Page 68 of In The Game

“Whoa!” he says, running over to the massive glass wall. He spins around for a second to make sure I’m behind him. “Mom, look! A hammerhead!”

I stand behind him and watch the huge shark swim above us. “Wow. It’s big.” Yeesh.

“It’s huge!”

With gaping eyes, he stands in wonderment of the sharks and tropical fish. It’s magical. A sea turtle stops right in front of him, and they regard each other. Arthur is entranced. I pull out my phone and snap a photo of his silhouette observing the creature on the other side. It’s a priceless moment.

We watch the fish for a while longer, and when we step away, I pull up the photo and text it to Barrett.

Me: Thank you for the passes. He’s loving it.

Barrett: Great photo. I’m glad he likes it.

Me: He likes you a lot.

Barrett: Yeah? I like him a lot too. How’s his mom feel about me?

Me: Coming on a little strong…

Barrett: Do you want me to stop?

I want to type back no, because being the object of his affection feels amazing. But, it’s also a littlesudden. And scary.

Me: I don’t know.

Barrett: Let me know when you do.

At lunchtime, we find a shaded spot outside and I pull sandwiches and snacks out of our backpack.

“Do you want your chips now or save them?”

“Now, please.”

“Here you go.” I hand them over along with the water bottle I brought for him.

We bite into our sandwiches and munch on chips while we watch the caribou graze in the meadow.

“They have fuzzy antlers.”

I nod in agreement.

“Hey, I want to ask you something.”

“Yeah?”

“What did you think of Barrett?” I stuff my hand back into my small bag of chips, trying to act casual as I ask him the important question.

“I like him. He brings me presents.”

I roll my eyes and chuckle. “Okay, but let’s pretend he didn’t bring you presents, would you still like him then?”

“Yes. He’s cool and funny and nice. He’s good at playing with cars. He gives good horsey rides.”

Yeah, I’ve gotten those horsey rides too.

“Would you want to hang out with him again sometime? You can say no.”

“Yeah! Can he come over for dinner tonight? Would that be a good idea, Mom?”

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