I came home from work, dropped my keys, and collapsed on the couch. It had been a long day, and I just wanted to relax.
The smell of something cooking reached me from the kitchen. Lucy was stirring a pot, with Danny next to her, peeling carrots.
“Jack, can you set the table?” Lucy asked.
I barely looked up. “That’s your job.”
She sighed, the kind of tired sigh I’d heard before. Danny, of course, didn’t notice.
“I’ll do it, Mommy!” Danny said, hopping down.
“Thanks, sweetheart,” Lucy said.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re gonna turn him into a girl.”
Lucy stiffened, but didn’t respond. Danny frowned. “What’s wrong with helping, Daddy?”
“Boys don’t do housework,” I said, leaning back.
Danny looked confused, and Lucy gently guided him to set the table.
The next day, I overheard Lucy’s friends inviting her to a work conference. She seemed unsure at first, but then agreed to go.
That night, she told me, “My conference is this week. I’m going. You’ll need to take care of Danny while I’m gone.”
“Okay?” I said.
“You’ll need to handle everything here,” she added.
I shrugged it off, but the next morning, I woke up late. Lucy was gone, and I had overslept. I scrambled to get Danny ready.
After a rushed breakfast and a messy morning, I realized I had no clue how to do the laundry or use the dishwasher. It was harder than I thought.
Later, Danny came home and saw the chaos. “Daddy, what happened?” he asked.
“I tried to do everything, but nothing went right,” I admitted.
Danny nodded thoughtfully. “Let’s clean up.”
He immediately got to work, doing the laundry and loading the dishwasher. I stood there in awe—he knew what he was doing.
“How do you know how to do this?” I asked.
“Mom taught me,” he replied.
Suddenly, it hit me. Lucy didn’t just want Danny to learn life skills; she needed him to help because I never did.
I had watched my father sit back while my mother did everything, thinking it was normal. But now, I saw how wrong I was.
The next day, I came home, and Lucy and Danny were cooking together. Lucy smiled and asked, “How was your day?”
“Better than yesterday,” I replied.
Then, for the first time, I said, “Yeah, I’ll help with dinner.”
We worked together, and in that moment, I knew things had to change.
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