On Father's Day, My Wife Asked Son To Call Someone Else "Dad"

On the way back, I got a call from my cousin. He started off with a dramatic whine, “Sean, bro, I miss you so much! I’m struggling here without you…

I was in a bad mood and interrupted him, “Speak properly.”

In an instant, my cousin switched to a normal tone. “I know you don’t want to deal with family issues, but for the sake of our family’s business and the much money in your account, could you at least lend a hand?”

I gave a non-committal response, and my cousin got excited. “Great! I’ll book a flight for tomorrow and pick you up myself!”

Before I could say anything else, he hung up.

When I got home, I started packing my things. But as I looked around the house, I hesitated.

This was a home I had set up myself. With Shelly busy with work, I had taken care of everything in this place.

There was a family photo of the three of us, with my wife’s beaming smile and my son’s endearing, goofy expression.

I had always thought of this place as my utopia.

But today, that utopia shattered.

The sound of the door opening broke my thoughts. I looked back and saw Shelly returning, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“I’m back,” she said, placing the flowers in front of me.

She smiled sweetly, clearly trying to de-escalate the situation. “I dropped Jack off at my parents’. It’s just us tonight. I was a bit harsh earlier. Can you forgive me?”

We had argued before, though not often, and each time I had been the one to smooth things over.

But today, my unusual attitude seemed to have made her a bit scared.

I glanced at her. “Have you been drinking?”

Then I went to get her some hangover medicine for her.

Shelly seemed surprised and asked, “Are you still angry?”