Page 19 of Mornings By the Linden Tree
If I happened to look more put together than many of the other parents in the Common, that was just pure happenstance. I had always prided myself on dressing well. So arriving at the linden tree in a striped blue-and-white Henley collared shirt with white slacks rolled up over my ankles paired with handsome sandals and a white fedora was not in any way an indication of my trying to grab anyone’s attention.
“Good morning,” I called to Mona and Penny as we arrived. I spread out a checkered blanket, taking time to press out the wrinkles, then securing it to the grass with small anchors that I had purchased online. Once it was taut, I sat down with care. Valeria and Penny were picking grass for somereason, whispering amongst themselves as Lennon arrived a few minutes late.
“Sorry, I’m late. My car battery is dead, and I missed my bus. But I am here!” he shouted as he donned his silly top hat. Everyone gathered clapped. I watched the way he moved as he opened his case and removed his guitar. He had a natural grace. Perhaps from being so in tune with music. I always felt as if I moved robotically. His movements were fluid and light as if he had a perpetual skip in his step. After a night spent sleeping on the sofa with my niece, I seemed to be rather dreamy today. Willowy perhaps would describe his moves. Bendy and free like a weeping crab apple tree in a brisk summer wind. “So, let’s get this sing-along going. How many of you know the applesauce song?” Everyone but me cheered.
That was how I was introduced to the “Applesauce Boogie” song. It was a snappy little tune telling kids how to make applesauce. I found my head bobbing as the audience sang along with Lennon, who was looking just as silly as always in a neon rave suit with a garish yellow tie that hung to his knees. And that atrocious top hat. The suit was geometric shapes of teal, deep purple, and leopard print. My retinas were begging for surcease, but I could not take my eyes off him. Even in such a hideous suit, the man was just enthralling.
A strong word, yes, and maybe I was so drawn to him due to my exhausted state, but I was beginning to think it was more. I was beginning to think I was attracted to him in a sexual way. Also, I liked him. The day we’d spent at the aquarium lingered as one of the most enjoyable days out I had enjoyed in a long time. And it was nothing special. Just a trip to the aquarium. Not front row tickets toHamiltonor box seats at a Boston Pops concert. We’d not sat behind the dugout at Fenway or scored seats behind the bench at Boston Garden. We’d not sailed the harbor in a sleek sailboat or spent hours walking the Museumof Fine Arts. No. We’d petted some rays and watched penguins slurp down herrings.
“So, how has your week been?” Mona asked, pulling me from my open admiration of Lennon. I looked her way to find her smiling as if she knew a wicked secret. “Sorry to yank you from him. He really is adorable.”
“His taste in clothing is ghastly.” I couldn’t think of anything else sensible to say because, yes, he was adorable. And I had found myself groggily thinking of him in those dark hours of the night when Valeria was howling about bad beds. I prayed Dr. Bajaj would help us with the night terrors soon. Maybe he could do what he was paid to do if he kept his shoes on…
“Well, those are his performing clothes. Kids love bright colors. I’ve seen him around town a time or two in street clothes, and he is quite fashionable.” I quirked an eyebrow. “Well, fashionable for a man his age. You know how that generation is. God, listen to me. I’m literally only ten years older than Lennon, but I sound like I’m eighty.”
“I feel like I’m eighty,” I said as a robin dropped down to stare at the lawn a few hundred feet away. A gray squirrel chittered at us from above. Lennon was singing about a frog who was a knight. It was all rather nice. “Our sleep is not improving.”
“You sound very British right now.” Mona handed me a cookie as I gazed at her in confusion. “Our as in the royal our.”
“Oh, yes, that. We are both suffering from sleep loss. I would like to return to work soon, but between her night terrors and the fact that every time I step out she falls into a pit of desperation fueled by separation anxiety, I find I’m unable to do much of anything other than color, watchBluey, and search for a nanny. Do not ask how that search is going.” I took a hearty bite of cookie while the girls danced in place to the frog knight song. “I gave up on a daycare facility. None met my requirements.And now I find that hiring a nanny is heading down that same disappointing path.”
Mona nodded sympathetically. I sighed. “Sorry for that information dump. You did not come to the park to listen to a stranger whine about his life.”
“Hey, we’re all in the same boat here. It’s hard as hell finding childcare you can afford and you feel safe about,” she said, passing over another cookie. I ate that one as well. My slacks were going to be getting tight if I didn’t find my way back to my running routine.
“Have you ever used a jogging stroller?” I asked out of the blue. She shook her head but knew of someone in her online group who had. The rest of the performance was spent with me eating cookies and being sent links to every group Mona belonged to and a few she didn’t but had heard good things about. When the show was over, we all clapped loudly, gathered our blankets and little ones, and moseyed over to drop cash into Lennon’s open case.
“Hello, Valeria and Wesley,” he chimed merrily as we approached. “Did you enjoy the show?”
“Uncle Wes says your suit is ghostly.” She ran up to drop a twenty into his case. He snickered softly as I blushed. I thought to explain but assumed I would just dig myself deeper, so I let it go and started talking about something else. Anything else.
“Would you like to have coffee?” I asked, then cringed inside.
“I would love that.”
“Yay!” Valeria squealed. How did she have so much energy when she had been up half the night? I could barely form coherent thoughts and was being far too forward with attractive men.
He peeled off his suit jacket, gathered his case and his earnings, and let Valeria lead us to the café.
We ordered some sandwiches, fries, and sodas—as if Valeria needed more energy, I was such a crummy guardian—and when it came time to pay, I motioned at the food on both of our trays as I tapped my platinum AmEx against the card reader.
“Hey, yeah, no, I’m paying for mine,” Lennon barked as the transaction cleared. I looked over at him and smiled softly.
“I’ve got it,” I announced as the harried young woman ringing us out tried to get us to move along by silently rolling her eyes to the exit. “You save your tips for your car woes.”
“I don’t need you to buy my food. I am fully capable of feeding myself.” My eyes widened slightly at the ire in his voice. He looked quite displeased as well. I did not know a man in a purple top hat could exude such raw irritation.
“My bad. You can pay me at the table.” With that, I gathered up our food and strolled to a table overlooking the frog pond. Valeria climbed up into her seat, feet kicking as I slathered hand sanitizer on her hands and mine. I did not use public toilets unless it was an absolute emergency. Like that one Saturday morning when I had a stomach slash bowel situation and could not make it home to use my bathroom. If not for the fact that I was a breath away from soiling my shorts, I’d have tried to hold it as the men’s lavatory was disgusting. Surely grown men could aim better.
After we had our hands sanitized, I shoved the tiny bottle back into her backpack and dumped her fries out on a napkin to cool. She began nibbling on some fries as I cut her chicken sandwich in half and then tucked a napkin into the collar of her shirt. At least we could keep the front of her pretty new outfit tidy. Lennon sat down beside me with a grumpy sound, then slapped a handful of crinkled bills onto my tray. I looked at the money and then at him. “You’ll wish to wash your hands before you eat. Money is notoriously filthy. I recall reading online that paper money reportedly carries more germs than a household toilet.”
I saw the urge wash over his face to just grab his burger and eat, but thankfully, he rose and strode off to find the bathrooms.
“Is Lennon mad at us?” Valeria asked while dipping a fry into the mayo leaking out of her sandwich.
“I think Lennon is put out with me,” I clarified, for I did not want her to think her idol was angry with her.
Her little nose crinkled in confusion. “Why is he out with you?”
