Cadillac Dreams

Author's note: Someone once commented that I wrote horrible daughters in my stories. I had to laugh at that because it's true but not because I hate daughters. I had an idea about kids being active in the betrayal of the cheated upon dad. I took that premise several different ways and submitted some. I even scrapped this story that had horrible daughters as I felt it was played out and honestly, a little trope heavy. I decided to dust this one off and submit it just because. This is the last one of my stories that includes betrayal by kids.

*****

My alarm went off at 4:45 as usual, but I was already up. I always woke those days before my alarm. I wasn't sleeping well and hadn't for a few months. I looked out my bedroom window and sighed at the darkness. I couldn't remember the last time the sun was out when I woke.

I started work at six everyday whether rain, shine, or otherwise, but I got off by four, so that was nice. I never missed any of my girls' activities.

I used the hall bathroom's shower to limit the noise and not wake my wife. She didn't wake up until the last possible moment before she couldn't make it to work on time, which was six. My two daughters woke at five and used the same bathroom I did. We had it down to the minute.

After my shower, I passed my first daughter, Maria, in the hall and kissed her still half-asleep cheek as she groaned her way into the bathroom for her shower. I peeked into my other daughter, Tara's, bedroom to make sure she was up, and she acknowledged my good morning greeting with her own groan.

Five minutes later, I was dressed and ready to start breakfast for my family. It was the same as every other day.

I made a pot of coffee, a pan of scrambled eggs, a plate of toast, and set out the girls' yogurts for them. They were old enough at fifteen and sixteen to do it themselves, but it was the last little bit of involvement I had in their lives. They had outgrown the daddy's girl days and I was merely an embarrassment to them at that point.

After eating and checking to make sure Tara was awake, I kissed my wife, Erin, on the forehead and shrugged off her pretending to be asleep. I pulled out of the garage lamenting how far I'd fallen from the graces of my family. The saddest part was, I didn't do anything to cause it. They simply became embarrassed and annoyed by my job.

I was a garbage man.

When I got the job a couple of years out of high school, I was ecstatic. It paid better than some of my friends were making after graduating college. I figured I'd do it until I found something else in one of the trades, but when I was told it was a Union job and I'd get the same benefits as the trades anyway, I stuck with it. I knew not having a degree as my friends had meant that I wouldn't ever be climbing any corporate ladders, and that was fine by me.

After twenty-five years on the job, I had a pension, a more than decent wage, great benefits, and was coasting towards retirement in five years when I hit fifty. At that point, I'd collect my full pension and could do whatever I wanted.

When I met Erin, she was working her way through college as a waitress. We fell in love, got married, and life was roses and raspberries for the next sixteen years. Then the unthinkable happened--my family, began to resent me.

I remember the day it happened. I was at Tara's softball game with Erin, and one of the new dads asked what I did for a living. When I told him I was his garbage man, his face screwed and then he laughed thinking I was joking.

My wife and daughter saw his reaction and that was the beginning of my fall. For the first time, they were embarrassed by me.

It wasn't like I was coming home from work smelling like garbage. I drove the truck and rarely had to get out anymore. The mechanical arm on the basket lifted the cans in the residential neighborhoods I was servicing. I hadn't done the hard stuff in almost a decade. Sure, I had some crappy times over the years, but it wasn't all that bad for a long time. I even had a shower at the yard before I went home every day.

My family never complained. They never hid what I did from our friends. It was just my job, no different than if I were a carpenter or policeman.

From that day on, life was different. Shortly after the incident, my wife got a promotion to management at her office. She worked in a bank, and her promotion netted her a nice raise. She already made quite a few bucks more than me, and that raise made the spread even greater. It didn't bother me though; I was proud of her, but I guess it bothered her.

She began to dress better and bought fancier jewelry. I didn't mind, she was still beautiful at forty-two and I liked to see her dressed up. Her long legs looked great in the skirts she began to wear, and the high heels propped up her butt nicely.

She also started buying my daughters more things. I think that's what may have turned the final screw after the incident. They no longer acted the same towards me, and were almost overdoing it, in their adoration of their mother. I hoped it was a phase, but that didn't look likely.

