JSW Challenge — Problem Solved

Fandango

“Dad, look what you did,” Jonathan said. “You’ve ruined everything. Mom would never have let this happen.”

“Well, your mom left us when she ran off with her boss,” Andy said. “So it’s just you and me kid. I can fix this.”

“How can you fix this, Dad?” Jonathan asked. “These were for my class at school. You ruined everything!”

“I will slather them with a thick coat of icing,” Andy said. “They’ll look delicious.”

“Dad, they’re burnt cupcakes!” Jonathan whined. “This is a disaster.”

“It’s okay, Jonathan,” Andy said. “I’ll drive you to school tomorrow and on the way we’ll stop at the bakery in town and I’ll pick up a dozen of their freshly baked cupcakes. Problem solved. Done and done.”

“Fine,” Jonathan said. Then he started to cry. “Why did she go away, Dad? Was it my fault?”

“No, Jonathan,” Andy said, hugging his son. “It had nothing to do with you. I promise you, the two of us are going to be okay. Your mother leaving us is not a fate worse than death. We’re going to get through this together.”

Jonathan smiled up at his father. “Based upon what you did to these cupcakes, Dad, we’re not off to a great start,” he said.

Written for the JSW (Just Start Writing) prompt from Athling2001 at A Writer’s Life. This week’s challenge is a dialogue prompt using the two phrases highlighted above in red. Photo credit: Micheal Axelsen at Flickr.com.

24 thoughts on “JSW Challenge — Problem Solved”

  1. Sadje November 22, 2022 / 9:04 am

    Many kids feel that way after the parents split up. Great story Fandango

    Liked by 1 person

  3. pensitivity101 November 22, 2022 / 10:50 am

    I’d lop off the tops, cover them in butter cream icing and decorate with smarties.
    Kids always feel it’s their fault when parents split. I had that with ex partner. The ex wife and I actually got on in the end so they had the best of both worlds really. Good story Fandango.

    Liked by 2 people

    • donmatthewspoetry November 23, 2022 / 1:04 am

      The best way to end a split. You were lucky. Not all end up like this.

      “The ex wife and I actually got on in the end so they had the best of both worlds really”

      Liked by 1 person

      • pensitivity101 November 23, 2022 / 9:51 am

        I put the kids first but laid it on the line with the ex wife after ex partner had catered to yet another of her whims which basically cancelled Christmas with my parents. I told her that she was welcome to see the kids any time, have them stay when she wanted to, but if I had made plans that included them, I was not changing them for her or anybody.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Nope, Not Pam November 22, 2022 / 11:11 am

    You turned a terrible situation in a great explanation. Break ups suck

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Renard Moreau November 22, 2022 / 3:19 pm

    🙂 Wow, Fandango! That was a very beautiful piece of writing, my friend.

    You handled the “Just Start Writing” prompt nicely.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. cagedunn November 22, 2022 / 7:44 pm

    They don’t look that bad. I’ve seen (and eaten) worse (but not going to admit to being the one to cook ’em).
    It’s one way to show kids that things don’t get abandoned just because something’s gone wrong. You fix it, and you keep it. A really nice creamy topping …
    No abandonment, just cos it’s a bit unusual.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Fandango November 28, 2022 / 12:00 pm

      Thanks for the interesting prompt.

      Like

Comments are closed.