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Tilting my head, I watched as all five left and then she turned her head and my breath caught in my throat.
Holly Hobbie.
My beautiful doll stood in my backyard, with a young boy, staring at me.
Gone was the Holly Hobbie doll from high school. In her place stood a beautiful woman with a well-toned body. Her head shook as they marched out of my view through the same hole the geese went through.
The air finally stopped trying to choke me and then I realized I stood in front of the French door window wearing only boxers.
Way to go, Henry.
Blowing out a hard breath, I chuckled and finished my coffee. Work wasn’t going to wait for me to get my head in the game. Time to get dressed.
Walking through the hall, I found Dillon sitting on the stairs in his jammies. “Come along, little man.”
“Yes, Dad.”
He was growing up so fast, he no longer wanted help to get ready for daycare. I tried to respect his space, but he was only four.
In the time it took me to get ready, he also got dressed and had his backpack packed.
I tried to high five him, but he sighed and walked ahead of me.
Stepping out the front door, we walked over to my SUV. I opened the backdoor for Dillon and he scrambled in, buckling himself up.
I couldn’t help smiling, happy that my son understood the importance of safety and keeping a schedule.
This is how I like my life. Neat. Orderly. Scheduled. Safe.
Looking at my son, I could see my late wife in him. Dillon wasn’t afraid to go after what he wanted like her and, like me, he’s ready for any bit of adventure he could find.
“What’s you smiling about, Dad?”
“Thinking about how proud I am of you.”
“Can I go pet the geese before we leave?” Dillon’s small voice broke my heart.
I reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. “The geese are gone, son. Maybe someday we’ll see more, and you can try to pet those geese.”
He heaved a sigh and turned his head away from me.
The ride to drop Dillon off at daycare was quiet this morning. I knew this was Dillon’s way of protesting. I also knew my son thought I was being mean for not letting him run headfirst into an attack by geese.
This wasn’t the first morning I’ve seen an animal in my backyard. Last month, I had a tortoise and occasionally a stray dog.
Pulling up at the building, I found my usual parking place.
“It’s okay, Dad. I can walk myself in today.”
“What?” I looked back at my son. “I always walk you in.”
“Well.” Dillon nodded to punctuate his statement. “Today I want to do it myself.”
Great first the geese, now my kid. Seems I’m oh for two this morning.
“Oh. Well, if that’s what you want.”
“Yep.” He already unbuckled himself and got ready to climb out.
