Kinda Like Rocket Science || James Love Story

Chapter 1 - Empty Nester

Chapter 1
Empty Nester

"Pass me the soldering iron please."

Dad could only mumble the request, staying fixed on the project in front of him and not wanting to lose focus for even one second. From behind the magnifying glass, his eyes were gigantic, allowing him to see even the smallest details, but even with them, he still didn't seem to notice me.

hopped from his sitting position and crossed the workbench, grabbing the needed tool and bounding back to Dad, placing it in his hand. "Minun?" The Pokemon asked skeptically, most likely asking if this one was going to blow up too, but his sister was quick to answer.

Watching atop Dad's shoulder sat who shook her head at Minun's question, quickly defending their trainer. "Plusle!" She disagreed. "Plusle Plus."

Dad nodded his thanks. "You're right, Plusle. This time it will work for sure!" In the corner of the garage, Blastoise clearly didn't agree because he shook his head and prepared his cannons to spray, worried the project would explode into flames as it always seemed to do. Dad ignored the clear lack of faith and carefully kept working.

Although the four of them had their hands full, I sat to the side of the workbench, straddling a stool and resting my head on my closed fist, my elbow propped up on the cool table, waiting patiently to finally get Dad's attention.

Knowing that I had been waiting for a long time already, bumped her head into my leg, telling me to try again. "Eevee." She urged softly. I nodded and looked back towards everyone.

"Dad?" I tried again.

"Give me a charge, Plusle."

Plusle said its name before using her electric abilities and giving a shock to the project. From past experiences, I prepared myself for the worst, tucking Eevee behind the stool, and using my legs to shield her. For my own safety, I covered my face too, but we were all surprised when the light on Dad's project started to blink green instead of exploding.

"Excellent!" Dad shouted. His enthusiasm must have been a little too much however, and a little too loud, because it startled Plusle and she fell over on the workbench, though looked just as pleased with the success as Dad.

I beamed hopefully, thinking I would finally get his attention, now that he was done.

"Now," Dad said, "Take the blue wire, and switch it with the yellow-"

My joy deflated and my spirits fell, realizing that Dad was too engrossed with his project to take a pause from it.

Discouraged, but not wanting to bother them anymore, I slid off the chair and walked to the door, opening it wide for Eevee to go through first. Looking back to my dad, I tried to sound cheerful and give a faint smile that masked my hurt. "Don't worry. I know you're busy. I'll just... I'll just make sure to tell Paxton that you said goodbye. Good luck on your project."

Just in case he heard me and decided to change his mind and wanted to come with me after all, I took my time closing the door, slowly pulling on the handle and peering hopefully at him through the crack of the door. But even with my slowed pace, I finally had to pull it closed.

Wishing things were different, I rested my forehead on the door and sighed.

Honestly, I loved my father, but when it came to tech - it was the only thing he really paid any attention to. He was never present in our home because he was always working - both early in the morning and late into the night. But despite me wishing we saw more of him, his dedication was admirable and there was a lot to be grateful for because of his work. Though not all of his inventions were successful, the ones that he did sell helped to keep us living comfortably. It wasn't easy to support a family with 6 kids, but we were able to manage with his financial support. Of course it made me sad that he wouldn't get to say goodbye to my youngest brother when he left for his Pokemon journey, but I knew that Dad's work was important. Besides, even though he wasn't able to be here, at least Mom had taken the day off so at least she would see Paxton off.