Speaker 1: Being a single father. It's sometimes like walking a tight
rope over a pit of fire. Every step feels like
it could be painful, and no matter how careful you are,
you always get burned. My life hasn't been great, far
from it. A dead end job at a local hardware store,
overdue bills piling up on the counter, and more sleepless
nights than I could count. But there was one bright
spot in it all, my son Danny. He was the
kind of kid who would smile his way through just
about everything. He deserved way more than I could hope
to give him, Yet he never so much as complained,
even when he had all the reason to. He worked
hard at school, did his chores without grumbling, and always
tried to cheer me up when he saw me staring
at the stack of envelopes marked past due. It was
just a week before Christmas. When he came home from school,
his face lit up with that kind of pure joy
only kids seemed to have. He'd been going on about
this toy for months, a limited edition figure from Mackie's
Fun Time Playhouse. Mackie's was a live action show in
our small town with over the top mascots, characters, in bright,
oversized costumes, and a line of toys that drove the
local kids insane with obsession. The one Danny wanted, Mega
Mackie de Luxe, was the crown jewel of the set. Dad, Dad,
he said, practically bouncing with excitement. Missus Higgins said, I'm
getting an award at school for doing so good on
my tests. You remember what you said, right? My heart sank.
This was the best, worst case scenario to get him
to do well in school. I promised to get him
the toy he wanted if he did well. Lately he
had been struggling, so it was motivation to improve. The
catch is that it was the hot seasonal toy, near
impossible to get, especially this late into December. But now
here he was looking at me with those big hopeful eyes,
and I couldn't bear to let him down. Of course, buddy,
I said, feeling a hole open up in my chest.
I'll get it for you, just like I promised. You
earned it. Danny turned around and ran off to tell
his stuffed animals the good news. I sat there, staring
at my hands, knowing I had no idea how I
was going to pull this off. The toy wasn't just expensive,
it was impossible to Every store was sold out and
resellers were charging hundreds in line. I didn't even have
enough in my account cover Grocees for the week, let
alone some overpriced hunk of plastic. But I couldn't break
my promise to Danny. He'd done everything I'd asked of
him and then some. I couldn't let him think his
hard work didn't matter. And that's how I found myself
parked outside the Maggie's warehouse at three in the morning.
I checked every retailer in a realistic travelable radius, and
a few I knew I couldn't get too none in stock.
I'd even entered phony sounding raffles with no luck. It
wasn't like I planned it ever since I promised it
to Danny. I'd driven by the warehouse dozens of times
on my way to work, a massive, ugly building on
the edge of town, surrounded by chainling fences and flickering floodlights.
Each time I gone past, the security seemed lax, a
single old man standing guard. I didn't even have to
cut the fence. Some one else already had, probably teenagers
looking for a thrill. They must have been young, because
instead of the broken fence being pushed in, it was
peeled outward, such an inefficient way of breaking in. Slipping
through the gap, I crept toward the loading dock, my
heart pounding so loud I was sure it would wake
the whole town up. The warehouse smelled like stale plastic
and motor oil, an industrial smell that I had a
bitter cling to it. The air was cold, biting at
my skin. As I tiptoed between the towering shelves, my
heart beat thudded in my ears, each step, feeling like
I could set off an alarm, even though the place
was clearly unguarded. Then I stumbled upon the mascot suits.
They stood in a line near the back, the oversized
fabric woven heads cock slightly to one side, Mackie the Fox,
Cheery the Bee, and Giggles the Clown, three life sized suits.
Their colors faded under the small amount of illumination the
moon provided. I hurried past them, swallowing the dryness in
my throat. I wasn't there to cork at creepy costumes.
I was there for Danny. I finally found the toy
aisle rows of brightly colored boxes lined the shelves, all
of them holding smiling, cartoonish mascots of Mackie's fun Time Playhouse.
Inside Mackie was front and center on most of the packaging,
a red and orange and ppromorphic fox with a wide grin.
He wore a striped vest and a crooked top hat.
And on the middle shelves was a lineup of Mega
Maacki deluxes. The box was bigger than I'd expected. The
figure inside was detailed, almost disturbingly so, with joints that
looked like they could move independently. It came with a
miniature version of Maki's signature stage, complete with tiny props
and battery powered spotlights. The words the Ultimate Show Fox
was scrawled across the front in bold, glittery letters. I
grabbed it and clutched it to my chest, and I
turned to leave, my heart pounding louder than my footsteps.
The warehouse was deathly silent, save for the occasional creak
of the building. As I approached the section where I'd
seen the mascot earlier, I froze one of them was gone.
This meant there were still people working here, moving around
stock and products. I would have to be attentive for
people working around. Mackie and Giggles were still there, standing stiff,
but cheery was missing. Then a faint shuffling sound, followed
by the clatter of something metal hitting the floor. I
talked behind a shelf, clutching the toy to my chest
so hard I could hear the box crinkle slightly. The
sound grew louder, and my pulse thundered in my ears,
drowning out everything else. Please don't catch me, I repeated
that same sentence over and over again in my head.
I peeked through the gap between two boxes and I
saw movement in a dim light. My fears swelled to
a boil, and I bit my lip to keep myself
from making a sound. Then the figure stepped into view.
