The Love Legacy

Chapter 1

Being a single parent has to mean double the stress. Tom’s wife would have sailed through just another of life’s many glitches. Tom was not his wife. He panicked.

"Casey, for goodness sake, help your sister find her shoe. We're going to be late two days in a row at this rate."

"Daddy, I think Simone planted a flower in it last night."

"What? Where?"

Casey pointed towards the outside patio.

Tom King, single father of two young terrors, raced outside. Sure enough, there was the missing shoe, filled with earth and hosting two dandelions. Simone's latest interest involved gardening. His six year old had left a dessert spoon beside the shoe. It was covered in mud. Recriminations could come later. School was the important thing right now. He emptied the shoe out onto the nearest piece of grass before dashing back inside and tearing off two strips of kitchen towel to clean the inside of the improvised flowerpot.

"Casey, is that a ketchup stain on your shirt?"

"Yup," said his eight year old, totally unconcerned.

"Come here, quickly now," Tom said, licking yet another piece of towel and managing only to smear the stain over a larger area.

"Casey, rush upstairs and put on a clean shirt."

"It's Friday, daddy. All of my other shirts are in the basket."

Tom closed his eyes and envisioned a calm tropical setting. Two palm trees and a slight heat haze battling with a gentle breeze. Much better.  He didn't want his kids to witness his frustration. At the last parent/teacher meeting, Simone's teacher had voiced concern over the rising number of times she had reached class late. Today wouldn't help matters.

"Dad, there's some crunchy stuff in my shoe," his six year old complained.

"That's because you're wearing one shoe and one flowerpot today, honey."

"You didn't throw away my flowers, did you daddy?"

"Dandelions are weeds, Simone. After school, we'll find you a flower or two, I promise."

"What kind of flowers?"

"We'll figure that out after school, okay?" Tom glanced at his wristwatch, wished that he hadn't, and dragged his two daughters out to the car.

"Your lunch money is in your schoolbags, girls. Fruit snacks too."

The school bell was ringing as he pulled into the Principal's parking space. Casey and Simone gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before dashing off to class. He had already reversed out of the Principle's spot before her secretary could admonish him. Now to hit the supermarket before work.