A Day in the Shadows

The dripping barely began when I heard the first few sounds of the enemy.  Waking up at 6 in the morning was supposed to give me some time to myself. Someone was bound to spoil my morning coffee routine.  If I had to guess which one of them it was, I’d have said it was Paula, the oldest of my two girls. Ever since she was a baby, she’d get up whenever I got up.  It was as if our internal clocks were perfectly synced. Or the girl simply didn’t sleep and was always listening for me.

I left my coffee mug in front of the machine.  Where to go? Whoever was going to interrupt me, was getting closer.  To the left of the counter, was a small closet. It was where we kept our vacuum, broom and pail.  It was the perfect spot. None of the children knew what was in there. None of them ever thought to vacuum or clean up after themselves.  Why would they? Aren’t parents indentured servants until they become emptynesters?

I quickly hid in the closet.  Her little feet, with the dragon themed socks soon made their appearance in the kitchen.  It wasn’t Paula. It was my sweet Grace. Oh I like this one, I thought as she stood in the middle of the kitchen rubbing her eyes.

“Dad?” she said.  I didn’t answer. As much as I liked her, I wanted to be alone.  She walked over to the back door. Could she see me? I wondered. She didn’t look in my direction.  I held the closet door slightly open so that I could see what was happening out there. She stared out the window, watching the morning rain.  It was going to be one of those days with all of us stuck in the house.

“Grace, where’s dad?” I heard Paula call out when she entered the kitchen.

“I don’t know.  I see the coffee machine on,” Grace answered.

“It’s going to rain all day,” Paula said.  Then another set of feet made their entry. I knew it wasn’t the 3rd girl because Fleur dragged her feet when she walked.  I’d have heard it long before she entered the kitchen.

“Girls did you brush your teeth?” she said.  It was my teammate.

“C’mon Grace...mom where’s dad? The coffee is on and his mug is still there,” Paula said as she picked Grace up.  I opened the closet door a little more. Tracy and I made eye contact. You better not betray me, I thought. I couldn’t open my mouth.  She understood. She smirked.

“Well did you check in the den?” Tracy said.

“Didn’t think to,” Paula said and left the kitchen with Grace.

I had to be sure that they wouldn’t come back as fast as they left the kitchen.  So I stayed in the closet for a few minutes, watching as Tracy poured herself a cup of my delicious dark roast coffee.  My stomach rumbled. She looked in my direction again and smiled, and then shook her head. She disapproved, but was amused.

“How long are you going to keep that up?” she asked when I finally stepped out of the closet.

“For as long as possible,” I said, making sure not to raise my voice.  I poured myself a cup of coffee.

I walked gingerly out of the kitchen, wondering where to go next.  Naturally they’d come back to the kitchen, that was ground zero. And when they’d discover that my coffee mug was no longer there, they’d rally the troops for the search.  

I thought of going to the basement, but I knew I’d soon be discovered.  Paula always said I was terrible at hide and seek, because I’d always end up in the basement and she’d find me.  So instead, I took my cup of coffee and went into Grace’s bedroom. Despite the fact that she insisted on having her room filled with dragons, the little lady rarely spent time there lest she was going to sleep or was arguing with one of her sisters.

“Dad!” I heard Fleur call out.  I sat on Grace’s bed and leaned back against the wall, drinking my coffee while watching the rain out the windows.

Fifteen minutes, that’s all it took for me to be bored of sitting in Grace’s room.  The girls were not getting better at finding me, though I could hear their voices consume the house.  To make things more interesting, I left my now empty coffee mug by Grace’s door and took the back stairs to the second floor.  I had to use the bathroom and I knew that they had already been up there from having heard Fleur’s heavy-footed walking.

“Grace! He was in your room!” Paula shouted at the top of her lungs as I entered the bathroom.  I chuckled. I knew I had to leave them another clue to keep the game interesting so I flushed the toilet a few times.  As I exited the bathroom, Tracy was standing outside the door.

“Are you enjoying driving my babies crazy?” she said.

“How come no one ever feels sorry for me?” I said.  She chuckled.

“Better get moving or they’ll figure out you are up here,” she said and kissed me.

“Thanks hon, I knew you were on my team.” I said and hurried back downstairs.

This time I took off my socks and placed them by Fleur’s door as a misdirection and then went into the den with a new coffee mug.  The room was quiet so I sat down under the desk where the girls wouldn’t find me. I took out my phone and browsed through Instagram all the while listening for the call of the wild ones as they continued searching for me.

“I’ll give them till lunch time,” I said and sipped the coffee.  Then the door opened. I hoped it was Tracy. She’d know where I was going next.  But then I heard the dragging of the feet. It was Fleur.

“Ten bucks and I’ll redirect them,” she said.  How did she know I was there? She couldn’t see me.

“My green jacket, right pocket...welcome to the team,” I said.  She giggled and left the room.