When the door bell rang, the little boy came running around the corner of the living room, sliding across the tiled foyer in his stocking feet. Despite his valiant effort, his mother made it to the door first opening it to the tall, lean man standing at the front porch.
“Daddy!”
With the agility of a squirrel monkey, the little boy jumped up into his father’s embrace, wrapping his legs around the man’s waist and his arms around his neck.
Trying to walk with his son still latched to his body, the man followed his ex-wife into the kitchen. Settling the boy into one of the tall stools at the breakfast bar, he leans in to kiss the woman, who steps deftly away from him.
“Hey sweetie, go into the living room and play. Mommy and daddy need to talk a bit. You can play Mario for a little while, okay?”
The man ruffled the little boy’s hair, before helping down him from the high seat.
“We’ll just be a minute little man.”
The woman, her arms folded tight across her chest was not smiling. The man, a loose bag of bones, smirks at her as the little boy runs out of the room.
“I almost didn’t think you were going to make it James.”
“I’m here now Corrine, don’t go busting my balls.”
Looking toward the other room, she made sure the boy was out of hearing range.
“So, what’s your plan for the day?”
James shrugged, making a face that told her more than any words could.
“The usual. We head over to my place, watch some TV, maybe order a pizza or grab some burgers on the way. You know, all that stuff you won’t let him eat. I got a new game he might like. Why?”
“Why? That’s all you got planned?”
“What’s this planned shit?”
Uncrossing her arms, Corrine began pacing around the kitchen, her hands gesturing wildly.
“Oh my Gawd! You forgot! You completely forgot!”
“Keep you gawddam voice down, what did I forget?”
“Today, you forgot what today is.”
“Okay, I’ll give, what so special about today?”
“You asshole! It’s Jamie’s birthday, he turns six today.”
“Why didn’t you call and tell me?”
“Tell you? You were there when he was born, this is one date you shoulder remember on your own! He is your son.”
James was pacing now, running his hands through his should length hair.
“I assume it’s safe to say you didn’t get anything for him?”
“You’re loving this aren’t you. Making me look like an ass in front of Jamie.”
“I have never said one single negative thing about you to Jamie and I never will. He won’t hear from me that you forgot his birthday. He worships you. This would kill him.”
Walking over to a small desk in the corner of the dining room, she pulls out a decorated cardboard box. Taking off the lid, she begins flipping through the collection of greeting cards she had stored inside.
“You used to make fun of me for this, but I’m about to save your ass,” handing him a birthday card appropriate for a little boy,
“This is what you’re going to do… you are going to take him somewhere he wants to go for lunch. Make it somewhere he knows I won’t like, you can even talk some shit about me over it. Then you are going to fill this cards with as many one dollar bills you can fit inside and take him to wherever he wants to go to spend it.That means if he wants to go to a bookstore, you take him to a bookstore.”
“Why can’t I just take him to the Sports Shop, get him a football or something?”
“Because it’s his birthday not yours, this is about him not you. This is about what he wants, not what you think a son of yours wants. If he wants to buy a book, you get him a book, then you sit down with him and read it, or better yet, let him read it to you.”
“Okay, I can do that.”
“I’m not finished. After taking him shopping you ask him what he wants to do, then do it. If that’s a movie, let him pick. That means he if wants to go see a cartoon about dancing penguins you go and like it. if it’s going to miniature golf, you do it, and cheer like a crazy person when he gets a 10-stroke hole in one. Whatever he wants today, you do it, and you better goddam act like you are having the time of your life.
“That little boy thinks your are Superman, Batman, and Captain America all roll up into one. Today you are going to give him every reason to believe that you are a super hero, and that he is the most important person in the world, because he is!”
James took the card and tucked it inside his jacket, before heading into the living room to get his son. Looking back at his mother, her arms folded again, her jaw set and a look that told him if he screwed this up, he was a dead man.
“Hey little man, you ready to go?”
“Yeah, dad!”
A blue, wheeled case stood beside the front door. James grabbed it on the way out, having to raise it up over his head as the little boy ran back inside.
Racing to his mother, he hugged her legs tight, as she bent down to kiss the top of his head.
“Thanks mom!”
“For what baby?”
“For letting me hang with daddy on my birthday.”
“You’re going to have a great time sweetheart, daddy was telling me about all the fun things he has planned. We’ll celebrate with Nana and Pawpaw this weekend, okay?”
The little boy gave her one last kiss, before running back out the door toward his dad’s truck.
After helping the boy climb into the cab and get buckled into his booster seat, James waves goodbye to Corrine, giving her a thumbs up as he backs out of the driveway.
Closing the front door, Corrine leans back against the hard wood, saying a silent prayer that her ex doesn’t screw up his son’s birthday.
The little boy began to talk non-stop, telling his father about what he was doing in school. About how Sherry Gruber screamed when he showed her a worm he found on the sidewalk after it rain last week. He told him about making a 100 on his spelling test and how Ms. Walker put a huge, red smiley face on it, bigger than anyone else’s in the class.
