#colored pic is him after his wife and kids passed away so he's going through it tm

[gyllenekamuy]

oh look, my favorite single dad

[tommysandwich]

New Mama Pinkie

((In which I go for written word in lieu of mother-child bonding pics because I only just remembered at the last minute that I wanted Pinkie focus for this Mother’s Day. And I’m a day late. XP

Kind of a sequel to this post. 

Anyway...))

Pinkie’s eyes fluttered open, her vision full of blurry whites and grays and even mint greens as her numb head tried to make sense of what happened. She drew in deep breaths, turning her head to catch those indistinct blobs of dull colors. She blinked more and more, her vision becoming more clear with each blink, as well as the memories from before she had passed out returning. 

She soon could see that she was in a hospital room, with simple adornments and a open curtain to show an empty bed next to her. Upon realizing what she was doing here, her abdomen grew sore, but strangely not her mood. 

I was having a baby! she remembered with glee, though her body remained sluggish. No, wait, two babies! She giggled at the thought. Despite all the agony that giving birth put her through, there was a euphoria to knowing that she was a mom to two beautiful little foals. Granted, she only knew what one looked like, what gender it was--a colt--and the fact that they named him after her husband Cheese’s grandfather, Pizza Pockets. 

All she knew about the second was that it was a surprise. 

She frowned and looked at her belly, which still looked to have some pudge even after the foals were out. Rubbing it tenderly, all she could remember of round two of giving birth was that it was more painful than the first, there was an unnerving amount of blood, and that she was feeling so sick and sweaty she felt like her heart was going to explode. Everything went blurry, and she couldn’t understand what Cheese had been saying before she passed out. 

The memory felt like a weird dream. Granted, she was here, she was sore, and she was a little miffed that she didn’t know who little Pizza’s twin was.

Fortunately, Nurse Redheart opened the door, apparently talking with Cheese as they went in. It kind of sounded like scolding.

“So now that we’ve flushed all that caffeine out of your system, and made you sleep, I think you’re safe to see--oh!” Redheart stopped in her tracks at the sight of Pinkie beaming and waving at them. She looked at the gaping Cheese, a stallion who was bearing bags under his eyes and brown scruff on his muzzle, watching his smile getting wider by the minute. She was powerless to stop his leap to her bedside.

He did seem to be a bit aware of Pinkie’s soreness, and just hugged her gently while planting kisses on her cheeks, before finishing with a lingering smooch on her lips. His facial hair tickled, and Pinkie couldn’t help but giggle. 

They broke apart, and Cheese stroked her mane. “I’m so happy you’re okay, Pinkie!” He laughed and their foreheads touched. “I was so scared when they had to put you in intensive care!”

“I’m happy to be awake!” Pinkie replied. She pouted curiously. “What happened?”

Nurse Redheart drew closer to the bed. “The strain of foaling twins caused some tears in the uterus, leading to a hemorrhage that put you in shock. Doctor Stable and some other doctors had to act quickly to fix it... and make sure your panicking husband didn’t inadvertently interfere.”

“You kicked me out of the room,” Cheese deadpanned.

Redheart shot him a sharp look. “Yes.” She looked back at Pinkie. “Being premature, the foals had to be sent to the NICU. The good news is that they’re responding well to treatment. I was honestly more worried about your husband than I was about them.”

Cheese put a hoof on his heart, taken aback by that statement. “What?” He then waved the hoof and scoffed. “No, I’m just fine, you didn’t have to put me under care, so no need to worry about me just because I stayed up for a few days and guzzled several gallons of coffee just to keep awake and not miss any news.”

Pinkie gave him a funny look. “Don’t you hate coffee?”

Cheese bore a smile that looked physically painful and twitched. “It’s disgusting, I threw up several times--from the taste or having too much or maybe just worrying about my wife and kids, I don’t know. I also twitched. A lot. Made me dizzy and my headache worse and I worried that somepony stole my memories again and I cried.” He noticed Redheart’s raised eyebrow and looked away, flushing from embarrassment. 

“Oh, no wonder you’re so scruffy right now,” Pinkie said.

Cheese felt his chin. “I gotta shave later.”

“I feel sorry for that brother of yours, trying and failing to keep you from hurting yourself,” the nurse murmured. She turned back to Pinkie. “Anyway... I’ll get the doctor. He’ll run some tests on you to make sure your recovery is going smoothly, and we’ll administer medication to ease your pain.”

The nurse turned to leave when Pinkie shouted, “Wait!” 

Pinkie realized that shouting was a bad idea, as a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. She forgot that she wasn’t completely healed yet. Still, with a hoof rubbing her belly in some vain attempt to soothe it, she she looked at Redheart and asked, “Can I see my babies? I want to see my babies! Oh, I just wanna cradle their little heads and talk to them and tickle their chins...”

Redheart pursed her lips. “Well... we should determine if it’s safe for you to be there.”

