Heidi woke up that morning due to her alarm going off. She rolled over and grabbed her phone, squinting her eyes as the bright light shined in her face. She turned off the alarm and threw her blankets off. She stood up and walked over to her closet to get her work uniform. She was about to strip down and get dressed when her phone chimed again.

She walked over and checked it. Her phone had sent a reminder. That's right, she promised Evan she'd stay home with him. When he got back, of course; he had school and she wasn't going to let him skip just so they could spend time with each other.

She decided to make him a small breakfast instead of the store bought donuts and muffins she usually left him. She wandered into the kitchen and got down two plates along with a pan. She turned on the stove and walked to the fridge to get sandwich supplies. She was making Evan a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, his favorite food.

It wasn't a traditional breakfast, but he liked it and mornings were the only time she could ever make it for him. So, it was a breakfast food now.

She set his sandwich on the table by his chair. She proceeded to make herself a simple bowl of Cheerios. She set the bowl across from Evan's spot. She did the dishes while she waited for him to wake up. It was 6:25 so it shouldn't take too long.

She heard the blaring alarm from down the hall and smiled as a quiet groan came from the room. The alarm stopped abruptly and soft stumbling could be heard. Five minutes later, Evan came walking down the hallway.

She bit her lip. She wanted to talk to him about last week. She had gotten a voicemail from the school saying he wasn't in any of his classes. But he seemed like he was in a good mood when she got home that she just let it slide. Next time she wouldn't go so easy on him. If there ever is a next time. She hoped there wasn't a next time.

"Morning, Ev," she said as he stopped in the hallway to yawn. He looked surprised and her stomach twisted with guilt.

"Morning," he said softly. He had his cane in his hand, but wasn't using it. Since Heidi was rarely home, she never changed furniture or moved things so he had the layout of the home memorized. He moved to sit down.

Heidi sat down too. "I made you a fried peanut butter and jelly." The smallest smile formed on his lips. "So, I was thinking that we could have tacos tonight. Like we used to."

Evan nodded and bit into his sandwich. They both heard his phone buzz and Evan fished it out of his pocket. He turned it on and the phone read the notification.

"Connor: outside when you're ready," the phone read. Evan quickly finished his sandwich and stood up.

"Doesn't Jared usually pick you up?" Heidi asked, scooping Cheerios onto her spoon.

"Oh um." Evan fidgeted with his sleeve. "He uh, his car is b— it's in the shop."

Heidi frowned at the obvious lie, but didn't push.

"See you later mom," he said. "Thanks, thanks for, for breakfast."

She smiled. "Have a good day." Evan nodded and walked out of the apartment. Heidi sighed and looked around. She wasn't used to days off, especially ones where Evan wasn't home; she didn't know what to do.

She could clean. She had noticed the house was pretty dusty. So that's what she did. She got out cleaning supplies and got to work.

She washed the cabinets in the kitchen because they were surprisingly filthy. She vacuumed. She dusted the tables and the ceiling fan.

She was dusting a table when she spotted the pictures. She set her feather duster down and picked one up. It was of Evan's first day of kindergarten. He had wanted to look good so Heidi got him a new pair of jeans and a nice grey flannel that was buttoned up. Jared was peeking out behind him wearing a Mario shirt and shorts. Bandaids littered both his legs due to constantly playing outside.

Heidi smiled and set the frame down. The next picture was on Evan's seventh birthday party. Jared was there, along with a few neighborhood kids. Evan was blowing out candles, which made his cheeks look chubby.

The third one was when he was nine. It was Halloween and Heidi dressed him up as Wolverine. Jared was there again, wearing an Indiana Jones costume. Heidi noticed Evan was smiling, but not as wide as the others. She frowned and moved to the next one.

It was his first day of middle school. He was nervously playing with the straps on his backpack with Charles at his side. The school let him bring the dog to help him. Although a month into the school year, kids wouldn't stop bothering the dog and he was left at home.

His first day of high school. The smile looked more forced than the others and it made Heidi's heart cry.

