Page 26 of The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation

“Keep me posted, but don’t worry. I can stay until Josh gets back.”

“I finally got ahold of him, and he said he’d catch the next train, so hopefully it won’t be too long.”

Back at the rec center, Percy plays while I work on my laptop, happy to have all the toys to himself. Near the end of the day, I get a text from Mr. Harmon letting me know that they made it to the hospital but are still waiting for the surgery. I tell him not to worry, and after checking in with my parents and letting them know that I’m babysitting for a friend, I tell Percy we’re going to play with the big kids and go in search of Travis. As expected, I find him inside the humid, funky-smelling gym, watching the twelve-year-old campers do some sort of basketball drill.

“Hey, Travis. Can I get you to watch this little guy for a few minutes?”

Before I can explain who he is, Travis opens his arms wide. “Pussy, my man!”

Percy wiggles and leans toward Travis, so I hand him over.

“High five, Pussy!” Percy’s tiny hand is dwarfed by Travis’s, but he smacks it with all his might. “Good one.”

“I’ll be back in fifteen,” I promise.

“No worries,” Travis says before blowing his whistle. “Pussy can help me put the balls away.”

Checking my watch and running through the camper schedule in my head, I hustle to the art room, where Daisy has the six-year olds for the final period of the day. Thankful that I checked in on Mabel enough during her first week at camp that she’ll know who I am, I pop my head in Daisy’s room. “Can I borrow Mabel for the rest of the afternoon?”

Daisy shoots me anEverything okay?look, which I return with a reassuring nod.

“We’ll be working with the stamps again tomorrow, Mabel,” Daisy says. “So you can finish then.”

“I’m already finished, Miss Daisy.” Mabel hands over a piece of paper covered with colorful splotches.

While Daisy hangs up her artwork to dry, Mabel meets me at the door. “Do you need me to help with the snacks again, Miss Avery?”

As I usher her out, careful to avoid touching her since I’d noticed her flinching away from a counselor’s reach on her first day, she says, “Oh, but it’s not snack time.”

“You’re right, it’s almost pickup time,” I say as I lead her down the hall toward my office.

“Am I in trouble?”

Her tone is more curious than worried, like she’s working her way through all the possibilities in her head.

“Not that I know of. Did you do something naughty?”

I glance over and have to stifle a laugh as I watch her seriously consider the question. “Not today.”

Opening my office door, I gesture for her to enter. “You can tell me about that later, if you’d like, but right now, I need to tell you about a change in plans for your family.” Sitting in the guest chair by my desk so that I’m eye level with her, I say, “Your grandma had an accident this afternoon.”

She blinks rapidly for a few moments before asking, “Is she dead?”

“No, no, honey. She’s fine. She’s going to be fine.” It takes everything I’ve got to keep myself from wrapping her in a hug. What must it be like to have experienced the death of a parent at her age? To be constantly worried that other people in your life will die too? “She fell and hurt her ankle, and your grandpa called me to pick up Percy and I’m going to hang out with both of you until your dad gets back from New York.”

She nods, like she’s tucking this information away for safekeeping. When she asks where Percy is, I take her to the gym. She declines to enter, declaring that it’s too stinky. After I collect her brother and bundle both kids into my car, I get her talking about camp during the drive home.

After Mabel punches in the lock code, the children give me a quick tour of the house. We start upstairs, where Mabel shows me her tidy room, proudly showing off all the books she can read as well as her many art supplies and projects. Percy takes me by the hand and pulls me to his room, where he introduces me to his favorite stuffed animals and trucks. I’m doing my best not to wonder where Josh sleeps, when Percy declares that he’s “hungy.”

Back downstairs, Mabel tells me what they like to eat. The kitchen is bright and homey and well organized, with kid art stuck to cabinets, a bowl of fruit on the island, and a perfect little breakfast nook overlooking the backyard. I get Percy set up in his high chair with a banana while I put together a quick dinner from what’s in the fridge.

After I get the beans warming and the quesadillas browning, I glance over at Percy, who’s managing to get about half of the banana into his mouth, while he uses the other half to make patterns on his tray.

“Nana boo-boo.”

I’ve gotten pretty good at Percy-speak over the past few weeks, so I get that he means his grandmother had an accident. “She did.”

“Owie.”

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