I knew he traveled to the city a lot. That's where his headquarters and most of his cases were located. It was also his favorite place in the whole entire world.
He only moved to the suburbs because it was what my mother wanted, she thought there was too much crime in the city and it was no place to raise a child.
I, however, loved the city and would beg my dad to take me with him when he left, but he never did.
My dad put me down. “Of course, I mean it. Now go get ready.”
I ran up the stairs to my bedroom.
After I was done getting dressed I walked out to the hallway.
That's when I heard it.
“Fuck,” my father huffed. “Now? This wasn't scheduled to happen for another two weeks.” He paused. “The entire weekend? You gotta be shitting me.”
My stomach dropped. I already knew what was about to happen.
He sighed. “No, it won't be a problem.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, alright. Tell him I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as I can.”
I heard some ruffling and a few more curses erupt from his mouth as I stood outside his bedroom door with tears in my eyes.
He opened the door and glanced down at me. I briefly registered that he wasn't in a suit but wearing black jeans and a t-shirt, which was odd since he was on his way to work.
Hope flickered in my heart.
“Goblin,” he began as he kneeled down in front of me.
I lifted my chin, preparing myself for what was to come. “Yes, Daddy?”
His hand reached up and brushed away the few tears that had started to fall. “I'm so sorry, sweetheart. But Daddy has to go to work. I won't be able to take you to school this morning after all.”
Disappointment settled in my chest, but that tiny ray of hope refused to leave. “It's okay. I understand,” I said. “You'll be here for my actual birthday though, right?”
His hand dropped, the same pain reflecting back at me through his own hazel eyes. “No, baby. Daddy has to take care of something very important at work.”
“More important than me?”
“Goblin—” he started, before I cut him off.
I steeled myself, it was the angriest I'd ever been in all of my almost 10 years. “No. I'm not your goblin anymore,” I said before I turned around and headed for the staircase.
Large arms wrapped around me and held me tight. “Nothing is more important to me than you. And you will always be my little goblin.”
I turned around and buried my face against his chest.
“I love you so much, Alyssa,” he whispered.
“Then stay, Daddy. Please.”
“I wish I could. But I can't.”
“But you promised me!” I shouted through tears.
He closed his eyes and kissed my forehead. “I know. I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you somehow. I swear I will.”
I looked up at him, my resolve firm. “Take me with you.”
He gave me another kiss on my forehead and shook his head. “I can't.” He pulled something out of his pocket. “I was going to give this to you on Sunday, but I want you to have it now.”
I looked down at the white gold chain in wonder. A white gold and diamond encrusted goblin along with a small replica of a police badge containing my father's badge number hung from it.
“But mommy said I'm not old enough to wear real jewelry like hers yet,” I whispered as he fiddled with the clasp around my neck.
He smiled and brushed a lock of blond hair from his eyes. “I think we can make an exception for very special birthdays and very special little girls.”
I flung my arms around him. “I love the necklace, but I'd still much rather have you for my birthday. I miss you, so much. You're always gone, now. I never get to see you anymore. I get so jealous when I see my friends from school with their dad's.”
“Jesus, you're ripping my heart out over here, kid,” he mumbled.
“Then take me with you. We don't have to tell Mommy.”
He chuckled and ruffled my hair. “I can't. I'm sorry. Please try and understand.” he said before standing up and walking down the staircase.
Anger burst through me again. Only this time...I had a plan.
I crept down the staircase, being careful to not make any noise as I passed the kitchen and overheard their conversation.
“I have to go to work. We're about to make some major headway. I just got a call from one of his associates that he's doing the drop today. With the way things are going now it looks like we'll be able to nail him for good this weekend,” he told my mother.
Her mouth opened in shock. “Really? This soon? That's incredible.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, but I won't be back until Monday night, the earliest.”
My mother bit her lip and a crease formed between her eyebrows. “But it's her birthday, Graham. Her 10th birthday. This is going to break her heart. You know how much she loves you. You're all she ever talks about.”
“I know, honey. I know. I don't really have a choice right now, though. Maybe after this case I can take some time off, we'll take a family vacation or something. I'll make it up to her.” He bent down and kissed her. “To the both of you.” His hand landed on her tummy. “Take care of my girls.” He winked. “All three of them.”
Three? He always said his two girls. What the heck?
She looked down at his hand. “Speaking of which, when are we going to tell her? I'm a little over 3 months already. We can't wait forever.”
“Well, I figured we could tell her that she was going to be a big sister on her birthday.” He paused. “But, maybe it's for the best that we wait a little longer and let her have this one last birthday as the only child. I don't want to ruin her birthday any more than I already have. She's really upset with me and feels like my job is more important than she is. This certainly won't help matters. We'll tell her when we go on vacation, after I've spent some quality time with her and she's not so angry with me anymore.”
Oh no, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Another kid? A girl? I was never going to be special to him now. He didn't even have time to spend with me anymore...if there's a new baby it will be like I won't even exist.
I recalled what happened to my classmate, Margaret Weiss. She was the only child and her parents showered her in attention, but she said that all stopped after her brother was born.
Now, her parents were always grumpy from being up all hours of the night and they didn't care about her anymore. Which was stupid, she said; because all her new brother did was sleep and cry all the time.
My mother nodded and gave him a kiss. “Sounds like a plan. I guess that means I'll be taking her to school this morning.”
“Yeah, I should have left already.” He turned to leave and I scrambled to make it to the garage and out to his car before he did.
“Oh and honey,” he called out. “Don't make a fuss over the necklace I got her. I know it's a bit much for a 10-year-old, but I wanted to give her something special this year.”
My mother huffed before she smiled. “Okay, but you'll have to deal with the fallout if she loses it. She's still upstairs getting ready, right?”