When he finally took a breath, his dad managed to ask where he wanted to have lunch. His pick, anywhere he wanted to go. After assuring him, his mom had given permission to eat junk food, he ran through a litany of kid meal toys and which place that the best one, eventually settling on the burger restaurant that was offering Cars from one of his favorite movies.
“They have the bestest french fries too. Can I get a milkshake?”
James couldn’t help but smile at the excitement that seemed to ooze from every pore of his son’s skin.
“Yeah, little man, it’s your birthday! We both can get milkshakes.”
As they walked into the restaurant, James held the door for a woman coming out. He could tell her dress was a thrift store purchase, but she held herself like a lady. He watched as she crossed the parking lot, headed toward probably the last coin operated telephone in the city. He absently wondered who she might be calling as he followed his son inside.
“This is so cool daddy! We get to spend my whole birthday together!”
After ordering, James hands the tray of food to his son.
“Go pick us out a table, I’ll wait for the shakes.”
Watching his son precariously carrying the food into the dining area, searching for the best table, James turns to pay for their meal.
“Hey, can you give me back as many ones as you can,” he said, handing the cashier a $50.
“I can’t give you all of my ones, but I think I can give you about 20,” she said, counting out his change.
“That’d be perfect, and do you have a pen I can borrow?”
He didn’t notice the one crumpled bill with red ink on the edges as he quickly signed his name, with love, in the card then tucked the bills inside plus what other ones he had in his wallet.
Seeing the quizzical expression on the cashier’s face, James explained that it was the boy’s birthday and he was taking him shopping for his own present.
“Man, I wish my parents were that cool. It’s more fun to pick out what you really want. Hey, I can give you a hot pie for him, you know like a birthday cake, but not.”
James thanked her, putting the card back inside his jacket, and taking their shakes and hot pie to the table where his son was waiting.
After they ate, James took out the card, handing it to his son. Opening the envelop, and seeing all the money inside, the boy let out a whoop that made James laugh.
“Wow! I am totally rich!”
“You get to pick where to spend it, anywhere you want.”
“Really? I don’t have to save some of it? Mom always makes me save some of the money I get at Christmas from Pawpaw.”
“Nope, you don’t have to save any of it, you can spend it all. It’s your birthday right?”
“Can we go to Books in a Million?”
“Sure, we can. Is there any thing special you want to get there?”
“Yeah! There’s a new Waldo book I want.”
“Waldo?”
“Waldo. You know, ‘Where’s Waldo’.”
“Can’t say I know who that is.”
“Wow Dad, you don’t know who Waldo is? I’ll show you. It’ll be great. There are all these really cool pictures, and you have to find Waldo in them, and his friend Wanda, and Woof, that’s his dog. And then there’s Odlaw, that’s Waldo backwards, he’s the bad guy and Whitebeard. He’s a wizard, but he’s a good guy. They are all hiding in the pictures and you have to find them.”
Jamie continued to explain the book to his dad, even while they hunted through the bookstore for the edition he wanted. At the checkout, Jamie carefully counted out each of the dollar bills, stopping only a second to look at the strange one with the red lettering, explaining to the cashier that it was his birthday, and that he was buying a new book with his birthday money.
“I’m going to help my dad find Waldo, he’s never seen a Waldo book before!”
Once back in the truck, all Jamie could talk about is his new book, “dad is it okay if we just go to your place and look for Waldo?”
“It’s still early, don’t you want to do something else for your birthday?”
“I just want to show you Waldo, can we huh?”
“Sure, little man, whatever you want.”
The rest of their evening was spend reading Jamie’s new book, and looking for Waldo and all the other characters. Jamie sat on the floor in front of the couch, the book opened on the coffee table, his dad sitting behind him on the couch. Their heads almost touching, and both yelling out when they found a hidden, striped shirt or hat. They only stopped long enough to eat the extra pepperoni, extra cheese pizza delivered to the house.
After finishing their search on the last page, James closed the book and carried his son, already half asleep, into the room he kept for him in his new house. Laying him down, the little boy hung on, hugging his father tightly.
“This was the greatest birthday ever! I love you daddy!”
“I love you too little man.”
Tucking in his son, James turned off the light on the bedside table, kissing the boy on the forehead. Backing out of the room, he closed the door without shutting it.
Walking into the kitchen, he takes out his cell phone, punching in speed dial number three.
“Hey, how’d it go tonight.”
“Thank you Corrine.”
“For what?”
“For saving my ass. We had a great day, and it was all because of you. I can’t believe I screwed up like that.”
“Sounds like you made a pretty good comeback.”
“Like I said, thanks Corrine. And Corrine…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry, you know, for all the shit I put you through. You didn’t deserve that. You’re the best and I didn’t see that until it was too late. You’ve done a great job with Jamie, he’s a really cool kid.”
“Thanks James. For all of that. You’ve never apologized before.”
“I should have done that a long time ago.”
“Uh, James, when you drop off Jamie tomorrow, do you want to stay for lunch?”
“Yeah, I’d like that. Hey, do you know who Waldo is?”