Pinkie could feel her heart wavering, fearing that it was going to be crushed. “Oh, I’m sure I’m good enough to see them! I’m their mommy! They shouldn’t be missing out on their mommy! Do they even know they have a mommy?” Talking a lot was sure not doing wonders for that hurt womb, growing sorer as she rambled. “I mean, I don’t even know what one of them looks like, or even if its a filly or colt! I feel really bad for not knowing!”

Noticing her clutching her belly, Cheese pulled closer and petted her mane. “Pinkie, Pinkie... slow down. Panicking and possibly hurting yourself again is not going to help your case with the doctor.” He stroked her cheek and smiled. “Hey, I know you’re a fast healer, and the doc will see that. But, if not... no matter how long it takes for you to see the twins, it doesn’t change the fact that you are their mother, and they’re going to love you and forgive your for missing their first few days. You’re too lovable, you know.”

Pinkie giggled. “Aw, Cheesy...”

Redheart cleared her throat to get their attention. “Now, now, what I meant was that we should make sure they’re ready to be held, and that no infection occurred since your last tests. Their father has been able to sing lullabies to them from outside the window before he overdosed on the coffee.”

Cheese blushed again at the coffee mention. “Just get the doctor. The sooner the better.”

It was fortunate that Pinkie checked out, with the doctor gladly stating that there was no infection, and that if she rests and keeps stress to a minimum during the rest of her stay, she’ll be on the fast track to heal. It was also fortunate that the staff at the NICU had the news that the little twins were stable, and their parents could come in and interact a little more intimately.

Pinkie was wheeled to the room where the twins were held, awaiting with baited breath the moment she saw them. Meanwhile, Cheese was giving a few spoilers on who Pizza Pockets’ twin was--she was a filly, she was just as cute as her mom though currently not as huggable, she was tinier than her brother, and Cheese had trouble naming her for a while, running through the whole list that he and Pinkie came up with until he almost strangled his brother with it. The nurse had startled him when pressing for the filly’s name, and Cheese just blurted out the first name he saw from the list: Fudge Fondue. 

He was lucky that Fudge’s hair color made the name somewhat suitable. 

“Though, thinking on it...” Cheese said. “I probably should have named her ‘Something Surprise’--because, well, she was a surprise. Like ‘Fudge Surprise’, or ‘Strawberry Surprise’, or--”

“It’s okay, Cheese,” Pinkie said. “Fudge Fondue is a yummy name! The two words even start with the same letter, and that’s always fun! We could save Surprise for a later foal...”

Cheese pursed his lips. “I don’t know... after what happened at the birth, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to have any more.”

Pinkie furrowed her brow. “Well, why not? I’d be all healed up by the time we’re ready to have another.”

Cheese sighed. “I know, but... the doctor said that we have a higher risk of it happening again, and I’m not sure if we can take that chance. We hit slim chances a lot, and this is something I definitely don’t want to happen again, especially since I don’t know if you’d survive the next time. You get me?”

Pinkie’s heart sank, exemplified by her mane deflating into a droop. As much as she hated to admit it, Cheese did have a point. “I see.”

Cheese stroked her mane. “I’m sorry. I know you wanted a big family.”

Pinkie just looked down at her belly. “Yeah. At least we have our twins.”

Soon enough, they were brought to the NICU, which had rows of incubators against the walls, several of them containing tiny sleeping foals that had wires and tubes attached to them. They were left to the nurses tending to the babies in there, two of whom looked up and recognized Cheese, who needed to assure them that he was okay now, and that his wife was ready to meet the twins. 

Forced to furiously scrub their forelegs clean, the new parents were brought to one particular pair of incubators. Pinkie waited in her wheelchair and Cheese siat on a nearby chair as the unicorn nurses gingerly lifted the two tiny foals from their incubators, and levitated them into their parents’ grasp.

Pinkie then realized that it was one thing to tell yourself you were a mother of twins, but then actually meeting the twins made her feel like her mind floated away like a balloon, and making her wonder all over again if it was a dream.

Cradling her son, Pinkie ran her eyes over every inch of Pizza Pockets’ little face, though ignoring the thin tube taped to his face and entering his nostril. In simple terms, Pizza looked mostly like his father, from his orangey color, to his muzzle shape, to the Sandwich forelock poking out from under his blue cap, and even some of the facial expressions he made. The most obvious things that weren’t Cheese were the mane, which was an reddish orange, and the eyes that opened to reveal teal instead of green. 

This felt so weird, but maybe she could introduce herself like she would any other pony. “Hiya, Pizza Pockets. I’m Pinkie Pie, but you can call me Mom. Or Mommy, or Mama, or Ma, or Madre, or... you know, whatever you want to call your... mother.”

That felt a little wrong, but that didn’t matter. Pinkie felt a lump in her throat, biting her lip as she smiled. Several circumstances kept her from bouncing around the room, so she just had to settle with the swelling of joy she felt in her heart. Which swelled bigger when Pizza decided that he liked his mom and smiled at her. 

