Pup sat there on her thin mattress of a bed and silently ate her food. Cold potatoes and beans littered her plate. Not really a meal fit for a king but it was the best she could afford. On the side table, next to her father's chair, sat another plate which had cold food on it. She had told her he would be home hours ago and they would have family dinner. The first one in a while.
Pup finished her odd jobs early just so she could get home as soon as possible and make dinner. It was a shitty dinner, but it was going to be a family dinner. She waited for her father to come home. She checked one of the clocks. It had seen three hours since she had made dinner and she tried her best to not let her anger get the best of her. It's not like this is the first dinner they would have together in weeks. Or that she's been working extra hard to get them some real food. She totally wasn't working herself to the bone so she could help her dad. Nope, she wasn't angry at all.
Just when she thought all hope was there she heard the phone ringing. No one calls her dad so it must have been him! A large toothy grin spread across her face and she got up, sprinting to the phone and almost slipping when she did. She picked up the phone and almost howled at the moon. She was so ecstatic. "Dad! Where the hell have you been? Your dinners gotten cold! I mean I can throw it in the oven but-" "Pup." Her dad said. He sounded tired. Her grin fell. Something was wrong, she could feel it.
"Listen- kid this case ended up taking longer than I thought..." There it was. There was the excuse. She couldn't blame him, even if she wanted to. He had a job, an important one at that, and she couldn't drag him away from it. She couldn't have his attention 24/7. "I'm gonna have to stay out longer than we expected. I know I said I'd be home for dinner, I'm sorry." He said. Suddenly, Pup heard a voice in the background. It was faint but she knew who it was.
Snow White. Her stomach churned and tightened. Then she knew why it was taking so long. Her dad liked to impress Snow. He was moving one. She let out a sigh. Her dad could clearly hear the annoyance in it. "I...Pup I promise you next time I'm home we'll eat dinner. I just need to get the case done." She could hear her dad trying to make her feel better. It was bullshit though. He would be busy tomorrow night, and then the night night, and then she'd only see him when he was asleep on his chair or when the two of them would get up and just say 'good morning, have a nice day. Love you.' And leave the apartment.
"Dad it's...it's okay. Really. Dinner was pretty shitty anyway. Just some potatoes and beans." She said, trying to sound like she was having fun but she was never a convincing liar. "I can just put your dinner in the oven and you can eat it later. No skin off my back..." there was only silence over the phone. Suddenly her dad said. "Alright...I'll try to be home soon kid... love you." Pup nodded and her throat suddenly tightened. "Yeah...love you too. See ya in a bit." She said before hanging up.
She wanted to be angry but the thought of another dinner wasted just made tears fall down her cheeks. She took a breath and grabbed her dad's cold dinner. Sticking it in the oven she wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. You saw this coming dumbass. She thought. Getting back to her thin mattress she finished up her dinner and set it on the floor next to her. Laying down on her side and wrapping her quilt around her, she looked at a small photo she hung on the wall and slowly fell asleep.
