Saw the children this evening. Spent some wonderful time with them. Or perhaps I should say near them, as the time I spent was the few moments between my entering the house after my last game and walking upstairs to go to bed. They were in the living room and saw me walk up the stairs, and we looked at one another and I smiled at them, a sign that I recognized them and that I was fairly sure they were my children. And I think it’s this kind of thing that makes great family time.
•
The children woke me early. It’s unclear how they got the access code to my sleeping chamber. Initially, they were confused by the total darkness, the pumped-in oxygen, and the low recorded sound of Tibetan monks chanting, “Wonderful Tom.”
“Can we have waffles?” one of the two male children asked. There are two boys and a girl. I believe the girl’s name is Vivian. I didn’t get the boys’ names before security removed them.
•
Apparently, a playdate does not involve running passing routes. This was news to me. Vivian did fine, but her friend Abby just wasn’t getting it. I told her: stay positive, hit the route, and know that the ball is going to be there when you turn, Abby.
She eventually stopped crying. And ran a decent post pattern.
•
The children live in the house year-round. I had not known that.
•
Giselle is away. She asked me to prepare food that the children take to school for a midday meal. I gave each of them a raw ginger root and a bag of protein powder to mix with distilled water. Giselle also said that she always writes a little note on a napkin for each kid and tucks it in with the food. I thought that was a lovely idea. My note said, “When facing zone coverage, it’s vital to check off on the free safety when going over the middle.”
•
There is a place called Chuck E. Cheese. It is difficult to describe—kind of a restaurant and arcade. The smell of fried food and disappointment fills the air, much like the old Giants Stadium. Sounds of children shouting, laughing, crying. One buys tokens for the games. I purchased two hundred thousand dollars’ worth, to start, and lost sight of the children almost immediately as they ran off to the games. The object seemed to be to collect tickets that could then be turned in for prizes, such as a pencil with feathers on it or a plastic box to hold Band-Aids.
Every hour, a person dressed as Chuck E. Cheese came out and danced slowly and silently, the children roaring with delight. Who is this Chuck E. Cheese? Why doesn’t he speak? I didn’t understand what was happening.
I tried to order a mineral water and a papaya-and-chia-seed smoothie but was brought something called a Diet Dr Pepper instead. The children ate pizza, against my wishes. I tried a slice for the first time in thirty-three years, the result being forty-five minutes in the men’s room.
One parent told me that this was her favorite Chuck E. Cheese. I said, “You mean there’s more than one?”
•
Vivian came into my study.
“Would you like to watch a movie with me?” I asked.
“Yes!”
She pulled up a chair next to me.
“What movie is this?”
“Well, it’s not technically a movie. It’s game film of the 1978 Tangerine Bowl, between North Carolina State and Pittsburgh.”
“Oh. Is it good?”
“It’s so good! Here’s my favorite scene, with seven minutes and thirty-three seconds remaining in the second quarter. Pittsburgh has an I-formation backfield and a single wide-out right. Only N.C. State had man coverage.”
“Why are you talking like that? It’s scaring me.”
“Just watch. A simple stop-and-go, but the quarterback looked left and froze the safety.”
“Can we watch ‘Frozen’?”
“Absolutely.”
So I clicked on the 1967 championship game between the Packers and the Cowboys, at Lambeau, where it was minus thirteen degrees and the umpire Joe Connell’s metal whistle froze to his lips.
But by this time Vivian had left.
•
I freaking love Bob the Builder’s attitude. Yes, we can. Bob’s the man. Also the guys in “PAW Patrol.” Chase, Marshall. Super-good work ethic. Rocky pisses me off, though. Do your damn job.
•
Family movie night. Again. “Sing 2.” Again. But this time together, as a family, is so important. We all know the lines in the movie, the songs. It’s a lot of fun. In theory. But you want to be careful not to have too much fun. So I’m in my room, watching “Braveheart,” with my new friend Don Julio Añejo. FaceTime me, if you want. Or not.
•
Jack and Ben, my sons, said they want to try out for their school soccer team. They said football is “beat.” They said that no one plays football anymore. Even their mother thinks so. She’s from Brazil, and soccer is the beautiful game. Football is for idiots. It was painful to hear this. But, at the same time, I also want what they want, as long as it’s also what I want, and so I heard myself saying, “Seriously, you guys suck,” which I hadn’t meant to say out loud.
•
At school pickup, I asked Vivian how her day was, and she said that Sophie was mean to Jasmine at playtime. Sophie said that Jasmine’s Angelina Ballerina headband looked “stupid,” which, Vivian added, it didn’t. I’ve seen it. I told her that this isn’t the first time Sophie has done something like this. Vivian said, I know, it’s a pattern, and that Sophie can be mean. Vivian said Jasmine cried and that they had to have circle time after playtime to talk about Jasmine’s feelings and that Jasmine said “I hate your face” to Sophie and Sophie cried. I said, Good for Jasmine, because Sophie’s behavior lately is bullshit. Vivian kind of looked at me weird and said it was fine, that teacher made them hold hands and say sorry. I said, Are you kidding me? kind of loud, surprising myself. Then I said, I am so sick and tired of this behavior from Sophie. I said, Remember the thing with the Hello Kitty backpack with Desiree? What the hell was that about? Vivian kept looking at me and said that maybe I was getting a little worked up and that really it was fine, that they had had snack and teacher told a funny story and it was O.K. I asked what kind of snack and she said graham crackers. We were quiet for a time, but I couldn’t stop thinking about tomorrow, and whether Sophie would be nice or not and whether she and Jasmine could find their way back to being friends again and what the snack might be. And then I wondered if I was going insane. ♦
