History Main / ParentNeverCameBackFromTheStore

When a parent decides to leave their family or breaks up with their partner they'll make the excuse of GoingToTheStore to buy cigarettes/milk/whatever, 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.

* Mentioned in 1995's ''Film/ManOfTheHouse'' during Ben Archer's OpeningNarration that his father packed up his things and drove away, saying he needed to "find himself." He took his cute secretary along to help him look. The abandonment was rather transparent, so Ben and his mother Sandy begin their single-parent life right from go.

* This happened with Creator/StephenKing's father when Stephen was two years old. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King#Early_life_and_education He didn't come back]]. King later joked he must have been looking for a rare brand.

** 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.

* 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". It should be noted that this took place in ''December of 1992'', and by all accounts Dildad is still at the buffet today.

* In some countries like UsefulNotes/{{Chile}}, the phrase "my dad went to buy cigarettes and never came back" is a common joke used even by comedians.

If the parent in question really ''did'' go to the store and never came back because they died, it's often much more PlayedForDrama.

* ''Series/TheGeorgeLopezShow'': George's father, Manny, also went off to get some smokes, though Benny already knew he wouldn't be returning because they already had cigarettes.

* ''Film/IronMan3'': When Tony meets Harley, a kid in Tennessee, he says his dad went to a 7-Eleven to get lottery scratch-offs, six years ago. He's bitterly aware he's dad left him and his mother, regardless of whether lottery was actually involved.

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

* In one of Heinz Doofenshmirtz's flashback from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', an {{Inver|ted Trope}}sion happens. He was assigned by his parents to go to the store, only to discover too late that they were plotting to disown him by sending him on a ship to United States. Its anyone's wonder as to why did Doof held no animosity for his parents despite their obvious signs of treating him as TheUnfavorite.

* This happened with Creator/StephenKing's father when Stephen was two years old. [[ParentalAbandonment He didn't]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King#Early_life_and_education come back]]. King later joked he must have been looking for a rare brand.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive:'' [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2013-04-03 Apparently]], Tedd's MissingMom moved to Europe and then never came back to visit even for Christmas because it would be "too expensive".

* ''Film/IronMan3'': When Tony meets Harley, a kid in Tennessee, he says his dad went to a 7-Eleven to get lottery scratch-offs, six years ago.

* ''Series/GilmorGirls'': When Jess was a baby, his biological father Jimmy went to the store for diapers and never came back. He shows up again when Jess is eighteen, wanting to build a relationship with him.

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-->I went out for a ride and I never went back.

-->I went out for a ride and I never went back.\\