“I know, Billy, but…, it really is too hot today. I don’t want you getting sick.”
“Spiderman doesn’t get sick, Mommy. He has super spidey powers.”
Sylvia grinned, and said, “Yes, of course. But…,” she added as she pointed at his ‘contract.' “The contract doesn’t say for how long you would get to wear your costume today. I think it has been long enough now.”
“Ah!” Billy exclaimed. He glanced over at his Dad and nodded. “There are terms in the agreement that are implied. And, since both parties acted in good faith, and it is not ex…, uh, expli…, uh, explicitly stated, it is reasonable to assume it was for the entire day.”
“That’s my boy!” John said as he leaned forward and gave his son a high five. “See Sylvia, he’s a natural.”
Sylvia shook her head. She turned to John and said, “I see your influence here.” She sighed and added, “and now I am going to have to contend with two lawyers in the family!”
“Our son here is going to make a fine attorney one day,” John said. “Just like his dear old dad.”
“I bet he makes partner by the time he is twelve,” Sylvia said as she smiled at John. Turning back to Billy she said, “OK, dear, you win. I cannot possibly compete with your superior litigator skills. You can keep it on. But…, promise me that if you start to feel woozy, you will tell me. It is hot today. You can easily get overheated in that getup.”
“Superheroes don’t have to worry about getting overheated, Mommy,” Billy said. “They have superpowers.”
“He’s got you there, Sylvia,” John said. He grinned and added, “He is a super hero, after all.”
“Well, even Superheroes have to worry about getting ill. Especially when they are wearing such a thick, hot costume.”
“Didn’t you like Superheroes when you were growing up?” Billy said. “Didn’t you want to dress up when you were little?”
“Well…, yes. I wanted to be Wonder Woman when I was a little girl.”
“Why don’t you dress up too, Mommy? We could fight crime together,” Billy said.
“Oh, I like this idea,” John said. He looked Sylvia up and down and smiled. “Yeah…, those latex red boots, and of course, the golden lariat. I am all in.”
“Shut up, John,” Sylvia playfully snapped.
“Come on, Mommy!” Billy squealed. “You can buy one at a department store, and we can go and play tomorrow. Please!”
“I think me being Wonder Woman would end up being more fun for your Dad than you,” Sylvia said as she winked over at John.
“You got that right,” John whispered.
“Plus,” Sylvia said as she pointed back at the contract. “This deal was for today only, Billy. We will need to make another deal if you want to wear your costume to the park again. You are going to have to pick up your toys all week to earn—”
“—You know, Grandma lets me wear my costume every day when I am at her house,” Billy said. His eyes lighted up as he added, “and she said when I come to see her this summer, like last, she will even let me wear it when she takes me to the beach!”
Sylvia sat up straight on the blanket as she tightened her jaw. Like a spring being wound inside a clock, you could almost hear the creaking, snap snap snap as her fingers curled into two tight fists. She jerked her head sharply to the right and glared at John.
“Uh…, Buddy,” John said as he turned to Billy. He pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his wallet and held it up in the air. “You see that ice cream vendor over there?”
“Yes,” Billy said. “Are you going to buy me some ice cream?”
“Well, you are a big boy now, and a superhero to boot,” John said. “I am going to have you go buy us all some ice cream. Do you think you can do that?”
Billy jumped up to his feet and squealed. “Oh boy! Yes! I want a Nutty Buddy.”
“Perfect,” John said.
“That is what Spiderman likes to eat,” Billy said. “I saw it on TV.”
“I always saw Spiderman as more of a Dreamsicle kind of guy.”
“Ewwww, yuck,” Billy said as he pinched up his face in disgust. “Spiderman hates orange. Just like me.”
“Fair enough,” John said. “And I will have an ice cream sandwich. You remember what those are, right?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Billy said with a sigh. “I am not a baby. I know what ice cream sandwiches are!”
“Of course,” John said.
“And Mommy gets some ice cream too, right?” Billy said.
“Absolutely,” John said. He turned to Sylvia and said, “what do you want our son to buy you?”
Sylvia said nothing, her icy stare continuing to bore into John’s face. Billy saw his mother’s irritated look and said, “Don’t you want any ice cream, Mommy? I don’t understand. You love ice cream! I have seen you take a quart out of the freezer sometimes and eat the whole thing in the —”
John quickly reached forward and pulled his son over to stand in front of him. “I don’t think Mommy wants anything to eat right now. She is…, she is not hungry.”
“More for us then, right Daddy?”
John suppressed a smile, nodded and said, “yes…, now be a big boy and go get our ice cream. This is your first special mission as a Superhero.”
Billy laughed and turned, ready to bolt across the short expanse of lawn to the ice cream truck. “And remember, Billy,” John said. “Don’t eat any until you bring it all back.”
“I won’t, Daddy,” Billy said as he took the bill from his father’s hand and scampered across the lawn.
Once he was out of earshot, Sylvia, her lips pursed and her tone terse, turned to John and said, “And just when were you going to tell me about this?”
“It…, it just came up yesterday when Mom called,” John said. “I had no idea she was going to invite him. I certainly did not agree to anything, and I told her we had—”
“—Look,” Sylvia snapped. “I know your mother means well, and I am grateful she wants to be so involved in her grandson’s life.”
“Mom loves being a Grandma, there is no doubt about that.”
“She does…,” Sylvia said. “But after the stunt she pulled last summer, she should be grateful I allow her to see Billy at all! I have held my tongue so far, but I swear to God, John. I have my limit, and it is fast approaching.”