Cheese looked over to them. “He’s got your smile.”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...” Pinkie didn’t have enough in her for a bigger squeal (probably for the best, considering the other babies in the room), but it was no matter, for it was plenty to convey how she felt to Cheese. “Oh, wow! I just called myself a mother! Did this baby really come out of me? Is this what was in me for almost a year? Did we really make him? I can’t believe we made a brand new pony!”

Cheese chuckled, and held up the foal he was holding. “Not just him, remember? We made this one too.”

Pinkie stared at Fudge Fondue, who did have Pinkie’s coat color and face, though with her father’s chocolate hair, and tired eyes that matched her brother’s. Again, she felt her heart nearly explode when the filly let out a squeaky yawn. 

Pinkie reached over with a free hoof and tickled her chin. “Did you come out of me, too? Ooh, you caught us by surprise, Fudgy! Pizza could have at least told us he had a sister.”

Fudge blinked, and gave her a little smile, complete with dimples. Pinkie grinned back, and looked up at Cheese. “She’s got your smile.”

“Heh, good to know. I kind of missed it when I was in panic mode.” Cheese lowered his forelegs to put Fudge back in cradle position, and then laid against the chair. “It’s weird to think that you and I made these little ponies. Even after a few days, it’s blowing my mind that we’re parents.”

“I know, right?” Pinkie took Pizza’s little hoof, which was just barely the size of a bit. “Suddenly it feels like the stork makes more sense than what actually happened. Cheese, am I still knocked out and just dreaming this?”

“Yes.” Cheese pulled a mock serious expression. “You also dreamed up the entire pregnancy, our wedding, every time you and your friends saved Equestria, and even my existence. Everything you know is wrong, get out of bed.”

Pinkie laughed, and it wasn’t long before she was shushed by nurses and she felt a weird, numb jolt in her belly trying to be pain. With a squeak and a groan, she looked up at a startled Cheese and said, “Um... don’t make me laugh too hard.”

Cheese grimaced. “Oh, sorry.”

Pinkie took a deep breath, and looked between the twins. “I can’t wait until they stop needing those tubes in their noses and under their diapers and become healthy, bouncy babies. I can’t wait until I get all better and am back to my bouncy self. And I can’t wait for all of us to get home and officially start our family life together.”

Cheese put his free hoof on her free hoof. “I can’t wait for all of that... and to see how our little bundles of joy grow up. Just hope I know how to dad.”

“I have... some idea how to mom. I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

They just sat there, staring at each other’s eyes and holding hooves. The worst of it was over, they were just now waiting for everyone’s full recovery. Each parent held a little foal, letting it sink in that these little ones were theirs and they had made them, even as the mother’s mind kept imploding at the fact that she pushed two little bodies out of her own body. Some doubt of this being their reality lingered in the back of their minds, but it was no matter, they were planning on keeping the babies, and raising them and loving them as much as equinely possible. 

Then, a question crossed Pinkie’s mind.

“Hey, you know our little guessing game that all of Ponyville got into?”

Cheese blinked. “Yeah?”

“So, did does that mean both Team Colt and Team Filly won, or just the guy who guessed twins?”

[emergenciesstory]

We Need You - Part 6

Summary: A confession, a meeting, a recognition, a Wedding

Words: 2019 (This one got away from me)

A/N: While normally the breaks are a new scene/time lapse, this time it’s a POV flip. Pic’s are inspiration I had. No Beta- all mistakes mine (and I’m sure theres a ton as I stopped proofreading to post these faster.)

Also!: Forever thankful for @haven-in-writing for reading and commenting and willing this series to go on. Doll, your enthusiasm (and hatred of the angst) have willed me to keep writing. Keep being amazing!

We Need You Masterlist

It had been a few weeks since the rescue mission, and things had seemed to go back to normal. You had been receiving messages from the tower about everyone’s recovery, and slowly, the messages tapered out as life began again. Curled up against your wife, all was right with the world. The ringing of your phone woke you. Groping around in the darkness, you pulled the phone to your ear, softly pulling away from Max.

    “Hello?” you whispered, standing and walking towards the balcony.

    “Hey, Y/n/n. ‘M sorry, you were sleepin’.” Steve’s voice was soft on the other end of the phone. You smiled to yourself, he sounded so much better.

    “Hey, no worries Stevie. To what do I owe the pleasure?” The air was crisp and cool, but the quietness of the mountain in the morning was worth it.

    “Well, I was hoping it wouldn’t be too inconvenient for you to come to the farm today. It’s time.” He half laughed and you could see the blush on his cheeks.

    “I’d love to, Steve. What time are you planning?”

    “Afternoon? The fall colors and the sunset would be nice for pictures.” You could hear Bucky grumble in the background for Steve to hush, grumbling something about beauty sleep.

    “We will be there after lunch. Tell Buck to shut it, he’s pretty enough.” Steve’s chuckle confirmed Bucky was flicking you off, and the sun crested the mountain at the sound of his voice. It really was a pretty fall day to get married.

