Page 44 of The Doctor's Surprise Family

“Huge enough you could fit in one. Buster could, even.”

Oli laughed. “You can’t blow bubbles that big.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Gramps says it’s bad to bet. Gambling’s illegal.”

I chuckled at that. “Okay, we won’t bet. But I’m telling you, bud, these bubbles’ll be epic. Could you grab me the cornstarch out of the pantry?”

Oli went to the pantry and combed through the shelves. I filled up the casserole dish partway with water.

“Is this it?” said Oli.

“No, that’s corn syrup. The starch is the yellow box right by your head.”

Oli passed me the cornstarch and I measured half a cup. I dumped it in the water and passed Oli a spoon.

“Now, you have to stir it. Stir it real good.”

“Real-lygood,” said Oli.

“That’s right, really good. Stir it till all those grains disappear.”

Oli got stirring, and I built us a bubble cage, a big loop of string with two straws for handles.

“What’s that for?”

“You’ll see. How’s that stirring coming?”

Oli stepped back, and I could see he’d done good, most of the cornstarch dissolved in the water. I dumped in detergent, baking powder, and glycerine — or, a glycerine-based bath oil I’d found in the shower. I figured it’d work, or at least, I hoped.

“Smells minty,” said Oli.

I chuckled. “Yeah, it does. But that shouldn’t hurt any. Let’s head outside.”

Oli carried the bubble cage and I took the mixture, and I set it down on the low picnic bench. “Okay, now here’s what I want you to do. Hold onto those straws and stretch the bubble cage wide — yeah, that’s right. Make a big loop. Dip it into the mixture, and then you walk backward.”

Oli cocked his head. “Walk backward?”

“That’s right.”

He dunked the cage in the mixture and pulled it out dripping, a rainbow film of bubble mix stretched end to end. When he took a step back, the film bulged and wobbled.

“That’s it, bud! Walk alittlebit faster.”

Oli took a bigger step, and then another. The film ballooned and he shrieked with delight.

“Dad! Dad, it’s blowing! It’s blowing a bubble!”

“That’s right, keep going. See how big you can get it.”

Oli staggered in circles, clumsy in reverse. The bubble wibbled and wobbled and stretched out long, until it broke free and floated down to the grass. It hung a moment, then popped, and Oli giggled.

“Dad! It was so big, I heard it go pop.”

“Think you can blow a bigger one?”

Oli ran back for more bubble mix. I watched, and my chest felt all full up again, so full of emotions I could hardly breathe. I couldn’t even put a name on all I was feeling — happiness, yeah, and pride I’d made Oli happy. I wanted to protect him and protect this moment, and fill his whole lifetime with moments like these. Not just his life, but Claire’s as well. I felt the loss of the childhood I might’ve had, and I ached to give all I’d missed out on to Oli. He needed to have all the things I had dreamed of, family and love. Safety. His parents. He needed to look back when he was my age, when he had his own kid and his life starting out, and he had to remember good times with his dad. Good things he could pass on to his own kids.

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