opened my door, walked around the car, and opened his door. I grabbed him up and tossed him over my shoulder like a sack of dog food and walked toward the house.
I gripped the oval knob with my left hand. Before I turned it, I observed the distorted view of my wife through the cut glass in the door. I hesitated before turning the knob, wondering what sort of state she was going to be in. It didn’t matter. She needed me, whatever state she was in. I twisted the knob and pushed it inward. The door swung in, revealing my wife just outside its arc of travel.
My eyes met her hers. After seven years of marriage, I still caught myself wondering if eyes could truly be that deep of a blue. It took two months of dating for her to convince me that she wasn’t wearing colored contacts. I had never seen eyes more striking than my wife’s. Today, however, the blue was hardly noticeable in light of how bloodshot her eyes were from crying.
I set Toby on the ground and Katie flew into my arms. At five foot five, she wasn’t tall. She wasn’t short either. It put her at the perfect height to bury her head in my shoulder.
“Connor, what are we going to do?” she asked, starting to cry again.
“I guess that’s up to Toby,” I said, looking down at him. “What do you want to do, big guy?” I asked, already knowing what the answer would be. “You get to pick what we do this afternoon.”
“Then we’re playing Monopoly!” he exclaimed, with a smile spreading across his face. Monopoly had been Toby’s favorite game since he got it for Christmas. Given a choice, that was what he always wanted to do.
“All right!" I said, mustering forth every bit of excitement I could dredge up. “I’m the car.” My attempt to get a reaction from Toby by claiming his usual game piece worked as I anticipated.
“Oh no you're not!” Toby burst out. “The car is mine. You have to be the wheelbarrow so you can carry all my money around for me.”
"Oh yeah? Well you're not going to have any money to haul around after you land on my Boardwalk and Park Place. They’re going to be full of hotels," I laughed.
The corners of Katie's mouth slowly crept upward. "Neither of you are going to have any money if you don't pop some popcorn,” she said between sniffles, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Everyone knows you can't play Monopoly without popcorn. While you two are arguing about who gets which piece, I am going to go hide some money up my sleeve so I have a head start.” Katie had long ago been banned from being the banker in any Monopoly game because she was such a cheater.
“You are definitely coming with us.” I grabbed her from behind, wrapped my left arm under her knees, my right arm around her torso, and picked her up and carried her into the kitchen, “Why don’t you make yourself useful and melt some butter?” As I was putting Katie down, Toby was banging through the cabinet, pulling out the air popper.
“Don’t forget to grab the bowl while you’re down there,” I said as I reached into the cabinet above the stove and removed a half empty jar of Orville Redenbacher popcorn from the top shelf.
I was at my maximum extension when Katie jabbed her index fingers into either side of my rib cage. I am not overly ticklish, but it was enough to cause me to drop the jar of popcorn. It landed on the countertop, bounced off and hit the floor. The red plastic lid popped off the container and a profusion of golden kernels leaped and bounced across the tile floor.
Toby saw the whole thing coming. He had just finished his outburst of laughter from the car. The tickling and then the spilled popcorn sent him over the edge again. He was barely able to wheeze out a brief sentence in the midst of his roils of laughter and he stole Katie’s line, “Dad, you’re such a pig.” Katie had had to explain long ago that people sometimes called the police “pigs.”
I gripped the oval knob with my left hand. Before I turned it, I observed the distorted view of my wife through the cut glass in the door. I hesitated before turning the knob, wondering what sort of state she was going to be in. It didn’t matter. She needed me, whatever state she was in. I twisted the knob and pushed it inward. The door swung in, revealing my wife just outside its arc of travel.
My eyes met her hers. After seven years of marriage, I still caught myself wondering if eyes could truly be that deep of a blue. It took two months of dating for her to convince me that she wasn’t wearing colored contacts. I had never seen eyes more striking than my wife’s. Today, however, the blue was hardly noticeable in light of how bloodshot her eyes were from crying.
I set Toby on the ground and Katie flew into my arms. At five foot five, she wasn’t tall. She wasn’t short either. It put her at the perfect height to bury her head in my shoulder.
“Connor, what are we going to do?” she asked, starting to cry again.
“I guess that’s up to Toby,” I said, looking down at him. “What do you want to do, big guy?” I asked, already knowing what the answer would be. “You get to pick what we do this afternoon.”
“Then we’re playing Monopoly!” he exclaimed, with a smile spreading across his face. Monopoly had been Toby’s favorite game since he got it for Christmas. Given a choice, that was what he always wanted to do.
“All right!" I said, mustering forth every bit of excitement I could dredge up. “I’m the car.” My attempt to get a reaction from Toby by claiming his usual game piece worked as I anticipated.
“Oh no you're not!” Toby burst out. “The car is mine. You have to be the wheelbarrow so you can carry all my money around for me.”
"Oh yeah? Well you're not going to have any money to haul around after you land on my Boardwalk and Park Place. They’re going to be full of hotels," I laughed.
The corners of Katie's mouth slowly crept upward. "Neither of you are going to have any money if you don't pop some popcorn,” she said between sniffles, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Everyone knows you can't play Monopoly without popcorn. While you two are arguing about who gets which piece, I am going to go hide some money up my sleeve so I have a head start.” Katie had long ago been banned from being the banker in any Monopoly game because she was such a cheater.
“You are definitely coming with us.” I grabbed her from behind, wrapped my left arm under her knees, my right arm around her torso, and picked her up and carried her into the kitchen, “Why don’t you make yourself useful and melt some butter?” As I was putting Katie down, Toby was banging through the cabinet, pulling out the air popper.
“Don’t forget to grab the bowl while you’re down there,” I said as I reached into the cabinet above the stove and removed a half empty jar of Orville Redenbacher popcorn from the top shelf.
I was at my maximum extension when Katie jabbed her index fingers into either side of my rib cage. I am not overly ticklish, but it was enough to cause me to drop the jar of popcorn. It landed on the countertop, bounced off and hit the floor. The red plastic lid popped off the container and a profusion of golden kernels leaped and bounced across the tile floor.
Toby saw the whole thing coming. He had just finished his outburst of laughter from the car. The tickling and then the spilled popcorn sent him over the edge again. He was barely able to wheeze out a brief sentence in the midst of his roils of laughter and he stole Katie’s line, “Dad, you’re such a pig.” Katie had had to explain long ago that people sometimes called the police “pigs.”
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