Chapter Five “Mr. Superman Is Dying”
1076 Words
That evening, the house somehow looked even worse than before.
Daniel stood in the middle of the living room holding Lucy in one arm while staring at the disaster surrounding him.
He had cleaned this house THREE HOURS AGO.
Now?
Blankets everywhere.
One sock hanging from the lamp.
Crackers crushed into the couch.
And somehow… glitter.
Where had the glitter even COME from?!
Meanwhile, Lois and Lorraine sat on the floor arguing in front of the TV.
“SpongeBob!” Lois yelled.
“No!” Lorraine argued back. “Mommy said I’m not supposed to watch SpongeBob because they’re crazy!”
“That’s because Mommy’s not home,” Lois said proudly. “Daddy lets us do whatever we want.”
Daniel turned slowly.
“…I do not.”
Neither girl listened.
“SpongeBob is better!”
“No! Princess Rainbow Unicorn Academy is better!”
“THAT SHOW IS STUPID!”
“YOU’RE STUPID!”
Lucy squirmed in Daniel’s arms, dangerously close to crying.
“Please don’t,” Daniel begged softly while shaking her bottle carefully. “Please, tiny queen. I’m warming your formula. Don’t destroy me tonight.”
Lucy made a suspicious face.
Daniel panicked immediately.
“No no no no—”
Right then—
DING DONG.
Daniel froze.
The doorbell rang again.
His eye twitched.
Through the window, he spotted his elderly neighbor standing outside smiling politely.
Mr. Evans.
The neighborhood gossip machine himself.
Daniel’s exhausted brain immediately screamed:
Please leave. Please get the heck away from my house. You have NO idea what my life looks like right now.
The doorbell rang again.
Lucy started fussing louder.
The girls were now physically wrestling over the remote.
Daniel opened the door looking like a man held hostage by parenthood.
Mr. Evans smiled warmly. “Evening, Daniel.”
“Evening.”
Mr. Evans peeked past him into the war zone.
Lorraine was standing on the couch.
Lois was yelling.
The TV blasted cartoon noises.
Lucy was making angry baby sounds.
Mr. Evans blinked slowly.
“…I see you’re in a little bit of a shake.”
Daniel stared at him with tired dead eyes.
Mr. Evans nodded wisely. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Evans,” Daniel said immediately. “I appreciate you deeply.”
The old man chuckled and walked away.
Daniel shut the door and leaned against it dramatically.
“Okay,” he whispered. “One problem at a time.”
First mission: Lucy.
He fed her carefully until she finally relaxed in his arms.
Then—
BURP.
Daniel gasped proudly.
“Ohhhh, look at that! That was professional!”
Lucy blinked at him.
For the first time all day, she looked peaceful.
Daniel smiled softly before placing her gently in the crib.
Next mission:
“The tiny demons.”
“WE HEARD THAT!” Lois shouted.
“Bath. NOW.”
Ten exhausting minutes later, Daniel somehow managed to scrub both girls clean without anybody flooding the bathroom.
Lorraine got soap in her eye and declared it “the worst moment of her life.”
Lois kept splashing water everywhere “for science.”
By the time they were done, Daniel looked spiritually defeated.
He pointed dramatically toward their room.
“Homework.”
Both girls groaned like prisoners being sentenced.
But surprisingly…
They actually did it.
Daniel checked every answer carefully while trying not to fall asleep sitting upright.
Then finally…
He grabbed the remote.
“TV off. Bedtime.”
The betrayal on their faces was unbelievable.
“WHAT?!” Lois cried.
“But Daddyyyyy!” Lorraine whined dramatically.
“No negotiations. Go.”
After twenty more minutes of water, arguing, stuffed animals, bathroom trips, and “one last hug,” the girls finally went to sleep.
Silence.
Beautiful silence.
Daniel almost cried.
Then he looked down at Lucy.
“…Guess it’s your turn.”
He carefully gave her a warm bath, expecting another screaming performance.
Instead…
Lucy smiled.
A real smile.
Daniel froze.
“Well hello there.”
He gently poured warm water over her tiny hands while talking nonsense to her.
“You know your sisters almost killed me today, right?”
Lucy giggled.
“Oh, so now you understand English?”
Another smile.
Daniel laughed softly for the first time all day.
“There’s no way you’re this cute after everything your family put me through.”
Lucy kicked happily in the water.
After her bath, he dressed her in fresh pajamas, changed her diaper, fed her again, and finally laid her beside him on the bed.
She fell asleep almost instantly.
Daniel stared at her tiny face for a moment.
Then his phone rang.
Vivian.
He answered immediately.
“How’s Mr. Superman handling things?” she teased.
Daniel let out the longest exhausted sigh known to mankind.
“You did this on purpose.”
Vivian burst out laughing.
“No, I didn’t! I had no choice but to go.”
“You left me with THREE thunderstorms disguised as children.”
“They’re adorable.”
“They’re dangerous.”
Vivian laughed even harder.
“You said you could handle it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Fine. Mock me.”
“I warned you.”
Daniel groaned dramatically. “Do you know Lorraine disappeared in a grocery store today?”
Vivian gasped between laughs. “What?!”
“And Lois announced publicly that I’m not cool anymore.”
“Oh no,” Vivian said, still laughing.
“And Lucy?” Daniel looked down at the sleeping baby beside him. “Lucy betrayed me. She only behaves for other people.”
Vivian’s voice softened a little. “You sound tired.”
Daniel paused.
“…I am tired.”
For a moment, neither of them joked.
Then Vivian smiled softly through the phone.
“Thank you for taking care of them.”
Daniel looked over at the sleeping baby and sighed.
“…I think I owe you an apology.”
“Oh?”
“You do this every day.”
Vivian chuckled gently. “Now you’re learning.”
Daniel smiled tiredly.
“I miss you.”
There was a small pause before Vivian answered quietly:
“I miss you too.”
And for the first time in a very long time…
Daniel finally understood just how much his wife carried every single day.
A few minutes later, still holding the phone in one hand and Lucy’s tiny fingers in the other…
Mr. Superman finally fell asleep.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD