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Jake was in the fifth grade when it really started to hit him.
As the school year began drawing to a close and their art classes took on final projects, Jake was prepared yet again to make another father’s day craft that he’d end up throwing away.
His dad always said he’d come. Every year. They were supposed to spend the day together while Karen caught up on chores. They always made the plan. Karen would get Jake dressed up in a nice outfit, comb his unruly curls, make sure his gapped teeth were sparkly white to be picked up by his dad as he clutched the homemade craft to his chest eagerly. Every year Jake would wait out on the stoop out front, watching cars whizz by that weren’t the same color as his dad’s. Waving to Gina as she was driven off by her mom for a visit with her dad, who wasn’t the greatest, but always showed up for special occasions. Waiting until the sun finally was hidden behind the hills, and his mother urged him inside for dinner. She always made enough for two.
In fifth grade, Jake stopped making the father’s day gift. What was the point, after all? He didn’t have a father to give it to. It was just another Sunday at the Peralta household. From that point on, Karen and Jake allowed the facade to fall. They didn’t try to call and arrange a meeting. Roger didn’t call either. Jake didn’t try to dress up nice or allow himself to hope for something special to happen. Father’s Day was a waste of a holiday, and he’d never look forward to it again.
Until June 21st, 2020.
This year, Jake awoke to the smell of bacon cooking, and the unfamiliar silence that meant his baby wasn’t crying. That alarmed him a bit, and he shot up in bed, concerned.
Realizing his wife’s spot in the bed was empty, Jake threw the covers aside and hopped to his feet, stretching his limbs slightly as he threw a t-shirt over his bare torso. He padded out of the bedroom down the hall and poked his head in Mac’s nursery, realizing the crib was empty. He then followed the smell into the kitchen, where the sight before him caused a lump to form in his throat.
Amy was standing at the stove, still clad in her nightshorts and gray tank-top. The brilliant golden beams of sunlight that washed in through the windows illuminated her dark skin with glowing rays. Amy had always been ethereally beautiful in Jake’s eyes, but since becoming the mother of his child, that essence had only been amplified.
She was tending to some sizzling bacon and pancakes and their son Mac was jiggling a colorful toy as he relaxed in his playpen.
On the kitchen table was a large bouquet of flowers, with a beautiful handwritten note that could only have been written by the penmanship queen herself, Amy. A large wrapped box was beside it, and next to that, a gift bag with tissue paper sticking out the top. Jake glanced up from the table to his wife, who was turning to face him as his entrance was noticed.
“Good morning.” She grinned and began walking toward him, “Happy first Father’s Day!”
Jake allowed himself to be embraced by her, leaning his face into the crook of her neck and burying it in her hair for a moment as he inhaled her familiar scent. Amy squeezed him tightly, and gently ran her fingers down the nape of his neck where his curls were growing out long enough to tickle his ears.
Amy pulled away after a moment, her beaming smile unrelenting, “Sleep alright babe?”
“Ames,” Jake murmured, gesturing toward the table, then the stovetop, “What’s all this?”
Amy quirked an eyebrow up, tilting her head at him like he was crazy, “What do you mean babe? It’s Father’s Day.”
She turned back toward the stove to grab the sizzling bacon out of the pan, dropping it on a paper plate before focusing her attention to the pancakes. Jake crossed the kitchen toward Mac’s playpen, leaning down to scoop the baby up in his arms. Mac cooed excitedly and swatted a chubby fist at his dad, who grinned and planted a kiss on the boy’s knuckles.
Jake walked the baby back over to where Amy was standing, watching her start plating the food.
“Need some help?” he offered.
“Absolutely not.” Amy’s voice was stern, “You should sit down right now so I can serve you. You’re not doing anything today except for being pampered.”
Jake was instantly uncomfortable with the attention, “Amy, you don’t have to-”
She turned to him with a strict expression, “Treat my husband on Father’s Day?”
“Make a fuss.” He finished with an eye roll, “I’m not doin’ anything special.”
Amy passed him with a steaming plate of food, which Jake had to admit, smelled good. She wasn’t the best cook in the world, but she could definitely handle some breakfast food. She’d told Jake that when she was a kid, sometimes she’d have to make breakfast for her little brothers on weekends, so she perfected it pretty well.
Amy set the plate down and filled a glass with orange juice before moving to their coffee marker and pouring a large, hot mug for Jake. She pointed at the table, “Put the baby down and sit.”
He obliged reluctantly, setting Mac back in the playpen. The baby was all too happy to get back to his fake orange telephone with it’s gigantic buttons. Jake sat down and waited for Amy to sit with her own breakfast before he began eating.
The pancakes were fluffy and cinnamon-coated, and the bacon was perfectly crisp. Amy made a bad ass cup of coffee, and the OJ washed it all down perfectly. He couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“Ames you really didn’t have to do all this.” He told her after he’d cleaned his plate, “But thank you. It was amazing. And I can’t believe you finally bought me flowers.”
Amy chuckled, finishing her own breakfast and nodding, “Yeah well I figured I owed you some since I’ve never bought you flowers before.” she took a sip of her own coffee, glancing over at her husband, “Wanna open your gifts?”
Jake sighed, glancing over at the wrapped box and bag, “You really shouldn't’ have-”
“Jake.” Amy chided gently at his resistance.
