History Main / ParentNeverCameBackFromTheStore

I went out for a ride and I never went back.\\
* In "Holes" by Music/{{Passenger}}, the second verse is about a family who had this happen. "One day her husband went to get a paper and the [[PrecisionFStrike motherfucker]] never came back."

* In ''[[Manga/ADistantNeighborhood Quartier Lointain]]'' the protagonist's father says he's going out to buy some bread on the night of his 40th birthday. He doesn't come back.

** In the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E15FutureDrama Future Drama]]", Future Nelson pulls the same trick on Sherri and Terri, both of whom he got pregnant. When they explicitly point out that Nelson's father did the same thing, he replies "I never understood that...until now. I'M COMING, PAPA!" before running away.

* Not exactly a parent, but one could apply this trope to Damian in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. He told his Charmander to wait for him on top of a large rock with no intention of ever returning for it. Had it not been for Ash Ketchum and his friends, the Charmander would've died in the rain. [[Manga/TheElectricTaleOfPikachu One of the manga versions]] had him get into an accident that left him hospitalized for quite some time.

** In the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E15FutureDrama Future Drama]]", Future Nelson pulls the same trick on Sherri and Terri, both of whom he got pregnant.

* Not exactly a parent, but one could apply this trope to Damian in Pokemon. He told his Charmander to wait for him on top of a large rock with no intention of ever returning for it. Had it not been for Ash Ketchum and his friends, the Charmander would've died in the rain. One of the manga versions had him get into an accident that left him hospitalized for quite some time.

* ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'': In "Jeffy's Parents!", [[spoiler:this is [[AbusiveParents Nancy's]] excuse for leaving Jeffy.]]
-->'''Mario:''' [[LampshadeHanging ...It took you a year to go to the grocery store?]]\\
'''[[spoiler:Nancy]]:''' [[BlatantLies It-it was— It was VERY hard to find.]]
* Near the end of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''[='s=] second volume, after Yang's MissingMom Raven made some very brief appearances, [[MemeticMutation fan-made]] character status charts listed Raven's status as "Went out to buy Powerball tickets" or "Still out buying those cigarettes" throughout Volume 3. When Volume 4 rolled around and Raven finally stuck around for most of an episode before splitting again, her status was updated to "After finding her cigarettes, [[YankTheDogsChain Raven left once again after realizing she doesn't own a lighter."]]

* Pink Diamond pulled a variant of this on Spinel in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniversetheMovie''. She told her they were going to play a game in which Spinel must stand still in one spot and wait for her to come back. She then proceeded to leave and never returned. Poor Spinel was left standing there for literally thousands of years waiting for her master to come back, until she eventually saw a broadcast revealing the truth, causing her to snap and become evil. Heaven knows how long she would have waited had it not been for that convenient broadcast...

[[AC:Film -- Animation]]
* Pink Diamond pulled a variant of this on Spinel in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniversetheMovie''. She told her they were going to play a game in which Spinel must stand still in one spot and wait for her to come back. She then proceeded to leave and never returned. Poor Spinel was left standing there for literally thousands of years waiting for her master to come back, until she eventually saw a broadcast revealing the truth, causing her to snap and become evil. Heaven knows how long she would have waited had it not been for that convenient broadcast...

* Not exactly a parent, but one could apply this trope to Damian in Pokemon. He told his charmander to wait for him on top of a large rock with no intention of ever returning for it. Had it not been for Ash Ketchum and his friends, the charmander would've died in the rain.

* [[spoiler: Pink Diamond]] pulled a variant of this on Spinel in WesternAnimation/StevenUniversetheMovie. Specifically, she told her they were going to play a game in which Spinel must stand still in one spot and wait for her to come back. She then proceeded to leave and never returned. Poor Spinel was left standing there for literally thousands of years waiting for her master to come back, until she eventually saw a broadcast revealing the truth, causing her to snap and become evil. Heaven knows how long she would have waited had it not been for that convenient broadcast...

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': Richard's father Frankie said he was going to get milk when he left. Richard, being the ManChild that he is, is in heavy denial about this even into his 40s.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/BlackDynamite'':

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Dilbert}}'' has a variant in which young Dilbert's father abandoned him by going to an [[BuffetBuffoonery All-You-Can-Eat]] restaurant, refusing to leave until he's ''really'' had [[LiteralMinded all he can eat]]. It's PlayedForLaughs, but Dilbert seems to have been truly traumatised by the abandonment.

