Workers of the Night

Chapter 14: The Talk

A talk with my wife! Now, that is scary! Is my wife going to be okay with what I have to tell her? How is she going to take the fact that I was let go from Servantes Dining? Does she need to know what I did to my boss? Well maybe I can leave that part out! No! I can't! She is going to want to know everything that happened with those blue eyes! Oh! I am doomed! Sweat started to permeate from my facewhen I reached the five-minute mark. I thought about delaying the inevitable with a possible workout at Stan's Fitness Center, but I did not pack my workout bag. Oh Lord, here I am three minutes from the house. Well, Lord, here I am as your servant. Let your will be done to me.

A talk with my wife! Now, that is scary! Is my wife going to be okay with what I have to tell her? How is she going to take the fact that I was let go? Does she need to know what I did to my boss? Well maybe I can leave that part out! No! I can't! She is going to want to know everything that happened with those fiery blue eyes and red hair! I am doomed! Sweat started to permeate from my face when I reached the five-minute mark. I thought about delaying the inevitable with a possible workout at Stan's Fitness Center, but I did not pack my workout bag. Oh Lord, here I am three minutes from the house. Well, Lord, here I am as your servant! Let your will be done!

"Daddy!" "Look! Mommy, daddy's home!" "Carlos, what are you talking about?" "Your father is usually not home until 7:30. "Mommy, but look! It is daddy's car!" "Yes! You're right!" "There must be a reason why he is home so early! This could not be good!" "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" "Oh!Thank you Carlos so much for the hug! Do you mind if I play with you in your room?" "Oh yes! Guess what mommy? Daddy is going to play with me!" "Oh! He is?" "That's right sweetheart! I am going to play with Carlos for thirty minutes, and then I will talk with you around seven!" "Abe, aren't you forgetting something? It's your day to cook dinner!" "Well, why don't we order some pizza?" "Yeah! We are going to have a Daddy's-Gets-Home- Early-From-Work Pizza Party!" "Well, Carlos, I guess you can think of it that way!" "Abraham! You know that we will need to talk!" "Yes, honey, but let me go ahead and spend some time with my son.

I could see that Abraham was delaying the talk as much as he could; however, I was content that he could spend some time with Carlos. This may be the start of something new! Maybe Carlos will stop playing tricks on us in the house.

"So, Carlos, what game are we going to play?" "Well, Daddy why don't we play cowboys and ninjas!" "Cowboys and ninjas?" "Now where did you get that idea?" "Well, it's a new game that I would like to try!" "Well, Carlos, who do you want me to be?" "Well, you be the cowboy and I will be the ninja!" I looked at my wife with a dazed look and said, "Cowboys and ninjas!". "He is not my son right now! He is yours! Oh honey, what kind of pizza do you want to order?" "Well Angela, why don't we try three large. Two can be hand-tossed and the other can be thin crust!" "What toppings do you want on each?" "Well, let's have the two-hand tossed be sausage and pepperoni, and the thin crust be a supreme!"

While Angela went into the kitchen to order pizza from Caleb's Pizzeria, I followed Carlos to his room! Was his room going to be a disaster? I did not care! I was just excited that I got to spend one-on-one time with my son! I think the last time that I spent time with him was when he made a fort using sheets when he turned three! Now, he was five! I wonder what his room looks like now! Last time I knew was that Angela decorated his bedroom with a special theme from his last birthday. As I opened the door, I could finally see why my son was so fascinated with ninjas! On the wall, was a post board of ninjas. On his bed, was a ninja dressed in a blue and black uniform with a yellow headband, two words, and Asian saying. Above his bed, he had ninja figurines on the shelves. His two pillows also had a ninja image on them.

"Carlos, you have such a cool room!" "Carlos, why do you like ninjas?" "Well, I like the different weapons that the ninjas use!" "Is there a particular weapon that you would like to learn?" "Well, I really would like to learn the nunchucks and the bow staff!" "Well maybe I can sign you and me up for Taekwondo lessons!" "Oh! Yes, daddy that would be awesome!" It felt like I finally reached a breakthrough with Carlos! I could spend more time with my son by learning a new hobby!