    “See you later, y/n/n. Love you.” Steve murmured.

    “Love you too, Stevie.” The call ended as you felt arms around you.

    “G’Morning, babe.” You sighed to Max, taking in the morning.

    “What was that? You have to go back?” She asked, voice quiet.

    “No, no we have a wedding to attend,” you hummed, running your hand through Max’s hair.

    “Who’s going to be there?” She asked, suddenly more alert.

    “Just the team, maybe a few of the newbies. Remember? I told you they wanted to meet you, love.”

    Max Nodded her head, sighing into you. You had told her a few days after you returned, mentioning they all wanted to meet her.

    “Can I ask you something?” Max said, looking up to you.

    “Always, babe. What’s up?” You looked down at her, a smile on your face. You sat down on the small swing, pulling Max in your lap to enjoy the morning.

    “I know you and Bucky were a thing before us, but what about you and Steve?” She asked, quietly.

    Concern laced your features, “What made you think of that?” You asked, holding her close.

    “It was just a question. No harm no foul?” She said shrugging. You had both been talking about the team dynamics and things the public didn’t know about your team all month, laughing and relaxing in knowing nothing was hidden between you. The rule “no harm no foul” began long ago, telling her no question would make you leave, and vice versa. It was a rule you had made before marrying the girl and stood by.

    “Steve and I were a thing, yes, but never physically involved. It was between the time I was with Bucky and meeting you. The emotional Catch-all. Kissing and cuddling and crying. He’s like a big brother to me.” You said, looking out at the woods coming to life with color and creatures. Max hummed, her thanks for answering, and nestled closer into you, falling asleep again.

    Max woke a couple hours later, the feel of your chest rising and falling behind her comforting. Slowly getting up, she covered you with a blanket and ventured back inside, brewing coffee before jumping in the shower. Friday dinged that a message had come in.

    “Go ahead Friday.” She said, cutting of the water and stepping into the steam, wrapping a towel around herself.

    “The Grooms would like to remind you the theme is casual, but that Y/N should bring her suit for a team photo.”

    “Thank you, Friday.” You said, coming into the bathroom right as the message ended. Giving Max a kiss, you stripped and stepped into the shower, allowing the hot water to arm your bones.

    “What are you wearing?” Max asked, drying her hair sitting on the toilet.

    “Umm, most likely my sweater and that cute scarf you got me last week.” You said, thinking of what was in your closet. 

    “With your brown boots?”

    “Yeah. You should wear that flannel I love, with the vest? It’d be cute.” You turned off the water and took the towel Max held out to you. 

    “Okay. I’ll call Laura and see if we can bring anything to help her out.” Max called out after you

____________________________

You pulled the truck up to the house, parking beside a pile of wood Clint had been cutting. You squeezed Max’s hand before climbing out, grabbing the tray with pies from the back and walking inside. The rest of the team hadn’t shown up yet, but things were already in full gear. Your Niece and Nephew grabbed Max’s hand almost immediately and pulled her outside to help them set up the “alter”. Apparently, they were tasked with weaving flowers into a little vine arch, and Max began showing Lila how to make flower crowns, smiling as Cooper made a show of being “too manly” but quickly was enthralled.

Laura was bustling around the kitchen, making finger foods and buzzing around with a fussy Nathaniel secured to her front. You jumped in to help, hearing the familiar roar of a Quintjet an hour or so later. Brushing your hands on a towel, you both ran out to the incoming team. Walking down the hill, you saw a blindfolded Steve being lead by Clint, and a little farther back a blindfolded Bucky with Natasha’s hand pulling him along. Sam, Tony, Wanda, Thor, Loki, and Even Director Fury followed behind.

“Why are they blindfolded?” You hollored, laughing and giving the two grooms a kiss on the cheek as they passed by, lead into the house.

“The grooms can’t see or speak to each other the day of the wedding.” Wanda informed you, pulling you into a hug. Clint and Natasha came back out, informing everyone the grooms were locked into seperate rooms to give us the time to finish setting up. You saw Max come back around with the eldest kids, about a dozen small flower crowns in her hands, and two large ones on the bottom.

“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to my wife.” You gestured to her, smiles as Lila passed out the small flower crowns to everyone. “Max, this is, well, everyone!”

__________

    It was a lot of people to take in at once, and it must’ve shown on her face. Max smiled and held the two flower crowns she had made. Everyone seemed to notice she was overwhelmed, because the group broke apart into little groups and busied themselves.

    “Lady Max, It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Lady Y/N has told us so much about you. I am Thor Odinson, and this is my brother Loki.” Thor smiled and stuck out his hand.

    “All good I hope, It’s a pleasure.” Max said carefully setting down the crowns and shaking the Gods hand.

    “The pleasure is ours,” Loki said, flashing his signature smile.

Next came Wanda and Vision, both sending a warm buzz through Max when they met. Sam and Natasha were next, both teasing and already treating Max like family.