My girls were once daddy's girls. I coached their sports teams when they were young. I played dolls with them and had tea parties. Hell, I even let them paint my fingernails and style my hair when we played salon together. I was that devoted to them and wasn't embarrassed by any of it. Even when Erin would post the pictures on social media. I figured it was just what daddies did for their baby girls.

*****

After work, I walked in the door of my quiet house at the usual time. My wife would be home an hour later, and my daughters could be home in an hour or three, depending on what they had going on after school that day.

I went into the kitchen to get started on dinner and found a note on the table.

"I'll be home late. Having dinner with my team."

I sighed. I wished my wife would have told me that when I kissed her goodbye that morning. I would've gone out for a couple of beers with the guys after work.

I walked over to the fridge and saw a note from Tara.

"We're spending the night at Jenny's."

"Another Friday night alone," I said to my cat, Fido. Yeah, I know it was a dumb name, but it made my little girls giggle when we got him. I would have done anything to hear my little girls giggle again.

I thought about the last time Erin was home on a Friday and realized it had been months. There was always something, whether it was dinner with her team, drinks with the girls, managers blowing off steam at the bar, or other any other excuse she gave me. I began to wonder if she was having an affair.

She came home at ten and didn't seem drunk. I was, however. I spent the evening sitting on my recliner drinking away my sorrows one Jack Daniels at a time.

"Hello, dear," I slurred. "Glad you made it home."

"Are you drunk, Bill?" she asked.

"Probably. I didn't have much to do to keep me sober."

"Did you eat anything?"

I nodded and finished the whiskey in my glass in one slug.

"You're unbelievable."

I poured another glassful and raised it to her in a mock toast. "Just living up to expectations."

She shook her head and said, "Sleep on the couch then. I don't want you vomiting on me in the middle of the night."

"Yes, dear."

*****

I woke the next morning and heard voices. I was shocked the sun was out. I must have passed out because the empty glass was still in my hand resting on my thigh, and I never made it to the couch. As I regained consciousness, the voices became clearer.

"Even if you're cheating on him, he's still our dad," Tara whined. They obviously thought I was too passed out to hear them in the kitchen.

"I'm not cheating on him. I haven't done anything sexually with Jason yet."

"Yet," Maria moaned.

"Look, girls. You need to face the facts. We've outgrown your father. We need more than a garbage man. We need a real man that can give us a comfortable life and get us out of this little matchbox of a house. Jason can do that."

"It feels wrong," Maria argued. "Sure, Dad embarrasses us, but he's not a bad dad."

"He was a pretty good husband to you too," Tara helped and for a moment I was proud of her for standing up for me.

"You have no room to talk," Erin fought. "You didn't even tell him you're playing on the tennis team this year. He'll be angry when he finds out you're too ashamed of him to have him at your games."

Tara snickered. "Come on, Maria. You've said it yourself that you hoped he never found out about us playing tennis or that you're dating Mike."

"See. You need to get off my back and let me complete my plan. Jason is interested in me and when I snag him, we'll be more well off than we could ever be with your garbage man dad. You want to go to good colleges and have big weddings someday, don't you?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My girls were hiding their lives from me, and my wife was working on leaving me. I closed my eyes, hoping I could pretend to be asleep until they left. I didn't dare try to confront them. I didn't think I could take any more hurt hurled at me.

"Get ready, we'll leave in ten minutes," Erin ordered. It was the longest ten minutes of my life.

When the garage door closed, I walked to the window and watched them drive away. It was the saddest moment of my life. My baby girls were embarrassed of me. I wasn't thrilled about my wife trying to trade up, but my daughters drove a stake into my heart.

I took a shower and decided to go out for something to eat. I was pretty well hungover, but I knew I had to eat something, or I'd never feel better. I thought about packing a bag and leaving, but I didn't want to spend the money on a motel room. I could sleep on the couch and probably be just as comfortable.

*****

I walked into the family restaurant in town and sat at the bar. I ate there once a week and knew all of the waitresses and the owner by name, so I was surprised to see a beautiful redhead working the bar.

"What can I get ya?" she sang.