Carlos and I sat down on the floor to play with his ninja and cowboy figurines. "Here is your cowboy hat, Daddy! But wait! I almost forgot! Let me get my ninja suit!" "You also have a ninja suit, too? I guess that you are ready to be a ninja, Carlos!" "You bet cha!" I waited for five minutes and then out came Carlos with his ninja uniform. It matched his bed! I could not believe it! Got to love that wife of mine! She really takes interest in our children's activities! I wanted to take a selfie with my son. It was kind of an odd picture with me being the cowboy and him being ninja; however, I knew it would be a great memory! After taking the picture, Carlos and I played and played with each other; I wish it would have lasted just for a few minutes! Suddenly, I heard a voice from the dining room! "Pizza is here! Abraham, it is 7:00!"

"Be there in a second honey!" Carlos and I put up his ninja and cowboy toys away and then started to make our way down the dreaded stairs. With every step that I took I made sure to take a deep breath! I am the man of this household! My wife and I can work this out! As we took our last step into the dining room, everybody was seated around the dinner table! Isabella and Ricky were home from their after-school activities. "Oh! I hope and pray that my wife and I don't make a scene in front of the kids!"

Just then my wife announced, "Okay everybody, we are doing something different! We are going to have pizza-and-movie night in the living room! Daddy and I are going to talk for a few minutes and then we will join you!" "Yeah!" screamed Carlos. "But what about homework?" asked Ricky. "Just give it ten minutes!" "Okay mom!" "Ricky, you are the boss in the dining room! Take note of any unruly behavior from Carlos!" "Yes, mother!" "Carlos! Are you going to mind your brother?" "Yes mam!" The children made their way to the entertainment room with their pizzas and drinks. The movie that the children chose to watch was "The Troubled Little Ninja!"

As the children finally moved into the movie room and the door was shut so that they could not hear us, I took a long breath. Well, here we go Lord. "Abraham, is there a reason why you got home so early from work! It's not like you to be here at 6:30. Please tell me the truth!" "Well, honey, I do not want to make you upset, but I was let go from Servantes Dining!" "What! What happened? What did you do?" "Well, I was getting breakfast from Rubens, and I noticed a homeless person who needed some charity! He and I talked just for a little bit. I gave him so money and then..." "Abraham! I do not need the long drawn out story! Just tell me what happened!" "Well Angela, I was five minutes late!" "Did you happen to tell Juan the reason why?" "Well, I did, but he wanted somebody responsible!" "Well, honey was this the third time in the last three weeks that you were late?" "Yes!" "Well, I hope that you learned a lot from it and that you don't repeat the same mistake in the future! Did you happen to ask for a letter of recommendation?" "Yes, I did, but I think I asked it in the wrong manner!" "What do you mean, honey?" "Well, I kind of sprayed my boss in the face with water?" "Abraham! Are you joking? What made you think that you do that?" "Well Juan started to say crap about you and the kids!" "I have heard enough!" "I think what we need to focus on now is finances! You know that I work at Vermillion Ship Academy as a teaching assistant, and it will only pay me a $20,000! Have you thought about what you are going to do from now on?" "Not right now!" "Well, you better get a job right now!"

"Wait a second Abraham! Just hear me out! At school, somebody was let go from teaching three weeks ago! He could not teach anymore due to the fact he had vocal nodules and anxiety. He got a job working at Taylor Department Store on third shift! The job does happen to pay sixteen dollars an hour and does offer insurance benefits! Maybe you can work there until you find a better job!" "It's ironic that you say that, because the homeless man that I helped is now working there too?" "Is he working third shift?" "No, but he is working second shift as a mechanic on cars!" "Well, maybe Taylor department stores will have a job just for you as a chef? "Well, honey, I definitely look into applying online!" "Well, make sure that you take advantage right now, because we do need the money! When is your last paycheck from Servantes Dining going to be?" "I believe next week on Friday!" "Well, Abe, it would be in your family's best interest for you to apply today!"

"Alright honey but besides this, did you hear anything about Carlos' day at school today?" "Well, the teacher did inform me that Carlos did have a great day, but do you have any input, Abe?" "Well, I was thinking about signing Carlos and me up for Taekwondo lessons? He seems to be interested in Ninjas and martial arts! It might be a great way for him to learn discipline and respect!" "That sounds like an awesome idea, Abraham! I will check around the neighborhood!" "Sounds great honey! How are we going to break the news about to the kids?" "Well, I will let you decide that, but let's go ahead and join our kids in the movie room!"