Single Parent

Chapter 6

"Daddy!" Sophia ran out of the classroom and I crouched down, just in time to catch her and lift her up in my arms, her small backpack on her back. 

"Hey baby-girl. Did you have a good day?"

"It was okay. Can we go home now?"

"Sure baby, I just have to take this back to my office first, and then it's our night tonight."

"Pizza and ice-cream?!" Her eyes went wide with excitement and I nodded, with a smile. "Yay!" 

She was nearing her fifth birthday. I had been working for almost a year now, and was loving it. I had already been promoted to a higher position, over people much older than me, because apparently, I was more intuitive and better at understanding the customer than most, and wasn't entirely focused on just trying to impress. I worked hard, but I knew how to manage my time, and spent more time researching and thinking than actually implementing anything, which ended up with much more satisfied clients since I rarely had to change any of my plans after spending so much time on the planning.

I was earning enough to sell my condo and use the money to put a downpayment on a nice enough house in the suburbs. It was twenty minutes from work and school, and the other side of town to my parents so I wouldn't see them too much, and it gave me independence. As soon as my mortgage was paid off, I was going to give my parents back all the money they had spent on me. 

I let Sophia help me cook pizza and we had been to the grocery store on the way home and picked up her favourite ice-cream and which she put in the freezer for later, and we picked a movie ou. I prepared myself to watch yet another kids movie about Princesses and singing animals, so was quite relieved when she picked The Lion King, a slightly more masculine kids movie. 

"Daddy...." Sophia whined when I pulled out my laptop. I was going to make a headstart on my work for the weekend, so that I could take my time the next day, but she liked our routine. She was happy to spend Saturday mornings curled up in my bed watching cartoons whilst I sat next to her working, and she was happy with that, but Friday nights were our nights. 

"Alright baby. I know."

"No work." She frowned and I put my laptop away again and moved from the armchair to sit on the couch, and she quickly scrambled across the couch and sat in my lap, cuddling up against me. 

We ate dinner and finished The Lion King, and then I played some games with her for a bit, and decided she could skip bathtime for one night since she looked exhausted. 

"I think it's time you go to bed sweetheart." I crouched down and brushed her hair back. 

"Not yet. Can I watch another movie with you?"

"We can watch one tomorrow."

"No. Please. I'll stay awake." She gave me her best puppy-dog look and I sighed, and leaned forward to place a light kiss on the tip of her nose. 

"Alright baby."

We stayed there for another hour and by that point she was fast asleep, lying flat out in my lap, curled up in a ball. I switched everything off downstairs and checked all the locks again and then carried her up the stairs and lay her down in her green and blue bedroom, full of butterflies and other things that I could deal with. I was not painting her room completely pink. I had nothing against pink, unless it was plastered everywhere, but when I let Sophia decide when we moved houses, she wanted butterflies and flowers. Megan  had helped me and Sophia pick out all the decorations and I set about decorating her room for her, which thankfully she loved. 

I got into bed, wearing just my sweatpants as usual. I always wore bottoms, just incase Sophia needed me, or I needed to get up for any reason, but I always got too hot, so wearing a shirt was just out of the question.