The kitchen didn’t take too long to scrub. Neither did the living room. Moving on to my parent’s room, I hesitate before opening the door. There used to be a lot of noises. A lot of noises, coming from behind this door. Usually, it was a pattern. There would be a bunch of squeaking noises, followed by a strange, “wooting” noise, and then a final “squeak” followed by a shortness of breath. Every night, sometimes twice. I like to think of it as my parents fighting the monsters under the bed and then taking a short breather before the monsters get up again for ‘round two‘. Lately though, it’s been real quiet. It’s spooky, the noises always used to help me fall asleep. I take a deep breath, and open the door.

A tornado hit this room. Clothes spread everywhere. One of my mother’s bras is hanging off the ceiling fan. A pair of boxers covering the mirror. Potato chip bags, candy bar wrappers, and even an old bucket of KFC litter the floor. This must be where father has been eating his meals. It just occurred to me that I don’t even remember the last time he ate dinner with my mother and me. I start picking up the trash, thinking that if Superman was my father, he wouldn’t make such a mess. Even though he’d be out there saving the world, he would still come home to tuck me in at night.

The phone starts ringing. I run to go get it. It’s dad! And he doesn’t sound drunk!

“Hey there, my little super pal. Where’s your mother?” says the now sober dad. I think back to that creature snoozing on our porch. “Err…she’s asleep.” I say truthfully. “OK sport, here’s what you do. Walk down the street and meet me at the diner, we have some things to talk about.” Dad hangs up. He never says goodbye on the phone. It’s kind of annoying.

I run to my room to grab some toys. I throw two action figures in my small, leather backpack: classic Superman and Lex Luthor.

I throw my red cape to the floor, grab my sneakers and run out the door. The sun is shining high in the sky, the few pedestrians

outside smile and wave as I run past them. It’s a beautiful day and I just know that something is going to go horribly wrong.