(OOC: Sorry for the lackluster RP this week. Been a hell of a week back to work and I ran out of time. Didn’t want to no-show either.)
Sunday June 16th
Father’s Day Bonding
Henderson, Nevada
Ever since before Into The Void XII, Bobbie Dahl has been relatively quiet. She failed to win the Queen For A Day ladder match, although she didn’t really mind all that much as she had failed to put in much of an effort anyway. Her mind just wasn’t in the game lately, and she was having trouble hiding it. But today she would do her best because today is not about her. Today is about the most important person in her life, next to Artie of course. Today is all about her amazing father, Ken, because today is Father’s Day.
She just parked her car in her parent’s driveway, turning off the engine and putting it in park. Loki was jumping around excitedly in the backseat, waiting to be let out so he could run up to the front door and see his grandparents. It was just the two of them today, and as disappointed as Bobbie was, she thought it was probably for the best. Artie was still having a hard time emotionally lately.
Bobbie finally gets out of the driver’s seat of the car and opens the back passenger door. Loki wastes no time in lunging out of the car and making a mad dash for the front door. Before he even gets there, Bobbie’s mother opens the front door and happily greets her grandpuppy. He greets her just as happily with his entire backend and tail wagging away. What Bobbie and many others like to call the “wiggle butt.”
Bobbie slowly makes her way up to the front door and smiles when her mother looks up to her, all while still petting and loving on Loki. “Hey Ma.” She says, carrying a gift in her hand. Presumably a Father’s Day gift for her father. “Loki, settle down, buddy. Give grandma some room.”
Bobbie’s mother smiles and lets out a laugh. “Oh he’s fine, Bobbie. He’s a good boy and doesn’t jump on me.” Loki finally settles down enough and stands between Bobbie and her mother as they exchange a quick welcoming hug. Her mother looks behind her to the car, waiting to see Artie. “Where’s Artie?”
Bobbie shakes her head with a disappointed look on her face. “He flew to Illinois to be with his dad.” She says with a shrug. “I mean I guess I understand.”
Bobbie’s mother frowns and takes in a deep breath. “Don’t you worry, sweetie. You just focus on spending time with your father today.” She opens the door and Loki jumps over the threshold and into the house. He makes a mad dash around the house, looking for his grandpa.
Bobbie nods as she stops just inside as her mother closes the door. It feels good to be inthe air conditioning with the Nevada heat. “Speaking of Dad. Where is he?”
“Do you really need to ask?” Her mother replies with a laugh.
Bobbie looks to the back door leading to the backyard patio. Loki is already there, wagging his behind excitedly once again. “Man patio?” She asks, and they share a laugh as her mother nods. They make their way to the patio door, opening it so Loki can go find his grandpa.
He doesn’t have to look very hard, as Ken is sitting in his chair under a large patio umbrella to keep shaded from the sun. He has a glass of ice cold sun-tea in his hand as he enjoys a few minutes outside. Loki runs up to him and puts his head in his lap, greeting him as only a dog can. Ken sets his sun-tea down on the table next to him and pets his grandpuppy’s head.
“Hey there Loki, bud.” He says, scratching Loki’s head with a smile. “How’s the king of wiggle butts doing today?” Loki responds even more excitedly, wiggling his butt even more. This makes everyone laugh, and Ken turns to see his wife and daughter stepping out onto the patio.
“Happy Father’s Day, Dad!” Bobbie says, hugging her father when he stands up to do the same. She sets his gift down on the table. “I’ll still never understand how you can spend so much time out on this patio, even under an umbrella. I feel like I’m gonna melt.”
Ken laughs and invites his daughter to sit down in the chair next to his. Her mother heads back inside to get Bobbie a cold drink. “We lived in Illinois your whole life, Bobbie.” He reminds her and she nods with a roll of her eyes. “The humidity made it one hundred times worse, remember?”
“How could I forget?” She replies. Indeed the midwest summers always seemed worse than those in Nevada, because of the added humidity. While Nevada definitely dealt with hotter temperatures, it was a dry heat. Those from the midwest had to deal with humidity that sucked the soul right out of you some days.
“No Artie today?” Ken asks, looking around for his son in-law and Bobbie just shakes her head. She had already briefly told her mother why he wasn’t here, but being reminded again made her heart ache a little more than before. “What’s going on, Bobbie?” He could tell she was trying to hide any emotional pain she was feeling.
Bobbie shakes her head and takes in a deep breath. She really didn’t want to talk about this on Father’s Day so she tries to shrug it off. “Nothing, Dad. He flew out to Illinois for a few days to be with his Dad. That’s all.”
Ken frowns and slowly nods. “I see.” He replies, not believing that was the whole truth. After what happened a few weeks ago, he and Bobbie’s mother were well aware of the marital problems Artie’s parents were experiencing. “You could have flown him out here. We could have thrown some stuff on the grill and had a great time.”
Bobbie nods. That was what she had originally wanted, but Artie shot it down. “Oh I tried, Dad. I pitched that idea to him right away, but he said he needed to get away for a few days and that I should focus on spending some quality time with you alone. I dunno, though.” She shrugs. The more she thought about it, the more the intrusive and negative thoughts started to race in her mind as her anxiety…Piper…started to once again make an appearance.
“Bobbie, honey…” Ken says, turning to face his daughter. “Tell me what’s going on. I know he’s been having a hard time with what is going on with his parents, but is everything okay with you two?” Ken seems generally concerned for Bobbie and the state of her marriage.
Bobbie remains silent for a few moments. She is so mentally exhausted from all of the stress lately she can’t even cry, though she wants to. And she knows she won’t be able to keep anything from her father. “I just don’t know what’s really going on in Artie’s head. I get that he is angry with his mother, but he won’t let me in. And he gets upset with me over the smallest things.”
Bobbie’s mother returns with a glass of sun tea for Bobbie. She sets it down in front of her and when she looks to Ken, he holds up a finger, quietly requesting a chance to speak to Bobbie alone. She nods and disappears back in the house as Ken turns his attention back to Bobbie. “I’m sure he just needs some time to work through everything. His mother’s affair is a pretty big betrayal for their family. But don’t give up on him.”
Bobbie shakes her head. “I never would. I just don’t want him to give up on us for some reason.” She pauses to take a drink of her tea, enjoying the refreshing taste only sun tea can offer. “Maybe this trip home will make things better. And I hope I can focus during my match next weekend.”
“He won’t be back in time?” Ken asks quickly.
Bobbie shrugs. “I’m not sure. He said he needed a few days so maybe he’ll be back but maybe he’ll take more time.” She again pauses and goes silent for a long while. She wants so bad to break down in tears and cry one of those long hard cries that everyone needs sometimes, but she can’t. She just turns back to look at her father with sad eyes. “I just feel like I’m losing him, Dad.”
Ken can tell the emotional pain she is feeling. He stands up and pulls her up with him, and pulls her into a comforting hug. And it’s what Bobbie needed right now, aside from everything to go back to normal with Artie.
