Breath Of Life

“You hungry, Rolly?”

“Yeah. I could eat a whole cow,” he exclaims.

“The whole thing?” I ask in mock shock.

“Yeah. I’m a growing boy.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

I make small talk as I drivemy way to Beltline Road.

“Do you know where we are?” I ask

“We’re going to the Magic Time Machine.”

I laugh. “Yeah, we are. Are you ready for an adventure?”

“Yeah.” His arms flail as I pull into the parking lot of a Texas treasure. The servers wear costumes of characters from pop culture of the present, past, and a few in the future. The narrative is engaging, and fun. Hell, I feel like a kid when we come here. We step through the door, and it’s like going to a tea party with Alice in Wonderland.

We have to bring Quinn next time. The thought is a common one. She’s occupying more and more of my thoughts these days. We’re greeted and guided into the section being run by Spiderman. Rolly’s eyes are as round as quarters and full of hero-worship. I lose myself in his wonder as I soak up the time with him. The three and four day stints always go way too fast.

“ARE YOU READY TO SEE the monkeys, Rolly?” Quinn asks.

“Yes. I want to see them eat bananas.”

She laughs. “Well, they might be eating something else, bud. They have to eat a balanced diet just like we do.”

He scowls. “With vegetables?”

“Yep.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be a monkey any more then,” he grumbles.

She smiles at me and contains her laughter as we continue to navigate our way through the crowded area. The genuine adoration between the two pleases me. They’ll never pass for biological mother and child, but I know it takes much more than DNA to make a family. With his big, hazel-colored eyes, rosy cheeks, and chocolate-brown hair he’s his mother and I made over. Quinn is all curves, black, coarse hair she wears curly and straight, and mocha-colored skin I love to nibble every chance I get. The two have taken to each other like ducks to water. I squeeze her shoulder, kiss her temple, and move to grab Rolly’s other hand. It feels right having him between us. We wind our way around to the orangutan habitat.

“Look, Daddy. His arms are so long.” Rolly bounces as energy surges through his tiny frame.

“I know. He’s an orangutan. See his reddish-brown fur.”

“I do. He looks like King Louie from The Jungle Book.”

“He does. They’re the same kind of monkey.”

Curling his arms, he hops from one for to the other. “Ooh oooh, aaah aaah.”

“Oh man. Be careful, little dude, he might wonder why his monkey buddy is on the outside while he’s in there,” Quinn says, tweaking

his nose.

“It’s really me Quinny,” he replies, sounding worried.

“Oh. Phew.” She wipes her brow. “I was scared we’d lost you for a minute.”

“How big is he, Quinny?”

“I’m not sure. It says the males are up to two-hundred pounds. That’s a lot isn’t it?”

“Uh huh.”