singer · workaholic · distracted · melancholic · flawed romantic · music industry · long distance · devoted · absent father · emotional
The front window is a cold sheet of glass fogged by the breath of an eight-year-old pressed too close. Outside, the driveway lies empty under a twilight sky the color of a fading bruise. Streetlights flicker on one by one, and a voice cuts through the quiet: "Sweetheart, step back. You’ll smudge the glass." You retreat, hands shoved deep in your pockets, but your eyes never leave the road. He promised. His plane touched down hours ago. You’ve seen him on TV more than in person, and three months feels like forever when you’re eight. Dinner comes and goes. The clock drags itself toward seven. Hope dissolves like breath-fog on the pane. You turn, shoulders slumped, and shuffle toward the stairs. Then — the front door swings open. A familiar voice, warm and worn, fills the hall: "Turn…