    “Well, my dear, It is a pleasure to finally put a name with a face. I’m Tony.” Taking his hand Max smiled, the firm shake slowing with his hand lingering in hers for a moment too long.

    “Have we met before?” Tony asked, eyebrows scrunching in concentration.

    “No, I don’t believe so,” Max lied, praying he wouldn’t catch on. “Unless, maybe from one of your infamous galas perhaps?”

    “Maybe. No matter, it is nice to see who put a smile on Y/N’s face. Excuse me.” Tony placed his hand on Max’s shoulder as he stepped by, heading over to where the kids and a couple of teammates were moving logs to sit near the vine arch.

______-

    “Hey babe,” you said, catching a kiss as you walked back to your wife. “Sorry, I know that was a lot at once.”

    “It’s okay,” Max smiled, picking up the crowns from the table behind her. “Two more people to meet. To The grooms?”

    “Yeah, let’s go meet the grooms.” You Followed behind her into the house and up the stairs to the two bedrooms. Knocking on the kids room door first, you smiled at hearing Bucky’s voice.

    “Bucky Barnes, I’d like to introduce my wife.” You said as you stepped into the room, holding the door open. Max entered, holding the orange flower crown in her hands.

    “Hey, I’m Max.” There was a silence that felt like an eternity but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. Max and Bucky took in each other, looking up and down before Bucky broke into a smile.

    “Well, Max, you must be a badass to put up with Y/n. Respect.” He chuckled as Max blushed bright red. Holding out the flower crown, she crossed the small room.

    “Lila was hoping you’d wear this.” She wiggled her eyebrows, Holding it out to him.

    “Do I have to?” Bucky whined.

    “Yes.” You and Max said at the same time. You took the crown from her hands and placed it on Bucky’s head, weaving his long hair through it.

    “Perfect.” You said, taking Max’s hand as you stood. “We’d love to stay and chat, but there is one more Groom to meet today before the wedding.” You smirked, shooing Max out the door. Bucky grabbed your hand, catching you before you could follow.

    “Y/n, does it ever get easier?” He whispered.

    “What do you mean?” You asked, tilting your head to the side.

    “Loving more people, being married, do the butterflies go away for everyone else?” Bucky asked, his eyes desperate and pleading. You smoothed your hand on his cheek and tucked a hair behind his ear.

    “No Buck, the butterflies don’t go away. That’s what love is, it grows every day. You will always have butterflies for lost flames, but you will have new ones every day for your spouse, for the memories made.” His eyes looked like he needed more, scared and curious. “I will always love you and Stevie, but the Love I have for Max, it’s bigger than I am, it’s wanting her in every part of my life, every fiber of my being. That’s why I married her, because I can’t imaging breathing for one second without her.”

    Bucky Nodded his head, kissing your cheek and giving you a hug. You always knew exactly what he needed to hear.

___________

    Max had heard what you said, and was almost brought to tears. She owed you so much. Knocking on the other door, she went to see Steve while you spoke with Bucky.

    “Hey, Steve, right? I’m Max.” She said entering the room. Steve stood with a smile, giving Max a hug.

    “Finally, we get to meet. I hope this isn’t too weird for you, a stranger’s wedding and all.’ He laughed slightly, face turning pink.

    “No, thank you for letting me be here. Lila wanted to make sure, and I quote, ‘the princes wore their crowns’.” She held out the crown to Steve with a smile.

    “Please, help me put it on?” He sat back down on the bed, bowing his head for Max to situate the crown.

“Oh, good. He’s going to wear it.” You smiled coming into the room.

    “Why wouldn’t I when your lovely wife asked so nicely?” Steve mocked your surprise, pulling you into a hug once he could.

    “Well, Max, you’ve managed to smooze every person here.” You mused, weaving your hand around her waist and into her back pocket.

    “They were a piece of cake compared to you.” She teased leaning into you. “Now, I believe there’s a wedding to attend?”

[prorevenge]

I was doing you a favor by playing the long game...

I too was playing yet another long game by holding on to this for so long.

SO I had read earlier today the owner of a previous job of mine passed away. This was a place that tried to screw me pretty hard and I took some pro revenge on. It drug up some angry old feelings, so why not take an equal dose of catharsis?

WARNING: This is a doozy so strap in if you dare, no TL;DR it wouldn't do justice.

So this takes place almost a decade ago. I was working as a department manager for a fairly large privately owned pest control company. Their color scheme was black and yellow, much like the taxi's the owner's dad used to drive. Since the taxi industry would be around for ever(hello Uber/Lyft) so would this pest control company, (this is important later) or so the owner used to parrot constantly. My job was to over see the techs doing treatments and set their stops and generally manage assorted insect control services, inventory, payroll for that dept, etc etc. I had taken the job from the owners son who took it from the previous manager who they demoted and yet stayed in the dept...this is important later. The owners son was a late 30's early 40's man child. I mean if he had dialed it back a few degrees he would have been an awesome guy, but anytime booze was involved he was a mess. If it was weed, he turned into the stereo typical obnoxious stoner making nothing but bad Jamaican accented jokes. He also hit on anything younger than him that moved...while being married w a pregnant wife. But I digress, the owner was a piece of work too, old Jewish guy who was as racist as he was old, not with any kind of seething hatred. Just a "this is the way it is" type attitude. My fave line of his, "The sky is blue, Ch#@ks know math, N@&ers are lazy, Jews know gold. What else is new" Like it was the most clever thing of all time. Finally now on to the revenge and need for such.

