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“Mommy. What’s wrong?” Rellick’s concerned voice pulls my attention.
I close the front door, turning and kneeling so that we are the same height. My son was three and wiping the tears from my eyes. I feel like I lost Maw all over again. “Let’s get out of the house. Where do you want to go?”
For a three-year-old, Rellick was such a clown. He put his hand on his chin and hummed. As though he needed to think. I knew his answer before he said it. “Jump Park!”
I got him dressed in some shorts and a long sleeve shirt. It’s March in Louisiana. Cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon. I locked the door to the apartment and Rellick and I held hands to my shitty little car.
The 2015 Toyota Corolla was a birthday gift from my grandparents when I turned 18. I needed a vehicle to leave our small town and come to New Orleans for college. Full ride scholarship to UNO blown. I wish I could blame it on my grandparent’s death, but I was failing before it happened. It was the whole reason they were on their way to my college when a drunk driver t-boned them.
We pulled into Jump Park, the trampoline park meant for kids six and under. It was filled with gymnastics mats and trampolines, foam pits for older kids, and an obstacle course. Rellick loved it here and it got out so much of his energy. As I unbuckled him, he asked “is Bubby coming?”
“No, baby.” I lifted my growing boy onto my hip. He was almost getting too big; the thought made my eyes water.
“Is Blue?” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I loved that he was okay with them since I had made a connection with both, but maybe it was too much too soon? I shook my head in response rather than having my voice potentially crack with denial. “Santa?”
Who? Did he mean the actual Santa? No, obviously not… Right? He must have seen the confusion on my face. “Santa, mommy. He’s red and has wings and big spiky things on his head.” Rellick used his index fingers to make horns come from his temple. It sounds like he’s describing the devil. Devil. Did he mean Satan?
“Sweet boy, that wasn’t Santa…”
“Yes, it was! He said he has reindeer when his wings get tired. And he didn’t bring my bike ‘cause he didn’t get my letter…” He grabs my shoulders and begins to shake them. “Mommy, what letter was I s’pose to have? I only know letter ‘a’!”
Rellick was beginning to hyperventilate on my hip. “Hey! It’s okay, baby. We have a ways to go before next Christmas. Maybe he’ll get you one then.” I place him on his feet and help him pull open the door. The indoor trampoline park isn’t very busy for it being noon on a Saturday.
Walking to the front desk, I smile at the teen. “Hello. I need a jump ticket for an hour.”
I pay for the bracelet and watch as the teen places it around Rellick’s wrist. “Have fun,” she says. With the bracelet on, Rellick immediately runs to the tower. It’s a ten-foot-high drop into a foam pit. He waits in line as I watch from the side.
“Which one’s yours?” I look to my side at the sweet feminine voice. Her voice sounds like what I think a fairy would. Sweet and innocent with an underlying hint of mischief. I take in her full appearance. Rainbow highlights surround dark blonde hair. A darker skin tone makes her look Hispanic. Her eyes are gold, reminding me of Rafe, Rellick’s father, but it’s the only thing they have in common. It must be a medical condition that only two percent of the population have.
The woman’s smile widens the more I stare at her. “See something you like?” There’s a joking undertone in her question that makes me chuckle.
“I’m so sorry. I love your hair.” I reach for my own basic brown hair with its red tips. After Rellick was born, I had major post-partum depression. I needed something to make me feel like myself again, so I dyed my whole head bright princess Ariel red. And never did anything with it again. The ombre is actually just my natural hair growing out and the red fading.
She smiles wide while she reaches for her own hair. “Thank you.” Pointing towards the jump tower, she continues. “Which one is yours?”
Turning, I watch as Rellick makes it to the front of the line. He wastes no time cannonball jumping into the foam pit where a worker is waiting to pull him out. He runs to me when he’s out. “Did you see me?! Did you see, Mommy?”
“I did! Great job!” Rellick hugs my leg, then gets right back in line to jump again.
The woman next to me squeals. “He’s adorable!”
I can feel my cheeks starting to flush. “Thank you. I worked hard on him,” I joke.
Her laugh sounds like jingling bells. She holds out her hand for me to shake. “I’m Josie.”
“Bree.” Her grip is firm for a dainty little woman. “Where’s yours?” I ask, meaning a child.
“None of them.” What does she mean? None of these kids are hers? Does she have kids somewhere else in the building? “This just seemed like a fun place to be. I love the energy! Such a great place to create.”
Really? The Jump Park, filled with a bunch of screaming kids, felt like a great place to create? “What do you create?”
“Oh, a little bit of everything. My favorite thing to do is actually help other people create.”
Rellick reached the front of the line and yelled out from the top of the tower. “Hey guys! Watch this!” He does another cannonball into the foam, laughing as the worker pulls him out. “Did you see me?” he asks again as he comes up to us. I nod my head, a real smile on my face at his happiness. He finally notices Josie. “Did you see me?”
“I did! You did amazing! Such a high jump! You are totally fearless!” Josie holds out her hand for a high-five and Rellick jumps to slap her hand. This woman just praised my son for his jump with actual enthusiasm. Most adults would get aggravated or fake it, but not this rainbow haired girl.
“Thanks!” he yells. “Watch me do it again!”