I turned my cup over and said, "Black coffee, please, and my usual is the biscuits and gravy with over easy eggs on top, and a side of bacon."

"Sounds yummy. I'll remember you going forward. It's my first week."

"I'm Bill."

"Melody," she responded with a wink and walked off. I followed her with my eyes and enjoyed the view of her butt in her black leggings. They didn't wear the old-style waitress skirts there.

She continued to give me an eyeful all through my meal and I enjoyed the little bit of flirty attention she paid me. Of course, I knew that she was just angling for a larger tip, so I took it with a grain of salt. I was still a married man and tried not to flirt back.

After breakfast, I stood in line to pay my check and saw a little girl coloring behind the register. She was seated in the little booth the owner used and he was making her giggle as she slapped his hand when he pretended to try to steal her crayons.

"Got yourself another kid, Al?" I teased.

He laughed and said, "She's, the new girl Melody's kid. Her babysitter is sick today."

"Looks like you're doing just fine," I smirked.

"You know me, Bill. I put two through college and two through the window."

We laughed at his old movie quote, and I paid for my breakfast. I left the restaurant feeling better than when I went in and couldn't believe a little flirting from Melody picked up my spirits that much. I decided to go home and cut the grass. A little yardwork would keep my mind off my family problems--and Melody's butt.

*****

I was halfway done mowing the back yard when I saw my wife calling to me. I ignored her, pretending I didn't hear or see her. The sunglasses and loud noise from the mower helped. She finally gave up after a few minutes. I wasn't prepared to deal with her. I still had no idea what I was going to do.

I was leaning towards pulling a runner and taking all our money, but we didn't have enough money for me to live on until I retired. I'd just have to figure out how to inflict the most damage to her in the divorce. If she wanted out, she could get out. I hoped I could get the house and let her move in with her lover boy. I figured she'd take the girls with her the way it sounded.

When I finished, I sprayed the grass off my lawn mower with the garden hose and pulled the bags of grass clippings beside the garage. I took as much time as possible, trimming and edging, and when I was done, I liked the way everything looked. I decided against using the trimmer on Erin's flowers, I figured I'd just have to replant them down the road.

Tara bounced out of the house and asked, "Daddy, can you drive us to the movies? We're gonna see Barbie with some friends."

I wondered if one of the friends was that boyfriend Maria was hiding from me.

"No," I barked. "I'm busy."

"Da-addy," she moaned. "Mom's going to some play and can't drive us."

My head snapped over, "Who's she going to the play with?"

Tara looked scared and stuttered, "I-I-I don't know. You'll have to ask her."

I went back to sharpening my mower blade, and said, "Whatever."

"Dad, what about the movie?" she begged.

"Ride your bikes or get a ride from someone else. I'm busy."

She stood there for a few moments as I continued to ignore her presence. I'm sure her face wore a shocked expression. I didn't always say yes to her, but I'd never said no to her like that. Things were going to change from that moment forward and she'd need to get used to it. Every man for themselves, I figured.

I heard the garage's side door slam and shook my head. The big door was open, and she could've just walked back out, but she couldn't slam that one.

Twenty minutes later, my wife walked into the garage wearing a little black dress. I was in the middle of changing her car's oil, and she was pissed.

"What the hell are you doing to my car? I have to go to the play," she shouted.

"What play? You never told me about a play. I just started changing your oil."

"God, damn it! I was trying to get your attention when you were cutting the grass. My co-worker Cheryl has tickets to Wicked and her husband is sick. I'm going with her."

"Oh, well, I should be done in about an hour," I lied.

"An hour? The guys at Jiffy Lube do it in twenty minutes."

"Sure, but this ain't Jiffy Lube, is it? It takes me a bit longer."

She looked at the engine with the funnel sticking out and the air filter sitting on the side and huffed back into the house. There was no way she'd take my truck. It wasn't in bad shape or anything. She would just never set foot in it. Only in her fancy Mercedes.

I wondered if she was going to the play with her boyfriend. It would be interesting to see who picked her up. I sighed ten minutes later when a UBER showed up to get her. I was standing in the driveway a few minutes later, when a car full of kids showed up and my girls got in. They didn't say goodbye either.

