Sam knew it couldn’t be true. Any of it. They told him lies, to many lies. It couldn’t be true, he told himself this over, and over again. He would know, he would know if it was true. But it wasn’t, so he didn’t believe them.
Mommy was crying. Why would mommy cry? Mommy was strong, not as strong as daddy though. Where was daddy? Daddy should be home. Sam cried. He was confused, he was upset. They told him lies. Why would They lie to mommy and him? Mommy always said lying was bad.
They had come to the house after daddy had left for work. Daddy went to work every day. Not every day did They come to the house. Where is daddy? Sam cried harder, he didn’t understand. They had talked to mommy, half way through she had screamed. So, so loud. The scream hurt his ears. After that she sat on the floor and cried. Mommy was still crying.
When mommy sat down, They had tried to talk to him. But Sam didn’t like Them, They had made mommy cry. They told him lies. To many lies.
“Hey son, it’s OK. We won’t hurt you. We just want to talk.”
“You made mommy cry.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry. We have some bad news for you. I’m very sorry. Do you wanna hear it?”
Sam stared at the two men, tears in his eyes. The one who hadn’t talked to him turned to the one who had.
“Hey man! You can’t tell him that! He would wail, and I don’t want to have a crying kid on our hands. He’s what? Four?” The man whispered.
“I bet he won’t even understand.” He turned to me. “Kid, buck up. You gotta be the man of the house now. Your dad died this morning, while he was driving to work. A drunk driver on his way home from spending the night at the bar was driving home. He hit your father head on. The drunk driver survived.”
Sam’s mom wailed, like everything in the world was lost and broken. Sam felt lost.
“Your dad isn’t coming back.”
That’s what got to Sam. How could daddy not come back? He would be here tonight after work. They would see. Then mommy would stop crying, and he wouldn’t be so upset.
That night daddy didn’t come home. Sam waited by the front door, loyally until his mom took him upstairs to sleep with her. Thing had changed. He never went in the big bed. That’s when Sam knew that daddy was gone for good.