Cathy cracked an egg on the side of the pan. The pan hissed and popped as she gently dripped the egg into the pan to avoid breaking the yolk.  The egg white collected into a single, perfectly circular disc with a lump of yellow sunshine on top.
            	
She smiled. Perhaps she was getting this cooking thing down. She cracked another egg and dropped it into the pan. Small pleasures like this allowed her some reprieve from the stress of being a mother and having a job. Things had been stressful recently, but getting up early on her day off to make eggs would all be worth it when she got to see Jacob’s smile. Eggs, sunny side up, just how he liked it. Maybe she’d get a “#1 Mom” from him mug to match Steven’s “#1 Dad.”

“They only had a #1 Dad mug at the school shop, sorry Mom!” Jacob had said.  

Cathy laughed, but not too loudly to avoid waking Jacob. She remembered the faux-spat she had with her husband afterwards.

“He likes you the best, Steven! See he even got you a mug to prove it!” she had pouted dramatically.

“No dear, he loves you the most, he just got the mug to make me feel better about being second place.” Steven had a good sense a humor about these sorts of things.

“Nuh-uh, you get to spend all the time in the world with him since you stay at home!”

“Yeah, but he’s tired of me, he wants to spend time with the #1 Parent. They don’t sell those mugs at school.”

Cathy giggled and eyed the clock’s digital readout on the stovetop: 7:15AM. Jacob usually got up in ten minutes to get ready for school.  The eggs were turning out nicely, but perhaps she got up a bit too early. She lowered the heat just enough to keep the eggs warm while she waited for Jacob and turned out the lights. The element of surprise had to be perfect. Cathy couldn’t help but be giddy for her first breakfast. Steven usually did the cooking, since she had to be at work.
 
Footsteps came from upstairs. Cathy looked at the clock again: 7:27AM. A little late, but kids could afford to be a little late. Not like at work. She huffed. Cathy transferred the eggs from the pan to a plate, a nice ceramic plate with a racecar on it. Jacob’s special plate. She heard the screeching of a chair being dragged from the table in the room next door.

“Surprise!” Cathy cheered, throwing open the door the family room, only to see her husband sitting in Jacob’s spot idly contemplating his #1 Dad mug, eyes streaked with tears. Cathy’s hand suddenly felt weak and useless, her hand slowly loosening its grip on the plate. The plate tumbled to the floor, shattering into a thousand tiny shards mixed with bleeding egg yolk.

“...you too huh?” he choked out between sobs. He ran his finger along the 1 of the mug.

Cathy felt ill. The room spun in circles around, frozen memories thawing. The sounds of tires screeching filled her ears, followed a sickly thud. Then the screams came: a chorus of children’s wails all at once, drowning out her thoughts. 

She slumped to the floor, next to the congealed mess of egg yolk and plate shards. The racecar detailing had cracked in three large pieces. She took them and tried to force the plate back together, but the pieces wouldn’t stick.

[i]His special plate.[/i] Tears came quick and heavy.  

Steven put a hand over her, trying to comfort her. Upstairs, child’s alarm clock faintly chimed a jaunty tune before fading out. He looked up for a moment, almost wistfully, then embraced her.  

“I made the eggs, just like how he liked, Steven.” Cathy whispered, gripping Steven as tight as she could. “Sunny side up.”

The child’s alarm clock upstairs played its final tune.