(Orville POV)
"Daddy, I want the strawberry on top." Harry pouted after seeing the ice cream man put the strawberry at the very bottom of the three scoops on a cone.
I sighed.
"I'm sorry but can you put another scoop of strawberry on top?" I asked.
"Sure!" He said.
He then added a huge scoop of strawberry and placed it on the very top to appease the distraught Harry. Harry's expression then shifted from worried to overjoyed as soon as he saw that he will be getting two scoops of strawberry ice cream on his favorite waffle cone.
The ice cream man handed it to him before ruffling his head.
"Thank you!"
"No problem, buddy." He said. I paid the guy before walking back to the bench with Harry.
"Hey, how come his ice cream is taller than ours?" Wayne complained, sitting in between Harry and an oblivious Sofia, who's just enjoying her one scoop vanilla ice cream cone.
"Sofia only has one scoop though." I said, making him realize that he is being unappreciative of what he has.
He then scoffed before going back to licking his ice cream.
"Besides, you all got what you wanted right? Sofia has trouble finishing her food every time and that is why she only asked for one scoop. Wayne, you said that you only wanted chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. Harry wanted the strawberry ice cream scoop to be on top but the ice cream man made a mistake so he has to redo it again. It's just as simple as that. I just followed what you guys ordered." I belabored.
"Hmm…" Wayne said while looking at me, before going back to his ice cream.
"What was that?" Sofia asked.
"Nothing, sweetheart. Go ahead, finish that before we feed the duckies." I said and they all did gladly. I probably made a mistake because they might spoil their dinner later on.
--
I was busy staring into space and thinking about a lot of what ifs when Harry mentioned something.
"Dad?"
"Yes buddy?"
"How come mommy doesn't go with us anymore?"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" I said as I wiped an ice cream on the side of his bottom lip.
"When we do picnics together or when we walk in the park, she always goes with us. But now, she doesn't anymore." He said.
"And when we played with our kites the other day with her, you didn't come?" Wayne asked.
"She won't tell us why, can you tell us daddy?" Sofia said.
I looked down, knowing that this might be my fear surfacing in front of me. Harold was right. It is affecting them in little ways and they are beginning to notice the few changes in our family.
How do I tell them in a way that their little brains will comprehend?
"Well…what did mommy say?" I asked.
"She said that you may be tired all the time, that is why you have unmatched schedules."
"Listen, kids." I began which made them compress together and surround me as if I am about to tell them a bedtime story.
"When you and your friends have engaged in a slight misunderstanding, what do you usually do afterwards?"
"We don't talk to them for a while." Harry answered.
"Clever boy, that's what's happening between me and mommy right now. We are not speaking for a while because that's what people do when they are hurt. However, we are working this out for us to be united again. People need some space every now and then." I explained as thoroughly and friendly as I can for me to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal even though it is already.
"Oh!" Sofia said naively.
"Nothing serious?" Wayne asked.
"Not at all. Nothing we can't handle."
"Promise?"
"I promise." I answered.
They all scooted over to give me a massive hug, which I returned. What will I ever do without these angels?
"Oh, by the way, Dad?" Harry added.
"Yeah?"
"How did your conversation with mommy yesterday go?" He asked.
"Huh?"
"Your phone conversation with mommy?"
"We never had a phone conversation yesterday, bud."
"Oh…" He said in a confused manner.
"Why? What was mommy calling about?"
"I don't know. All I heard from mommy was 'don't call me again' and 'it's not yours.' What does that mean?"
As soon as I heard that, I felt the lump in my throat growing. Does that mean what I think it means?
I was in a catatonic state for a while before being engulfed by anger. My breathing started becoming heavier minute by minute. I'm pretty sure that I am turning red right now.
"Bitch!" I murmured. "That shameless slut!"
"What was that, dad?" Sofia pulled me out from my internal meltdown.
"Um…maybe we should all go to the bridge right now and feed the duckies from there before the sunset?"
"Last one loses." Wayne said before running off with his sealed plastic of duck treats. "Hey, no fair!" Sofia said before running too, with Harry following closely behind.
"Eloise…you fucking bitch! You aren't going to fool me anymore." I said with clenched fists.
I felt my body numbing from the intense fury that I am going through right now. She will not do this to me anymore…not anymore.