Paternal and Proud [LAMS Short Story]

V - Observant and Encouraging

Philip was worried. He felt that he knew what was going on with Frances, but it was difficult - exhausting, even - to reach for someone who wasn't giving him anything to grab onto. He had gone through plenty of rough times. Family troubles, friend crises, internal problems. He'd been through them all.

And now all he wanted was to help others who were going through the same obstacles. He knew how hard they were to get through alone. He knew that tripping over any of these types of obstacles without someone to catch you meant an extremely long fall.

Frances seemed to want to fall. She looked at him frequently, but never with any emotion in her eyes. He'd made many attempts to talk to her, sit next to her, include her, but she just didn't want to be talked to, she didn't want to be included.

Philip was noticing his father coming home later and later, also. He regularly came home late, due to work, but he always came home early enough to eat dinner with Philip. Now, he was coming home from eight to nine o'clock, up to three times a week.

Philip, at first, was worried, but also began to notice the smile that became part of his father's everyday look, and his worry immediately vanished. Philip's dad seemed less tired, more energetic. He laughed more often, made jokes habitually, and even high-fived Philip the other day for no apparent reason while skipping through the hallway.

Philip had stood in the doorway, an amazed and bewildered smile on his face, watching his father, marveling at the completely different change in personality, the way his father literally seemed to glow. It was a truly amazing sight, and one that Philip hadn't seen in a very long time, since... since his mom.

Philip didn't ask about it until days later.

--

"Hey, dad?" Philip shut the microwave as his father sat down at the dinner table. It was late at night, and the rest of Philip's siblings had already gone to bed. Philip's father had come home late again that night, and Philip needed to confirm his suspicions about where his dad went so often.

"Yeah, Pip?" His dad thanked him and took to the plate that Philip held out to him. Philip sat down across from his dad at the table.

"Why are you coming home so late every day?" Philip knew that his dad wouldn't be surprised at the straightforwardness of the question. He and his dad were always brutally honest with each other.

However, his dad didn't seem to want to be at this point. "Um... I've been doing more at work lately and I, um..." his dad stirred his fork through the food on his plate, not looking at Philip as he scrounged for an answer.

What a dead giveaway, Philip almost laughed out loud. His dad wasn't making eye contact, he was fidgety and stuttering (which, to anyone who knew him, Alexander Hamilton didn't fucking stutter) and Philip knew immediately that he was right.

"You're seeing someone, aren't you?" Philip drawled bemusedly as he leaned his elbows on the table toward his father accusingly.

His dad's head shot up, pure shock bright in his eyes. "N-n... I mean..." After seeing the no-nonsense look on Philip's face, he didn't even bother denying it. "...Yeah, I am..."

Philip's grin grew so wide he thought his face might crack in half. "That's so awesome, dad! Who is it?"

Philip's dad coughed out a laugh nervously. "I'm not sure I should say..."

"Do I know her?" Philip asked, making sure to pay close attention to his dad's movements while he assumed the gender of his new crush.

Sure enough, his dad glanced down, stuttering and blushing. "O-oh, actually, Pippy..."

"It's a guy, isn't it, dad?" Philip's grin grew wider. "Aww, that's so great!"

His dad laughed nervously again. "And no, you don't really know him, you only saw him once. You and I actually met him at the same time."

"Wait a minute..." Philip breathed, thinking back. Where was the last time he and his dad went together? The principal's office...?

Suddenly, he remembered that when his and Frances' dad had entered the principal's office to talk, they had been holding hands.

"Oh. My. God," Philip gasped dramatically. "It's Frances' dad! Oh my God!"

"Philip--" his dad interjected, blushing so brightly that me made the tomatoes on his plate look pale in comparison.

Philip almost leapt with excitement when he saw the flustered look on his dad's face, and immediately peppered him with questions. "What's he like? Do you looove him? How is he in be--"

"Philip!" his father shot him a glare but anyone could tell it was less than half-hearted. He rested his chin in his hand and looked away from Philip, a blush rising to his cheeks. "John is... he's just so... " Philip gaped as his dad trailed off, sighing dreamily.

"Wow, look who's speechless for once. I approve already," Philip quipped, smirking. In reality, Philip was so happy that his dad was happy. For someone who worked so hard to keep his family afloat, he deserved someone that kept him floating on cloud nine.

His dad tried to give him a stern look, but it ended up being mostly giddy and lovesick. "I'm sorry for not telling you, Philip. I was trying to figure out how, since you and Frances aren't on the best of terms, but I'm glad it's just out in the open now. John and I... have been seeing each other a lot now... and we both really like each other."

Philip couldn't find it in himself to be upset, even though he'd been lying to his siblings about where their dad was for weeks now. He was so glad and relieved that his dad was finally finding happiness again.

"It's okay, dad," Philip brushed off the apology with a smile. "I know that Frances is going through a hard time and I'll try to talk to her about it. Don't worry about us, okay? Be happy about you. You deserve it."

His dad smiled back. It was so authentic and natural that Philip's heart melted a little bit.

"I love you, Pip."

"I love you too, dad."