Page 46 of Play With Me

The only wish I ever had for my daughter was for her to grow up as a strong woman and to not let the world swallow her innocence. I wanted her to be as strong as her mother. We lived in difficult times, and it was my job to ensure that Sophie had all the resilience to combat world’s greatest cruelties.

“Of course you can, and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. You can be whoever you want to be, you hear me?” I tugged on her denim overall strap. “No matter what anyone tells you, you can always make a difference.”

Yesterday, Sophie was an explorer. The day before, she’d been a wrestler, and a day before that, a baseball pitcher. “What are you going to be today?” I asked.

“Today I’m a camper.”

“A camper?”

“Grandpa Jack said you’re going camping.”

“He did?”

“Yes, in the woods where there’s snakes and bears.”

It sounded like Sophie had been eavesdropping on my father’s plan to find his best friend.

“I think Grandpa Jack was trying to scare you.”

She frowned. “No, Grandpa’s not scary. He was telling the truth. The whooole truth.” She motioned her hand in a semi circle as if the whole truth really did fit within her imaginary line.

“Was he now? Did he tell you that you’re going to stay with grandma and grandpa for a few days while Daddy’s away?”

“A few days?” She tilted her head to the side.

“Okay, maybe closer to a week.”

“He said you’re going camping in a large forest. I want to come. Pleeeaase, Daddy?”

“I’m going to work, sweetheart, but if you’d like, we can camp out when I return. Besides, we don’t leave until the fall. It will be cold out by then.”

She frowned for a moment, and so I set her down to the floor. As I rolled up my sleeves, her expression shifted to a mysterious one.

“You know what I’d like to do, Daddy? I’d like to see a bear. A real one I can squeeze so hard because they’re cute and fluffy and have these cute little button noses.”

I didn’t like where this was going. “I can take you to the zoo. Just like I did for your last birthday.”

“I don’t want to see one at the zoo. I want to see a real one in the forest.”

“You know they’re wild and dangerous, right?”

“Of course I do. I’ve seen Discovery Channel.”

Right. Sophie and her seven-year-old ‘need to know’ attitude had quickly shifted her viewing habits from fairy tales to the History Channel, Discovery Channel, and Science Online. She’d even asked about CSI last week, which was a hard no. After that one, I’d had to deal with a thousandWhy’s. Sometimes it felt likewhywas her favorite word.

Her perseverance reminded me so much of her mother.

“So we agree to stay away from cute little button bear noses for now?”

“I ghuess.” She pouted.

“When I come back from my trip, we are going to go to the zoo. I promise.”

“But I want to see arealbear.” Her pout turned into a frown, but there was no way I could take her on this trip with me. Unfortunately for me, her sour mood would remain until I returned and told her all about my adventures. This wasn’t exactly our first rodeo.

“I’m gonna miss you, Daddy, but if you do see a bear please ask him if he’d like to come visit me in the city.”

“I will, sweetheart.” As much as I never wanted to see a real bear anywhere near my daughter, there was nothing wrong with making a silly promise. Besides, I had no intention of seeing a real bear. “Lola’s already downstairs. Do you remember what we practiced?”

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