It was an old man, the security guard, tired, hunched
over and muttering to himself, was dragging a mop pocket
across the floor. He stopped near the aisle of costumes,
moving things around like he was organizing them. I slumped
against the back shelf, my chest heaving as relief flooded me.
It was just some guy doing his job. I stayed
crouched watching the guards shuffle down the aisle. He didn't
seem in a hurry, and every scrape of the mop
on the floor fell like nails on a chalkboard. I
needed to get out. I was robbing the place, and
the longer I stayed still, the more that fact sunk
into my bones. I hugged the toy tighter and crept
toward the far end of the shelf, keeping my steps
light and slow. The guard mumbled something under his breath
and moved to another section of the warehouse. The sound
of his mop bucket squeaking on its wheels gave me
enough sound to slip past unnoticed. Finally I slipped through
the gap in the fence, my legs shaking with adrenaline
as I broke into a jog back to my car.
The ride home felt surreal, but for the first time
in a while, I wasn't consumed by the dread of
bills and bad decisions. The only thing I thought of
was Downy's face when he'd see the toy. After everything
the kid had done for me, his hard work and
his big hopeful eyes, he'd finally have something to smile about.
I didn't feel proud about what I'd done, not exactly.
Stealing wasn't something I thought I'd ever do, but life
has a way of forcing your hand. I'd never been
able to provide for Danny with much, and I'd spent
too many sleepless nights staring at the ceiling, wondering if
he resented me for it. But this finally felt like
a win. A stolen and guilty win, but a win nonetheless.
When I pulled into the driveway, the house was dark
except for the faint glow of the living room lamp
i'd left on. I stepped inside, careful not to make
too much noise, and place the toy on the kitchen counter.
The next morning, Danny would wake up to the best
surprise of his life. I could already hear his excited laughter,
imagining his face like as he tore open the box.
Smiling to myself, I headed to bed. The exhaustion hit
me like a freight train, and before I knew it,
I was out cold. The following morning, I woke up
earlier than usual, my body aching from the tension of
the night before, but a sense of calmness settled over me.
Today would be a great day. I shuffled into the kitchen,
planning to finally hand Danny his present, but it wasn't there.
My heart skipped a beat as I scanned the room,
a million thoughts rushing through my head. My eyes finally
landed on it. He was sitting on the dining table,
now perfectly centered. I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake
off the curtains of sleep. I was tired from the night,
so I probably didn't even remember where i'd put it.
I shrugged it off and made my way to Downy's
room with the toy in hand. He was already awake,
sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. When he
saw me standing in the doorway holding the toy, his
face lit up like I just handed him the world. Dad,
he shouted, throwing off the covers and scrambling to his feet.
Is that did you? I couldn't help but laugh. It's
all yours, buddy, you earned it. He tore the box
out of my hands, practically vibrating with excitement as he
examined it. Oh my gosh, it's the megamac He Deluxe.
This is the best day ever. Watching him was like
a bomb to my soul. The way he turned the
box over and reading every detail, the way he hugged
it like it was his most prized possession. I felt like,
for once I'd done something right. Thanks Dad, Danny said,
beaming up at me, You're the best. I ruffled his hair,
barely able to stand from the overwhelming emotion. You're welcome, son.
Just don't forget this was because of how hard you worked.
I'm proud of you. For a brief moment, the guilt
melted away, replaced by something I hadn't felt in a
long time, happiness. Danny was happy, and that was all
that mattered. After Danny got his toy, I went back
to work, cycling through the motions of stocking shelves and
helping customers. The guilt of having stolen something and the
exhaustion that followed was a heavy combination, but I kept
telling myself it was worth it for my son. By
mid afternoon, I stepped outside for a smoke break. The
cold December air hit me as I leaned against the
brick wall of the hardware store, taking a drag and
letting the nicotine reset my mood. I took a glance
around the parking lot, thinking of what I was going
to make for dinner for Danny and I. When I
saw it. Across the lot. Near the edge of the
street stood Mackie the Fox. Memories of the warehouse rushed
back to me, but I cast it aside. It was
just some one in a costume, probably on their way
to a kid's Christmas party. The red and orange suit
looked identical to the one I'd seen in the warehouse,
down to the crooked top hat, but I guess it
made sense. I took another drag. My heart thudded unevenly
in my chest. Ah, I muttered to myself, blowing out
a stream of smoke. Mackie really was popular, and I
never really paid much attention to it prior. Even on
my drive to work, I noticed billboards with Mackie and
the crew posted everywhere, people wearing the merchandise and such.
It was no wonder Danny was infactuated with them. After
a few seconds, the person turned and walked away, disappearing
around the corner of the building. I shook my head
and forced the chuckle as I headed back into the
store to finish my shift. When I got home that night,
Danny was playing in his room with his new toy.
The lights of the battery powered spot light flashing on
and off, filtering into the hallway. It was comforting a
reminder of why I had done what I did. The
next morning, I got ready to head to work, already
slowly forgetting the events that transpired over the last few days.
The morning traffic crawled under a sky smeared with dull clouds.
I tried to focus on the road, but everywhere I
looked there was Mackie and the Crew. Billboards, huge garish
signs taring over intersections. Mackie's grinning face loomed above the
city with his crooked top hat. One after another, the
billboards lined the streets like massive sentinels, each one more
obnoxiously colorful than the last. I wondered to myself how
it