romeo says, walking past his dad toward his sisters room. Calvin goes into his other kids room and makes sure theyre ready, making sure they have their lunches and taking them downstairs. He likes to take the kids to school in the morning because his wife does so much already, and he has to go to work anyways, so why make her do it if he'll leave already?
He takes the kids to the car and they all get in. Romeo usually sits up front, loving riding with his dad, but today he gets in the backseat with his two sisters. Once they get to Arielle's school, he takes her to her class.
The teacher smiles when she sees them. She's the same teacher that Romeo and April had when they were Arielle's age. They say hello and Calvin kisses her goodbye. He hurries back to the car and heads to the big kids middle school. Arielle's school is kindergarten to fifth grade, and the middle school is sixth through eighth grade.
He pulls up to the school and let the kids out by the entrance. April and Romeo get out and April turns around to say by to her dad.
"See you later, Poppy. Are you picking us up too?" She asks. She loves when their dad picks them all up because their mom took them to and from school for a long time when he was working a lot. Calvin nods, telling her goodbye. He looks for his son, bit he's already walking into the school building.
Calvin's heart breaks. He heads to work, thinking how he can fix what he did to his son.