“Okay.” Jake put his hands up in defeat and reached over to pluck the note up off the table. In Amy’s brilliantly scrawled calligraphy, it read:
Jake, I know that no present is ever going to quantify just how grateful we are to have you, but it’s still nice to get one anyway, right? I can’t begin to tell you how much I love you, and how thankful I am that I married you. Getting pregnant felt like an endless battle, and I’m not sure if I would have been able to make it through that with anyone but you. You have been the most amazing father from the moment we found out we were going to have Mac. Our son is only five months old and he is already the luckiest kid in the world, because he has you.
I know that this day hasn’t always held the best memories for you, and I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that. But just know that you are already the complete opposite of everything you feared. You are the most incredible, caring, selfless man I’ve ever met, and an even better father. Sometimes you even make me question my own parenting, because this has come so naturally to you. I wake up every morning and thank God that our son gets to have you as his dad.
Today marks the start of a new tradition. A day where Mac and I show you just how grateful we are that we are lucky enough to be the people you call your family. We love you Daddy.
Love, Ames and McClane.
Beside Amy and Mac’s signed names, was a little, unintelligible red squiggle. Jake looked up at Amy inquisitively.
“Mac signed it.” she told him with a toothy-grin.
Jake wasn’t sure why, but that was what sent him over the edge. He brought his hand to his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to roll down his cheeks. In a moment, he felt Amy’s warm hands stroking his biceps.
“I know you don’t like to be celebrated.” Amy murmured in his ear gently, “But you’re the best daddy in the world, and you deserve it. So let me take care of you today, okay babe?”
Jake could barely form a coherent thought, so he just nodded while he sniffled and tried to dry his eyes, embarrassed by the onslaught of emotion. He blinked rapidly and finally settled down enough to speak.
“Sorry.” he managed, laughing weakly.
“Don’t be sorry.” Amy reassured him warmly, “Remember how much I cried on mother’s day?”
Jake chuckled, because he certainly did. When Amy had walked in to see the elaborate mother’s day feast, and the romantic puzzle Jake had created for her, she’d bawled openly for fifteen minutes. The puzzle question was, “Who’s the best mom in the world?” And of course the answer was three simple letters.
“Open the gift.” Amy urged. Jake reached over and grabbed the box, peeling the wrapping paper away with wide eyes as he revealed the sneaker box inside.
“No way!” He cried, pulling the box open with a gasp, “Jordan 6 Hares!” he shook his head, “Amy these came out like three days ago how did you-”
“Oh I have my ways Peralta.” She rolled her eyes, then smiled nervously, “Do you like them?”
“Are you crazy?!” he demanded, grabbing the sneakers and sliding his foot in with a sensual moan, “Oh- Ames!”
They were white with red and green trim, and the exact ones he’d coveted after seeing the ad on Instagram. They were also stupidly out of budget. He couldn’t believe Amy had even paid enough attention to figure out the exact model he’d wanted.
“Amy you should not have-”
“Jake!” she interrupted pointedly.
“Sorry. I love them babe. Thank you so much!” he reached up and planted a hard kiss on her lips. She smiled into it, returning the kiss eagerly.
When they pulled away, she gestured to the bag, “This one’s from Mac.”
Jake chuckled at the notion of their baby gift shopping and wrapping, but began pulling the tissue paper out. He tossed it behind him haphazardly, knowing it would irk Amy, but hey, it was his day.
Jake frowned in confusion as he pulled out two small square pieces of laminated paper. Then, his eyes widened as he realized they were plane tickets. He looked up at his wife.
“Ames…” he said, “What is this?”
“Jake.” she replied with a grin, “We are going to take our first trip as parents. I booked us a hotel on the beach for a week.”
“Amy!” Jake couldn’t help his disbelief. As much as he coveted some much-needed time off with his wife, they were still on a post-baby budget. Raising a kid wasn’t cheap, and Amy had dreams to buy a house.
“Don’t worry.” She reassured him, “I’ve been setting money aside for this since I got pregnant. It won’t hurt the budget.”
Jake felt his heart do a strange sort of dance at the thought of his wife saving money when she was pregnant for a trip that wouldn’t happen until their son was nearly half a year old. It was a strange feeling; being reminded that he was one of the most loved people on earth just because of Amy. She truly was a force of nature.
“I-I don’t know what to say.” he admitted, “Amy this is really amazing. Who’s gonna watch Mac? What are we gonna do about work? What about the-”
“Your mom and my mom are trading off each half of the week we’ll be gone.” Amy told him, “Holt already approved the time off with his blessing to ‘relax and let off steam so we can further excel at our jobs with clear minds and bodies.’ And everything else is just details. We’re going next month!”
Jake got to his feet and pulled Amy into his arms, the utter and complete joy coursing through his body was incomprehensible. Amy laughed happily and curled her arms around his back, snuggling up to his chest.
“I love you.” Jake breathed into her neck, “I love you so much Amy.”
“I love you too.” she murmured softly, leaning her cheek into his shoulder as they were both used to in their hugs, “Thank you for being the best dad and husband we could ask for Jake.”
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” Jake whispered, “But I’m really glad I did it.”
Before either of them could say more, a low, sustained wail came from the playpen across the kitchen. Sounded like someone had a full diaper. The couple pulled apart, reality settling back around their shoulders.
“I’ll get that.” Amy told him, moving to go grab Mac.
“No,” Jake gently touched her arm with a smile, “Can I?”
She frowned, “You’re supposed to just be relaxing.”
“Don’t worry.” He assured her. He crossed the room and scooped Mac up, whose cries somewhat died down as his dad’s familiar arms circled around him.
Jake offered Amy a grin as he held his son close, “Nothing’s better than this.”