I had been at said job for about two and a half years, while there I had gotten engaged about 6 month earlier. Due to the awesomeness of my staff I invited about 10 employees to my wedding(it was going to be big due to the wife's family and mine's tiny so..) including the owner his son and the previous manager. I should have felt the ripples in the water when I had planned the trip to propose. The day before I go the owner comes in to do something with a big job and I tell him of my vacation plans as he is looking at the schedule. After I tell him of the somewhat expensive accommodations (I was proposing to my then gf), he literally says, "that's a great idea I haven't been there in years, I think I'll go tomorrow too!" I think he is joking, but he immediately tells his son who was taking over my work that he needs to take over for him and be a presence at the job site. Then tries to demand I clear a day out of my booked vacation schedule for us to meet up with him so he can take us out to some expensive place or some crap. On that one day during the trip he ended up no call no show-ing after we invited him to meet and hang with our family. We spent about an hour trying to call/message/email the guy and he never responded the entire trip. I get back he starts cracking lame jokes about how I ditched him to get engaged...that really pissed me off.

It gets better. Over the course of the next few months strange shit starts happening. I am forced to let go of a few of my techs for BS reasons like the 3 strike rule of attendance randomly being enforced without writ-ups or even verbal warnings. One guy had a 3 month old kid with his GF and I had to let the guy go because of a 3rd lateness of over 5 min from almost 90 days earlier and the previous two being almost 2 years old with the notes of in-climate weather and no routes that day (they also denied him unemployment and tried to enforce a 90 day no compete clause that would have stopped him form getting a job w the competition). Then I get a high priority job of going through back logs of unpaid services and start trying to preform collections with me receiving a % of what I collect(that I was never paid). Over the next month or two I keep getting odd things thrown at me to make money which don't have much to do with my regular job. Till one week where the entire office gets the flu. The owners son, previous manager(now just an officer worker), my assistant and about half the techs call out over the course of the week. I still come in with a 102 fever and goddamn doctors note in case I need to bail, just to get everyone set up and do as much as I can before almost passing out 3 days in a row. I get the entire day's work done by 1pm and leave all with the boss's son's approval. He was thrilled things were still working while the plague rampaged on. But not the owner apparently. I got pulled into the office and yelled at about not taking initiative and calling out all these days...he sounds like he is about to fire me before he asks me if I have anything to say for my self. So I correct him and he looks really shaken and then tells me some BS about the EPA stepping in and making us reduce the number of services we are allowed to do from quarterly (4x a yr) to a trimester schedule (3x) all while paying the same price. Guess who got to call almost every paying customer and try to get them to swallow that? ::raises hand::. So I take care of that over another two weeks and once again get called in to the office. Saying we cannot have this anymore and the EPA is crashing down hard on us and I just keep giving out too many services because the EPA really said we are not allowed to treat more than 2x a year and they lied to me throwing me under the bus(turns out that was a lie too they were trying to get up to stop treatments all together). Knowing I never had the power to authorize a single extra service without consent from the owners. So they had to let me go...only 4 month before I was going to get married. It got a bit intense as emotions ran high, the asshole of a son tells, "My dad told me to fire you a while ago for attendance but I knew you were getting married and I didn't want to mess that up so I played the long game for you man...." In an office with no strict punch schedule for the office workers as we were salary and constantly did things like get food for the office or have to run errands for the business and get stock from another location. Along w/ the EPA bullshit he tells me he just couldn't have a dept with two other managers in it who made less than I do doing the same job. They also tried to block my unemployment with falsified paperwork, claiming unsatisfactory attendance. Tons of bullshit and I never got a strait answer as to why I was let go till I did some investigating. Turns out the old manager who was just an office hand was being put back in the spot she was fired form because she offered to take a 33% pay cut form her old salary and the son just didn't want the extra work.....So they tried to scapegoat me for EPA violations and tried to tell the rest of the office my fuckups were the reason people were let go and the department was going to close.

