Page 29 of The Doctor's Surprise Family

I squatted down. “Wait, hold on, buddy.”

“No,no, get up! We have to go now!”

“The thing is, uh…” I frowned at my watch. How long could it take to feed the damn penguins? Only, they probablywouldn’tjust feed them. They’d make a whole thing of it, a whole presentation. We’d be here till four, which would mean no Playland, which would mean —

“Dad!” Oli grabbed both my hands and tugged with all his might. He flung his whole weight into it. “Mom, make him come!”

Claire chuckled. “Oli, no pushing.”

“I’m not pushing. I’m pulling. Why won’t he come?”

“I will,” I said hastily, and got to my feet. “But, listen, we won’t have time to watch the whole feeding. We'll stop in and say hi, and then?—”

“Why not?” Oli’s face looked like one of those tragedy masks, lips drawn down in theatrical grief. I looked to Claire for help, but she shot me a warning look.

“We have plenty of time,” she said. “Let’s go see the penguins.”

Oli’s sad face lit up, and he skipped on ahead. I leaned into Claire, voice pitched for her ears.

“If we stay for the penguin show, we’ll be too late for Playland.”

“That’s fine,” said Claire. “This is great by itself.”

“But, hold on. I promised him Playland. If we don’t go, he’ll think?—”

“He’ll think what?”

I swallowed past a sudden lump in my throat. “He’ll think I’m the kind of dad who doesn’t come through. Who promises the moon, then I don’t deliver.”

Claire stared for a moment, and then she laughed. “Are you serious?”

“I only have six weeks to show him who I am.” I noticed heads turning and lowered my voice. “Look, I can’t let him down on day one. If I screw up today, that’s all he’ll remember. That, and me missing three years of his life. If we don’t make Playland… Please, Claire. We have to.”

Oli spun back to us. “Mom? Are you coming?”

“Coming,” said Claire. “But, listen kid. You have a choice to make.”

Oli’s face scrunched. “A choice?”

“It’s going to be dinner soon, and we need to get back. We only have time for the penguin show or Playland. You need to pick one.”

Oli danced on his toes. “The penguins are starting.”

“But do you want to see them, or do you want Playland?”

“Can’t we just go to Playland tomorrow?” Oli’s lip wobbled. “I want to stay here.”

“Then we’ll stay.” Claire knelt down and hugged him. “I’ll take you to Playland next chance I get.”

Oli sniffled and wiped his face on Claire’s jacket. It hit me right then, I’d almost sparked off a meltdown. When it came to kids, I was fresh off the Jeep, but I’d stormed in like a drill sergeant, schedule in hand.

“Come on,” said Claire. “Let’s go pick our seats.”

I followed, shamefaced, and we found seats near the front. Oli tried to stand in his and Claire sat him down.

“I can’t see,” he whined.

“Then switch seats with me.” Claire got up to give Oli her aisle seat. He grumbled at first, then he spotted the penguins, and his whole face lit up as they came waddling out. Claire breathed what I guessed was a sigh of relief.

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