I spent my evening researching divorce laws. I learned that I wouldn't be too screwed. The one thing that got my attention was, since Erin made more than twice my income, I'd pay a reduced child support amount and she'd have to pay me alimony. The best part is that while child support would end in a couple of years, she'd have to keep paying alimony. The state had a calculator on the net that I used, and it even told me how long she'd have to pay.

*****

The next morning, I was up at my usual time and showered. I had nothing planned for the day, but I decided to get breakfast at the diner and go to the Sox game. That made me sad, because if not for the betrayal of my family, we'd have gone together. The girls loved the Sox and used to love going to their games.

I walked into the restaurant and sat at the bar. I smiled when Melody's smiling face came out of the kitchen with a pot of coffee. "Hey there, Billy. What's new today?" she asked.

"Divorce," I deadpanned as she poured my coffee.

"Are you serious?"

I nodded.

"Sorry to hear that, Bill. Divorce sucks, believe me."

I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of the scalding beverage.

"Do you mind if I asked what happened?"

"My wife and daughters decided I wasn't what they wanted anymore. I'm a garbage man and I embarrass them, by their own words. It turns out my wife is shopping for my replacement without telling me."

"I'm sorry, Bill. Excuse me while I refill the cups."

I watched her walk away and was pleased to see her perfect posterior was on display again.

"I'm Lucy," came a voice from the little girl I saw the day before. She smiled as she climbed onto the barstool style chair next to me. "Momma says I can't talk to strangers, so you have to tell me your name. That way you're not a stranger anymore."

I laughed and said, "Knowing my name doesn't make me any less a stranger, Princess, but I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm Bill."

She grabbed her glass of water with two hands and put the straw to her lips. The glass looked huge in her little hands, and she reminded me of my daughters.

"I wanted to have chocolate milk, but momma says it's not good for me."

"Momma's right."

Melody walked up with my breakfast and said, "Lucy, please don't bother the customers. I don't want to get in trouble."

"Oh, she's no trouble," I smiled. "It's good to have some cheerful company."

"Want a piece of bacon, Lucy?" I asked. She smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

I slid the side plate over to her and she snatched a piece as if it were the last piece of bacon on the planet. I chuckled as she shoved the whole thing in her mouth.

"Easy, girl. It's not gonna run away on you."

She giggled and bounced off the stool to explore somewhere else.

"What's the matter, Bill?" Melody asked as I watched her daughter be energetic.

"Just thinking of my girls. I don't understand how they can do this to me."

I explained that my girls were ashamed to have me at their games. Maria didn't want me to meet her boyfriend. My wife was grooming my replacement. I was fucked.

She touched my shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"I will be. I'm just second guessing getting the divorce. Maybe, she'll come around and not leave me?"

"Sounds to me like she ain't worth having back." I was surprised by the snarl in her voice.

"Probably not, but I don't have any better options. There's no line of women beating down my door."

She laughed. "Bill, you won't be dating for a long while. You can't just jump from one woman to another. It doesn't work out that way in real life."

I knew she was right. It was silly of me to worry about finding Erin's replacement immediately after kicking her to the curb.

She turned my face to make me face her. "Look, you seem like a good guy. Hell, my daughter talked to you. It took her three days to talk to my boss. She must see your positives."

I laughed.

"You probably don't see it because you're so devoted to that bitch, but there are women out there right now checking you out. You're a handsome guy and in decent shape. If you dressed a little less like an old farmer, you'd be a hell of a catch."

"Old farmer?" I whined.

She laughed again. I was beginning to love that sound.

"Yep. John Deere hat. White t-shirt with pocket. Old jeans. Hell, you even have a red handkerchief sticking out of your back pocket."

I raised my eyebrows at that.

"What?" she chirped. "You think you're the only one who checks out people's butts? Come on, Eat up."

She walked away and tended to her tables. At least she didn't pick on my grass-stained, stereotypical, meme-worthy, dad gym shoes. You know the ones. New Balance specials.

After a few minutes, my coffee was refilled. It didn't take two bites of my breakfast for Lucy to sidle back onto the stool beside me.

"Momma said I have to leave you alone. You don't want me to leave you alone, do ya?"