So now that you've read all that you may have a bit of a feel for why I took my revenge so far and for so long. Luckily I had snapped a few pics of the paperwork I signed upon leaving stating it was due to the EPA infractions. That gets printed out and sent to the department of labor with the rest of their awesome tactics(shorting over time and flat out not paying for paid vacations, time card edits). That lead to tens of thousands of dollars lost in pack pay and fines being levied. The guy w/ the 3 month kid I had to let go told me he eventually settled for almost 35k in back pay... My next stop was the EPA, who much to their surprise didn't even know the company had kept doing the treatments at all as it was supposed to be stopped altogether. Luckily they knew the deal and that it wasn't just me making treatments all willy nilly like. More fines, for each and every treatment performed by them from about 3 months before they fired me. That had to be in the 6 figure range as there was well over 1.5k treatments done in the time and the fine was supposed to be over 1k each. The problem with the treatments were they were too effective, and were wiping out the type of insect that has beneficial and necessary environmental roles. So the mfers were actually hurting the ecology of our goddamn state for their own profit. I created a few fake FB profiles to still be able to follow the owner and his son on FB and find out not 30 days after their EPA issues my department closed down.

Okay so that was 2006ish, two years pass and I keep seeing my POS old boss, speeding around the area (I lived near the place) in his old ass little red Mercedes. Guess who called the cops worrying about the safety of those on the road around this dangerous car? Guess who eventually got caught for DUI at 2pm in the afternoon?

Fast forward a few years to 2011. Mr Whiz Kahlifa drops the song Black and yellow. Decent track. But remember how my old boss was a super racist fellow? Remember the business' color scheme? So I spent about a month sending him different youtube links to that song, from random email accounts. And finally one of a commercial for the company with Whiz's song over it vs the lame jingle they used. Not two weeks after I stop they change the goddamn color scheme of the place to a horrible red white and blue one. But not exactly red white and blue like the American flag more like the Blue white red of the French one. I wait about a month after the Black and Yellow attack and send him a vid of the French national anthem while a the flag is waving in the background. The next goddamn day the place is covered in that cheesy car dealer red white and blue American bunting and American flags everywhere.

Fast forward again to about 2014 and fuck me if I am not out for a walk, and see that company's sign in a lawn advertising that same old treatment on the same old signs from 06'...guess who got sent yet another email to the EPA w pictures? That one got them in major and local news as being "no friend to the environment".

Last time I went by their place they seemingly had half fleet of what are now used blue white and red covered mini trucks. Plus their call center building was emptied of furniture. Unfortunately they are still in business but are sitting at about a 3 star rating on Yelp and that was after they did the damage control to get it back from 1.5 stars.

Sorry(not sorry) guys, I was just playing the long game for you....

(source) (story by StendhalSyndrome)

[dad-power]

My Story, Part 4

Author’s note: None of this is meant to be mean or vindictive, but a true and accurate accounting of what has happened after My Story, Part 3. It’s been almost 6 years since I posted Parts 1-3.

Catherine’s mother and I have always had a decent relationship since she left two and a half years ago. We’ve been able to co-parent effectively and keep civil. I wouldn’t say we were friends, but we would send each other pics of our daughter, go to her birthday parties, chat frequently via text about her, etc. We got along great and as far as co-parenting, we were doing a lot better than most exes.

Imagine my surprise when, a few days before Christmas, I get served at work with a custody suit. She was going for full custody of my daughter plus child support.

Up until this point, for virtually our daughter’s entire life, we’ve shared custody. It’s been equal, 50/50 straight down the middle. The way it should be. Study after study shows it’s the best way for children to get through a separation. Except for cases of physical abuse, drug use, etc., I’m a huge believer in shared parenting. Why not?

Back when we were working on our parenting plan and had it nearly wrapped up, she said she was going to run it by her female attorney friend to dot the “i’s” and cross the “t’s”. I begged her not to because I knew what would happen. Female divorce attorneys will not stop until you are living out of your car.

Meanwhile, I had been going through some financial troubles. My ex-wife takes a big chunk of my income in the form of child support. My salary is in the high 5 figures. With taxes, support, SS, and medical, a whopping half of my salary is gone before I see my check. This is what I am up against.

Money matters are not something you want to make public. But it wasn’t because of a drug-fueled spiral; I simply didn’t make enough to live on my own after everything was taken from my check. When I show people the numbers they all understand and are totally sympathetic to it. The numbers don’t lie. Most of them were surprised I wasn’t living out of my car. 

She sent me an email explaining her reasoning. In a nutshell, she said I’m unfit to parent because I’ve run into financial difficulty. She also doesn’t like how I parent in general.

I begged over and over via text and email for her not to take any more support because it would put me in a worse situation than I already was. I asked her how taking this would be beneficial for Catherine. How would taking more of my income away with 3 kids benefit our daughter? Ironically, in her pleadings, it stated I wasn’t able to care for Catherine financially, but here she was, taking more money out of my paycheck. It didn’t make any sense. I was met with no reply to these questions, and finally, an email threatening harassment.

I’m a great dad. I don’t do drugs, I don’t stay up all night playing video games, I don’t party, I rarely drink. I have a steady, stable career and have only changed jobs twice in the last 20 years. I love my kids more than anything. They are my life. I just want to be left alone to raise them the best I can with the resources I need. I am not a crazy and unfit parent.

