concessions for my country – knowing all the time that my life was hanging in the balance. When had I stopped being my kid's best friend?
Twenty four hours, thousands of dollars and three pep talks (For me) later, here we were floating down the lazy river of the Pirate ride.
My kid, the one I fought for, protected and adored with all of my heart had finally re-appeared and was loving every single minute of the experience.
"Shouldn't have had that chowder," he whispered.
"Yeah, I'm feeling it too. It would help if the boat weren't rocking so much." I rubbed my stomach and sent a silent command to my innards to calm the fuck down.
It didn't occur to me that anything was wrong. We'd been flare up free for six months. The non-natives weren't restless; they weren't even making a peep.
It should have occurred to me.
I should have been on alert as soon as I'd stepped onto that god forsaken craft and my stomach had started doing the tango with the equivalent of a two left footed Canadian middle school kid. It was, after-all, what I'd spent the last year training for.
"Mommy! Look at the pretty statues!" The toddler in the row ahead of us pointed and tugged at his mother's shirt.
"Hmm, I do n't remember those from before. They must be new," she replied. "Shh and sit down before they stop this boat and ask you to get off. Remember, we promised to behave this time."
I looked at where the little boy was pointing and froze.
With a hand reaching up towards the heavens in an anguished plea for mercy, a stone statue rested upon a mountain of gold. In the background, the mechanical pirates were singing and joking. This new addition didn't quite fit with the frivolity and mayhem that the Pirates had been showing park hoppers for the last fifty years. This was a little too dark.
I went from the ambivalent parent - grateful for an air conditioned ride - to full Hunter mode in seconds. Sure, it had been years since I'd last visited, but there were new statues and dark stains that didn't quite match the rest of the décor here.
My head swiveled back toward Dylan and I stared hard at the fingers digging into his stomach. Shit.
Shit, shit, shit!
I leaned in close and whispered, "Did your stomach hurt before we got into this boat?"
He shook his head and hunched over. I pulled him in close and continued, "Something's wrong. So when I say go, I want you to teleport out of here and meet me back at the River Boat Ride. Got it?"
"What are you going to do?" he whispered back.
"Maybe nothing. I could be over thinking this, but something feels really off. The first priority is to make sure these people get to safety if anything goes wrong, and I want to know that you're out of danger so I don't have to worry."
He shook his head. "I can help you."
I leaned back and tilted my head. "Dylan, you just turned fourteen. It's not the time for you to prove that you're a big bad now."
He scowled at me. "You have to stop treating me like a baby. Drew was fighting when he was fourteen. I can take care of myself!"
"People are trying to enjoy the ride here, Lady. Keep it down!" A man had turned around and bellowed at me from the front of the boat. I turned the Glare of Death on him and pulled Dylan closer. It took everything I had to not flip the asshole off. I'd been listening to him talk into his phone nearly the entire ride. Jerk.
"Drew was fourteen in an entirely different time. Besides, I'm not saying you can't do this. I'm saying that I've seen you hurt enough to last me a lifetime and I just can't focus if I am afraid for your safety. "
I ran my fingertips across his forehead, swiping away the lock of hair that never quite stayed where it was supposed to. "You mean everything to me. Every. Single. Thing. I still have nightmares about you laying in a pool of your own blood, Bubby. Do you understand?"
He stiffened and replied, "Mom, you have to trust me some time. I can help you."
I gritted my teeth and fondly recalled a
Twenty four hours, thousands of dollars and three pep talks (For me) later, here we were floating down the lazy river of the Pirate ride.
My kid, the one I fought for, protected and adored with all of my heart had finally re-appeared and was loving every single minute of the experience.
"Shouldn't have had that chowder," he whispered.
"Yeah, I'm feeling it too. It would help if the boat weren't rocking so much." I rubbed my stomach and sent a silent command to my innards to calm the fuck down.
It didn't occur to me that anything was wrong. We'd been flare up free for six months. The non-natives weren't restless; they weren't even making a peep.
It should have occurred to me.
I should have been on alert as soon as I'd stepped onto that god forsaken craft and my stomach had started doing the tango with the equivalent of a two left footed Canadian middle school kid. It was, after-all, what I'd spent the last year training for.
"Mommy! Look at the pretty statues!" The toddler in the row ahead of us pointed and tugged at his mother's shirt.
"Hmm, I do n't remember those from before. They must be new," she replied. "Shh and sit down before they stop this boat and ask you to get off. Remember, we promised to behave this time."
I looked at where the little boy was pointing and froze.
With a hand reaching up towards the heavens in an anguished plea for mercy, a stone statue rested upon a mountain of gold. In the background, the mechanical pirates were singing and joking. This new addition didn't quite fit with the frivolity and mayhem that the Pirates had been showing park hoppers for the last fifty years. This was a little too dark.
I went from the ambivalent parent - grateful for an air conditioned ride - to full Hunter mode in seconds. Sure, it had been years since I'd last visited, but there were new statues and dark stains that didn't quite match the rest of the décor here.
My head swiveled back toward Dylan and I stared hard at the fingers digging into his stomach. Shit.
Shit, shit, shit!
I leaned in close and whispered, "Did your stomach hurt before we got into this boat?"
He shook his head and hunched over. I pulled him in close and continued, "Something's wrong. So when I say go, I want you to teleport out of here and meet me back at the River Boat Ride. Got it?"
"What are you going to do?" he whispered back.
"Maybe nothing. I could be over thinking this, but something feels really off. The first priority is to make sure these people get to safety if anything goes wrong, and I want to know that you're out of danger so I don't have to worry."
He shook his head. "I can help you."
I leaned back and tilted my head. "Dylan, you just turned fourteen. It's not the time for you to prove that you're a big bad now."
He scowled at me. "You have to stop treating me like a baby. Drew was fighting when he was fourteen. I can take care of myself!"
"People are trying to enjoy the ride here, Lady. Keep it down!" A man had turned around and bellowed at me from the front of the boat. I turned the Glare of Death on him and pulled Dylan closer. It took everything I had to not flip the asshole off. I'd been listening to him talk into his phone nearly the entire ride. Jerk.
"Drew was fourteen in an entirely different time. Besides, I'm not saying you can't do this. I'm saying that I've seen you hurt enough to last me a lifetime and I just can't focus if I am afraid for your safety. "
I ran my fingertips across his forehead, swiping away the lock of hair that never quite stayed where it was supposed to. "You mean everything to me. Every. Single. Thing. I still have nightmares about you laying in a pool of your own blood, Bubby. Do you understand?"
He stiffened and replied, "Mom, you have to trust me some time. I can help you."
I gritted my teeth and fondly recalled a
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