Reese opened his eyes and sat straight up in bed. He looked over at the dinosaur calendar pinned to his wall to make sure his gut was right. There, circled in red marker, was the day he had been waiting for. It was finally here—Father’s Day, and he was determined to make sure it was the best one ever.
He swung his tiny feet out of bed and into his Spiderman slippers. As he snuck passed his dad’s room, he peered in to double check that his dad was still fast asleep. Snores and a bit of drool confirmed that he was. Reese held back his giggles as he went about pulling together his plan.
Trey, Reese’s dad, needed this surprise. Even though Reese was only six years old, he understood the challenges that his dad faced since Reese’s mom died two years ago. Trey was a good dad and had devoted every waking moment that he was not working to Reese. Still, he knew that his dad missed her as much as he did, and that today had to be the most special Father’s Day surprise ever.
Reese tiptoed into their apartment kitchen, making sure his slippers sidestepped all of the squeaky parts of the floor. Only since the start of the year had his dad allowed him to do a few things in the kitchen by himself. He grabbed his stool and hoisted himself onto the counter to reach the plates and bowls. He jumped off the counter with a BOOM. The sound startled him, and he paused and listened in the quiet for his dad to stir. After a few moments of hearing nothing, he returned to his mission. He put a plate and a bowl on the table and then went to the refrigerator. He pulled the carton of milk and a juice box out of the fridge and placed them both by his bowl.
Reese knew that his dad adored coffee in the morning, and he’d been carefully watching him each morning to see how coffee was made. First—water. But how much water was he supposed to get? He froze for a moment, but could not remember how much his dad used. He would just fill it all the way up! After he poured a full pot of water into the coffeemaker, he went for the finely ground coffee in the pantry. He gently placed a paper filter into the coffee maker and filled it with exactly four scoops of grounds, just like his dad.
Finally, he went about preparing the food. He toasted two pieces of bread and spread them with butter. He put them both onto his dad’s plate and poured cereal for himself. Surveying everything he had prepared, he smiled at the surprise that awaited his dad. Suddenly, his eyes widened. He had almost forgotten the most important piece! He ran to his room and retrieved the Father’s Day picture he colored for his dad. After placing the picture on the table, Reese went to wake up his dad.
“Dad…wake up…dad…DAD!” Reese sat on top of Trey as he opened his eyes.
“Good morning, dad!” Reese chirped gleefully. Trey smiled.
“Good morning little buddy,” he said sleepily to the 60 pounds of child sitting on top of him.
“Do you know what today is?” Reese asked.
Before Trey could even manage a sound, Reese exclaimed, “It’s Father’s Day! You need to come see what I made for you!”
He tugged on his dad’s arm. Trey got up and stumbled into their apartment dining room. When he saw what Reese had done, he was overwhelmed with emotion. Maybe Reese was growing up faster than he had realized. He scooped his son into his arms and gave him a big hug.
“Thank you little buddy,” he said, doing his best to hold back tears of joy.
“Happy Father’s Day, dad!” Reese exclaimed.
This story, and others like it, will occur in apartments and houses across the nation this Father’s Day. This blog is dedicated all of the dads out there. Whether you are a single dad or have a partner to help out in life, Father’s Day is here and we celebrate you.
The next time you and your “little buddy” are looking for a new apartment, check out www.apartmentsearch.com to make your apartment-finding fast and easy. Spend less time looking for a place to live and spend more time enjoying life as a dad.