So now it probably looks like she has done a heroic thing: Rescuing her daughter from her horrible, drug-addled Daddy who can’t get his shit together. I am sure this is what everyone thinks. The reality is quite different. There are always two sides to a story.

A little history

Back in 2011, we met through my sister and had a fun, whirlwind relationship. Then she abruptly broke up with me after 4 months. No real reason, she just got tired of it and said we weren’t a good match. 

There were no hard feelings, and since her job as a real estate agent wasn’t producing, I helped her get an internship at a major ad agency where I had worked for almost 10 years. Then she told me how she was flirting with the 70-year-old CFO of this agency several times and secured a full-time job there.

I thought it was strange that she was constantly coming by my desk chatting with me, and I was very close to telling her to leave me alone, but...

... one afternoon she came by my desk with a note that said she was pregnant. In all honesty, had no idea who the real father was because she had broken up with me, telling me to give her “space” and was hanging out with her ex-boyfriend, calling into question the paternity. She claimed it was mine and I believed her, but at the same time, her actions did not make me trust her much. I found her ex-BF’s contact lenses in her guest bathroom while we were “dating”, and there were several other odd occurrences like that. None of this is meant to be ugly, but it was happening and I had no idea what to think.

But we carried on as friends and I was glad she had a full-time job. At least she would have an income. Despite my instincts telling me to run away, I stayed friends with her. Despite my friends and coworkers advising me to tell her to go away, I stuck with her. I was not going to abandon her and our child. 

We started getting closer, and paternity was established. We hung out every weekend at my house, working on the room for the baby, painting the crib, etc., and fell in love again. She asked me if she could move in. I did what I felt was the right thing and welcomed her into my home.

The time around Catherine’s birth was just amazing. Our relationship was better than it had ever been. I absolutely adored her and loved her more than life itself. Life was really good. I thought maybe it was going to turn out beautifully. It was magical, probably one of the best times of my life.

But when Catherine turned 2, she moved out. Then she came back 4 months later. When Catherine was 3, she moved out again, then came back again. Then after some counseling with our pastor, she said she couldn’t commit so I asked her to move out, which was the last time. 

But that’s all in the past. She’s in a serious relationship now and they seem like a great match. It’s awesome and I’m truly happy for her. As long as he’s good with Catherine I’m fine with it.

Custody

The whole custody dispute was very hard on so many levels. After 2 years I was healing and moving on. The suit just ripped the scab open again. I wanted to continue our good co-parenting relationship for Catherine, but it was like a switch went off with her and she made it impossible to be civil. It was awful to see our relationship destroyed.

Normally, if an ex with whom you had an amicable split with and got along with is having financial problems—a person you loved, shared intimate moments with and raised a child with—you would most likely say, “What can I do to help? You’re her father and this affects her also. Let’s find you a decent place to live. Let me help you somehow.” There wasn't a huge event that broke us up, and even though it hurt me, it was fairly mutual in that we both knew it was pointless to continue. But nothing happened to create this sudden change in her. 

But sadly, It was all scorched earth and horrendously ugly. I was immediately an adversary. I was unstable and unfit to parent. I had tried over and over to show her hard financial numbers but was ignored. 

At one point during our negotiations, she told me she would never change her mind and threatened to give me the bare minimum time with Catherine if I didn’t agree to pay her child support. 

According to my lawyer, she fired her first attorney for being too nice. She also forced me to take a drug test. I happily took a 14-panel test and passed it with flying colors.

I was prepared to go to trial and had a 90% chance of keeping our 50/50 schedule. Again, all I wanted was equal time. I wasn’t going for full custody. I just wanted to share equal time with her mother. 

Several different attorneys advised me that status quo for 2 years and the mother’s history of moving out on us were my aces and would be hard to beat, but the judge ordered mediation at the cost of $1000 a day plus my attorney fees. That was it for me, the end of the road. I didn’t have the money. So I caved and signed the agreement. At this point I just wanted it to be over. 

We were together for 4 years. I will never understand the hatefulness and the unwillingness to be reasonable, and the complete lack of empathy towards the father of her child. I will never understand how her heart could become so hardened that she would do something like this. When I have no money, I can’t do certain things with Catherine. That includes necessities. I don’t know why this is was and is so hard for her to understand. All I wanted was to be left alone to provide for my children and have financial security. 

Looking Forward

The last 7 years of my life, I have been humbled, changed, refined. I am not the same person I was before. And for this I am thankful. I am choosing to go forward positively. I pray for her. This isn’t a self-righteous prayer, but a prayer that she is happy and successful. Because it does affect our daughter. I do pray for her heart to soften. I also pray for myself that I continue to stay humble and loving towards her. I do love her and want her to be happy.

I’m going to continue to be a great dad to my kids.

God wants us to TRUST in Him and REST in him. I’m choosing this path.

The other night I had Catherine on one side leaning against me, and Daniel leaning on the other side of me. Both of them adore me. My children love me. They know I’m a good father. That’s all that matters.

God will provide for me as he always has. I am getting back on my feet one day at a time. God is good.