Journal 58

It was a long night or a short night depending on how you look at things. Tony stopped by my room to see if Aleece and I would like to join him, Runt, Marty, Gretchen, and Cecelia at the park for lunch. At first, I thought of saying no. I was in one of those lazy moods where you just want to stay in your room and vegetate. Then I looked at Aleece. The fresh air would be good for her.

The seven of us went to the park. Aleece and I sat under the old oak tree at the south end of the park near the lake. Aleece was in my lap, and I was playing patty cake with her. Runt and Tony were feeding the ducks; Marty, Gretchen and Cecelia were out on one of those rowboat things.

Anyway, I am not sure how long she was standing there watching Aleece and I. I was a little startled when she said, “Your baby is adorable.” I said thank you. I didn’t even correct her by saying Aleece wasn’t mine.  It’s a little strange. Up until that moment I had never heard the mother of the Heroes of the Earth Gang speak. She sounded normal not preachy. She said her name was Emily. I was trying not to be rude, but I sarcastically asked Emily if she was recruiting in the park today. She said no that it was her husband Kevin’s job to do that. She said she was just out getting some fresh air. His name was Kevin. For some reason, I was thinking his name would be something more… I don’t know but I wouldn’t have guessed that his name was Kevin.

Emily and I had a nice conversation. I asked her if she had children. She said no in a sad kind of way, but she sounded as if she wanted children some day. The whole time we talked, I answered the questions about Aleece as if she were mine. What could it hurt?

Tony interrupted our conversation by asking if I was ready for lunch. I asked Emily if she would like to join us. She was about to answer when two members of her community walked up and said that she was needed at her campsite. Emily said she was staying for lunch. One of the boys said sternly that Father wanted to see her now. She looked annoyed and a bit irritated. Emily said goodbye to Aleece and walked out of the park.

The lunch at the park was very enjoyable. Aleece slept through most of it.