First day of junior year. He was hardly smiling. Heidi felt a tear run down her face. She was a horrible mother. Her son was clearing hurting and she's never around for him. That's why she took the day off, so she can make it up. Of course, she won't be able to make up years and years of lost communication, but she can start.

It was 3:36 when Evan got home. Heidi walked out of her room to greet him, along with Charles. "How was your day?" She asked, hoping for an honest answer instead of a simple "fine" or "good".

Evan bent down to untie his shoes. "It was. . . Okay."

"Just okay?" Heidi held her hands behind her back. "Anything happen?" Evan shook his head and she sighed.

"Sorry," Evan stammered on impulse. She quickly assured it was alright and he didn't do anything.

There was a beat of silence before Heidi gasped. "I know," she exclaimed. "We could bake brownies. You used to like doing that."

Evan nodded. "That uh, that sounds, sounds good."

"Well, I'll look up a recipe and get the ingredients ready while you put your backpack away." Heidi moved into the kitchen and started searching for bowls and mixing spoons and a cooking pan. She set them on a table and took out her phone to look for a recipe.

She had it written down on paper by the time Evan came back out. "Can you crack three eggs into the bowl?" She asked.

Evan moved over to the counter and searched for the carton of eggs and the bowl. He found the carton of eggs and opened it, being careful not to accidentally knock it onto the floor. He reached for three eggs and while attempting to balance two eggs in one hand, accidentally dropped one onto the ground.

He jumped backwards, nearly dropping the other eggs. "Sorry!" he exclaimed. "I, I didn't mean— I just, I didn't mean to drop it."

"It's okay, it's okay," Heidi assured. "Here, let me clean it up while you get new socks." Evan nodded and scooted back. Heidi walked over to the fridge where the broom and dustpan were—because everyone keeps it there—and walked back over to the small mess. Evan was leaning against the other counter, still holding the other two eggs, and sniffling. She quickly cleaned up the egg and put the broom and dustpan away.

"Hey," she whispered, stepping closer to her son, "it's alright. I know you didn't mean to, it just happened." She took the eggs from his hands and set them down.

"No, I know," he said, "I just— today was already over, overwhelming a-and there was a test in algebra that I, that I forgot about and we have— we're doing presentations in science. I'm sorry."

"How about we just make the batter and eat it while watching a movie instead?" Heidi suggested. Evan nodded and wiped his nose. She smiled and grabbed the eggs. "You go ahead and pick out a movie, I'll make the batter."

Evan wandered to the living room and sat in front of the small tower of movies.

Heidi went back to the bowl and quickly made the batter. She was still mixing it as she walked over to the couch. Evan was holding The Santa Claus 3, his favorite Christmas movie. They didn't celebrate the holiday, but Evan really likes the movies that come with the winter season.

She traded the bowl for the movie and walked over to the DVD player. She turned it on and put the movie in. She sat next to Evan, tucking her feet under her. She handed Evan a spoon and he put it in the bowl, scooping out some batter.

Halfway through the movie, Heidi got an idea. "You have some batter on your face," she said.

Evan turned. "Where?"

She scooped a small bit of batter onto her finger and poked his nose. "There."

Evan stared for a while before chuckling. Heidi smiled and looked back to the movie. What she didn't expect was Evan smearing a line of batter onto her cheek.

She gasped. "Okay, I should've expected that," she laughed. She scooped out more batter and put it on Evan's forehead.

They spent the next few seconds finding places to put brownie batter on each other, laughing and smiling. There was brownie batter in Heidi's hair and on Evan's glasses. They both stood up and headed to the bathroom to wash the batter off.

"Thanks," Evan said suddenly as he was running a washcloth under cold water. "For, for this. This was fun."

Heidi smiled. "I'm glad you had fun." She sighed. "I'm sorry I'm gone all the time."

"I get it," Evan responded.

Heidi faced her son. "You know I love you, right?"

Evan nodded. "I love you too."

Heidi pulled him in to a hug, earning a surprised squeak. She let go so he could finish washing his face.

"I would like to continue the movie, but I have some homework," he said when he was done.

Heidi nodded. "Alright. I'll call you when dinner's ready." She watched him leave the bathroom and enter his bedroom. She sighed.

Today was a good day.