The fog was thick and damp, it muffled the sounds one normally heard at night. All except the sound of my son’s giggling that he was trying to hide by laughing into his pillow.
It was 12:15 a.m. and when I checked on him at 11:00 p.m. he was asleep. Or was he? Did I fall for the oldest trick in the book?
I got out of bed and walked to his room swiftly and quietly. I was determined not to be fooled again and to lay down the law. His bedroom door was ajar and I stopped to peak in to see what he was giggling about before I entered.
Nothing was revealed. Maybe something crossed his mind that made him laugh or maybe the cat did something that he thought was funny. The more giggling I heard, the less upset I became. He’s ten I thought, nothing wrong with staying up late I guess.
Slowly I opened his door and stepped in. The giggling stopped immediately. Not this time kid, I’m not falling for it again. I walked over to his bed and looked at him. His eyes shut tightly, as he tried to hide the smile that was desperately trying to form. I said “Hey bud, it’s late, why are you still up?” No response. The smile was winning as it slowly started to take over his face. I waited a second or two and repeated the question. Before I could ask a third time the smile won, followed by the giggling.
I smiled and looked at him as he said the cat woke him up and now he couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t be mad at him, I mean, it was the cat’s fault. We looked at each other for a few seconds, unsure what to say. “Get dressed” I blurted out. He looked shocked and responded “Ok dad”. I went back to my room and put on shorts and a tee shirt and met him in the dining room. I grabbed my keys, we put on our shoes, and stepped out into the foggy night.
“I don’t know about you kid, but I need a milkshake, what about you?” He smiled and responded with a very solid “YES!” We headed to the McDonalds down the road and got two milkshakes. We were happy.
On the drive home we took the long way. We discussed the important things in life like, who’s stronger Superman or the Hulk? Why girls are so annoying? Can you could build a real house out of LEGO’s? When and how many times we can go to the beach this year? The three best cereals and how someone could become a ninja/astronaut/chief?
There was no pretentious political talk, no one needing their ego stroked, no one needing to be right and nothing about a “deadly” virus, just two guys talking, relaxing and laughing. I loved every minute of it.
We got home, walked inside, kicked off our shoes and headed back to our rooms. Bellies full and sleep on our minds. My son stopped, turned to me and hugged me with that really good 10 year old boy kinda hug. We stepped into our rooms, and as my son started to shut his door he said “Hey Dad”, I responded “Yeah buddy?” “I love you a lot” and with that he closed his door. “I love you more then you’ll ever know” I said as I heard his door shut.
It was a foggy night that we’ll both look back on and smile.
