Page 15 of Shot to the Hart

“Go grab Floppy and then we need to get in the car seat.” Her little feet clobber across the floor while I grab the backpack full of pull-ups, spare outfits, and snacks. She comes barreling into my legs with an “mmph”. I pick her up and we head towards the garage, letting her press the start button on the Bronco and getting the air on before circling back to the rear passenger seat to get her buckled in.

Once I’m in the driver's seat, I see we should have left twenty-five minutes ago. My phone is connected to bluetooth, and I click on the contact Tate sent over, calling Kodi as I back out of the garage. After a moment, a breathless “Hello?” comes through the speakers.

“Kodi, it’s Maverick.”

“Oh hi! I just pulled in, are you all waiting on me?” Checking the clock I see that she’s right on time.

“Nope, someone gave me trouble this morning. We are just now leaving, I’m so sorry. We should be there in about twenty minutes,” I sigh, checking on Bella in the mirror facing her car seat. Her little ponytail is falling to one side and she somehow still has yogurt in her hair.

“It happens to the best of us. I ran out of the apartment, so it sounds like we were both having a moment. Drive safe, and I’ll see you both soon.” She ends the call and I get “Bella’s Jams” playing as we make the drive downtown.

When Bella sees Kodi standing outside of the museum, she immediately takes off running towards her. Kodi crouches down and opens her arms to Bella, who excitedly throws her little body into them.

“Good morning!” Kodi acknowledges me as I approach them. “Ready to go see the bubbles?” she asks Bella as she stands with her in her arms. Bella nods her head enthusiastically.

“Good morning,” I smile at her, holding the door open.

“Thank you. How was the drive?” Kodi seems to be taking in the museum to see if anything has changed since she was last here. The first floor typically holds specialized exhibits like the bubble one, as well as the “Crawlers” exhibits for the guests under three. Bella loves to go in there, but we usually head upstairs first where a play grocery store, doctor’s office, firetruck, vet office, and camping area all sit. The bright colors of the museum stairs and walls can be overwhelming to the eyes, the vibrant bright lights making sure you can see everything with absolute clarity.

“It was fine. You know parking down here though. Not super great, but we found a spot eventually,” I answer her as we wait for the clerk to call us up to the desk.

“Kodi!” Bella says, looking between my face and Kodi’s.

“Yeah, that is Kodi. Are you going to show her around the museum today?” I ask her.

“Next,” a gruff male voice calls from behind the sterile looking white desk.

“Bubbles please,” Bella tells the man. He doesn’t smile or even acknowledge her, and I can see Kodi roll her eyes at the man for being so standoffish.

“Here’s my membership card. We also have an adult guest today,” I tell the man, flashing the barcode for him to scan, then pulling out my card to pay the fee for Kodi’s entrance.

“Fifteen seventy-seven.” He doesn’t look away from his computer screen, and I’m starting to get aggravated with his lack of people skills.

I scan my card, then cough because he hasn’t asked if I want a receipt or offered to tell us about the bubble exhibit—which I know about—but it’s still typical of the receptionist to ask if we’ve heard about it. His eyes leave the screen and find mine, “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“A receipt would be appreciated, sir,” I smile at him. He prints and hands it over but doesn’t say anything else.

“Alright, have a good day,” I knock on the desk and lead Kodi and Bella away. She sets her down once we are away from the desk.

“So, bubbles first?” I ask, and Bella nods her head before grabbing my hand and guiding me to the exhibit. Kodi follows slightly behind us.

Upon entering the exhibit, the floor feels slippery from all the bubble liquids, and the room is absolute chaos. Kids running in all directions, all of the sensory tables surrounded by morekids blowing bubbles into each other's faces and spilling liquid everywhere, the little circle for kids to “stand inside a bubble” has a line a mile long, and I immediately regret entering this space. As I look at Kodi, she seems calm as she waits for Bella to lead us where she wants to go. Instead of heading further into the room as I expected, Bella lifts her gaze to mine, “I don’t want bubbles. Let’s do grocery store please.”

“Oh thank God,” Kodi lets out a breath. “I was going to do it because she seemed excited, but I was not ready for it.”

“Me too,” I chuckle and we head towards the elevator. Bella presses the up button and then presses the level two one as well. The elevator doors open, and this level is already much calmer than the environment downstairs. Bella heads over to the grocery store area, grabbing a cart and beginning to pull a variety of play foods off the shelf.

“What are you going to make with all those ingredients Bella?” Kodi asks her as she follows her around.

“Scetti,” Bella states firmly.

“Oh, it sounds delicious. Do you put cheese on top of your spaghetti?”

“Mmmm. . .no cheese.”

“Okay, no cheese. What about garlic bread?” she asks, crouching down beside her, eyes wide. Her tattoos are on display again today as she flails her arms around, having an animated conversation with Bella about garlic bread and ice cream for dessert. Her face is so expressive, letting Bella know when she likes something she said, is confused, or sad that Bella won’t let her put cheese on her own spaghetti.

“Are you ready to check out with your groceries?” I ask Bella, noticing her cart is going to start overflowing soon.

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