* {{Inverted}} on ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents''--since [[MyBelovedSmother Mama Cosma]] didn't approve of Wanda, Cosmo pulled this trick when the two got married. To be fair, he ''did'' come back... 9,975 years later, when he mistakenly believed that Wanda had forgotten their anniversary.

** In episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E15FutureDrama Future Drama]]", Future Nelson pulls the same trick on Sherri and Terri, both of whom he got pregnant.

-->'''Todd''': Sorry Candy, I'm going out for a pack of cigarettes.\\
'''Candy''': But Todd, you don't smoke!

* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has Brennan’s parents. One episode has her say they went Christmas shopping and never returned due to going on the run. However another version is told in another episode as well.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive:'' [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2013-04-03 Apparently]], Tedd's MissingMom left to go visit Europe one day and then never came back.

When a parent decides to leave their family or breaks up with their partner they'll make the excuse of GoingToTheStore, but they never actually come back. Other times it's a excuse made by the child's family in order to soften the trauma or shield the kid from the issue. If the child is young or naive enough they will believe that their parent really ''did'' go to the store and are just taking a really, ''really'' long time coming back.

* Near the end of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''[='s=] second volume, after Yang's MissingMom Raven made some very brief appearances, [[MemeticMutation fan-made]] character status charts listed Raven's status as "Went out to buy Powerball tickets" or "Still out buying those cigarettes" throughout Volume 3. When Volume 4 rolled around and Raven finally stuck around for most of an episode before splitting again, her status was updated to "After finding her cigarettes, [[YankTheDogsChain Raven left once again after realizing she doesn't own a lighter."]]

* Parodied in ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony'': Every episode opens with a different character saying the name of the show. When someone points out to Rarity that she's the only one who hasn't gotten to do one of those intros, she retorts, "My episode intro just went to the store! You'll see!"
* ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'': In "Jeffy's Parents!", [[spoiler:this is [[AbusiveParents Nancy's]] excuse for leaving Jeffy.]]
-->'''Mario:''' [[LampshadeHanging ...It took you a year to go to the grocery store?]]\\
'''[[spoiler:Nancy]]:''' [[BlatantLies It-it was— It was VERY hard to find.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Nelson's dad went to the store a few years ago and never came back. It is later revealed that he actually ''did'' to go to the store, at which point he suffered a peanut allergy and got abducted into a circus sideshow; later episodes ignore this, however, and portray him as if he still abandoned the family.[[note]]Also note that even the first abandonment was a retcon--in early episodes, Nelson lived with his father and it was his MOTHER who was absent.[[/note]]
** In episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E15FutureDrama Future Drama]]", Future Nelson pulls the same trick on Sherri and Terri, both of whom he got pregnant.

* In the season one finale of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', Rick tells Morty he's going to go get ice cream. [[GenreSavvy Morty begins to worry]] that Rick is invoking this trope, despite Rick's assurances.

* Subverted with ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}''. [[FanNickname Dilmom]]'s explanation for Dilbert's DisappearedDad is that they lost him at an all-you-can-eat buffet. In a much later strip, though, Dilbert visits his father, who is indeed still at the buffet restaurant because he's so resolutely LiteralMinded that he refuses to leave until he has actually had "all he can eat".

Compare to ReleasedToElsewhere for when parents tell their children that their parent ran off or divorced when they actually died and WhenYouComingHomeDad for when a dad is busy but not completely absent. Contrast FamilyMan, who probably never would do this.

'''[[spoiler:Nancy:]]''' [[BlatantLies It-it was--It was VERY hard to find.]]

[[AC: ComicStrips]]
* Subverted with ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}''. [[FanNickname Dilmom]]'s explanation for Dilbert's DisappearedDad is that they lost him at an all-you-can-eat buffet. In a much later strip, though, Dilbert visits his father, who is indeed still at the buffet restaurant because he's so resolutely LiteralMinded that he refuses to leave until he has actually had "all he can eat".

* Parodied in {{Webcomic/Cyanide and Happiness}}: [[http://explosm.net/comics/4901/ The father just needed to get enough cigarettes for everyone.]]

* Near the end of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''[='s=] second season, after Yang's MissingMom Raven made some very brief appearances, [[MemeticMutation fan-made]] "RWBY Character Status Chart"s listed Raven's status as "Went out to buy Powerball tickets" or "Still out buying those cigarettes" throughout Season 3. When Season 4 rolled around and Raven finally stuck around for most of an episode before splitting again, her status was updated to "After finding her cigarettes, [[YankTheDogsChain Raven left once again after realizing she doesn't own a lighter."]]