John dropped his head and sighed, the air going out of his lungs like an old tire that had just been gashed by a rusty nail. “Sylvia…,” he said after a long pause. “We have been over this and over this. I don’t like what happened any more than you do. But, you know she meant no harm.”
“Yeah,” Sylvia said. “They never do, do they?”
“Who?”
“People who mean no harm,” Sylvia said.
“I know it was not right, what happened and all,” John said, “but I think we need to move past it now. What is done is done, and you cannot unring a bell. And after all, she is Billy’s only living grandparent, and—”
“—John!” Sylvia interrupted. “I can’t believe you just brought that up!”
“Sylvia, I…,” John said as he reached out for her arm.
When he touched her skin, she flinched, as if she had been scalded by a pot of boiling water. She crossed her arms tightly, locking her fingers down in the crook of her arms. She said, “I just wanted to have a nice day today. I really did. Just a beautiful, pleasant day in the park with my husband and son. Why did you have to bring that—”
“—I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t mean to dredge up any…, look…,” John said. “It is just that — you have to understand. My mother is very old-fashioned. You know, that kind of thing is…, well, it is just very important to her. It happened to me, and I was much younger than Billy. I am sure she is just concerned and overly involved with her only grandson. I am sure in her world, she did the right thing.”
“I do not doubt her sincerity, John,” Sylvia said. “And you are probably right. In her world, it was the most
natural thing on earth to do. But I swore I would raise my children differently when I became a parent. I don’t live in her world, and I don’t want her filling Billy’s head up with a bunch of superstitious crap.”
“I know, I know,” John said.
“And if your mother wants to keep on seeing Billy, she is going to have to adjust her thinking — big time! She can’t just do whatever the hell she wants to — to our Son!”
“I know, I know. Look, I will talk to Mom, OK?” John said.
“You need to. I won’t have it, John. I swear to God, I won’t have it!”
“Understood,” John said as he affected his most soothing tone. “But, let’s not let this spoil today. I will talk to Mom, next week, I promise. It will all be straightened out, trust me. Plus…,” he added as he put on his most convincing smile. He could always make Sylvia smile. “It was just a few splashes of water, after all. It’s not like it meant anything, right? We both know that. Mom can think whatever she wants. What she believes has no effect on us, or more importantly, Billy.”
“It’s the principle of the thing,” Sylvia said. “And it is so disrespectful! She didn’t even ask first — but purposefully did it behind our back when she kept Billy last summer. I don’t mind her coming over to our house, Billy loves seeing her and all, but as for him going over there, unsupervised, never again! It will be a cold day in hell before I —”
John grinned slightly, and said, “—Don’t worry. I promise this summer will be different. Very different indeed. And…, in keeping with the water theme, maybe instead of Billy going to see Mom, she can join us at the beach house. And there we can splash all the water over Billy that we want — no strings attached.”
“Beach house?” Sylvia said, her frown suddenly disappearing. “What beach house?”
“Remember the weekend we stayed at my boss’ vacation house out in East Hampton a couple years back?”
“John, no, are you kidding?” she said as her smile grew wider. “You mean that big gorgeous house with the huge pool and the private access to the beach?”
“The very one. Frank and his family are going to Florence for the summer, and he asked me if I would be interested in using their beach house while he was gone.” John smiled and said, “he certainly remembered how much you and Billy enjoyed yourself, and he said it would be a shame for it just to sit empty during the high season.”
“Incredible,” Sylvia said. “The place is like a dream.”
“Amazing, isn’t it? And to make matters even more spectacular, when I agreed, he acted like I was doing him a favor.”
“I love that place,” Sylvia said. “We had such a good time that weekend. I can’t believe it — all summer? Are you sure? The house was magnificent.”
“It was that, and, yes, we have the use of it for the whole summer. I figured you and Billy would enjoy getting out of the city for a while and really live it up like one of the Jet Set.”
“You know, I think JFK, Jr. has a place out there,” Sylvia said.
“He sure does. In fact, he will be our neighbor for the summer.”
“Incredible. But…,” Sylvia said. “But what about you? You will be stuck here in the city for work still, right? If I know you, you certainly aren’t taking off the whole summer.”
“No, my sweet,” John said as he ran his finger down Sylvia’s nose. “I don’t keep academic hours, like you. I have several M&A deals coming to a head, so, I will be quite busy for the next few months.”
“Well, I don’t know. It is going to be hard being separated as a family all week. Are you sure this is OK with you?”
“Eh…, it’ll be tough, but I am certain I’ll be fine. As you know, during the week, especially when I have several deals in the pipeline like now, I’m usually up to my eyeballs in due diligence requests. I am at the office late most weeknights anyway, or at least until well after Billy has gone to bed.”
“True enough,” Sylvia said with a sigh.
“But with you and Billy at the beach, I can fully concentrate on work during the week with extra late hours and then come out to the Hamptons for the weekends, full and clear. And who knows, I might even knock off a bit early on Fridays to beat the traffic. And you know, a little Vitamin Sea will do us both good.”
“I love the beach,” Sylvia said.
“And anyway, won’t you love having the next few months off free, and in the clear? The house has a staff, you know.”
“Oh my God, really?”
“Really. And this will be the perfect time for you to finally finish your book. And what better place to finish it than relaxing by the sea in a luxury beach house?”
“You sure are a sneaky little jerk sometimes,” Sylvia said as she shook her head and laughed, her smile impossible to hide.
“Like all great corporate lawyers, of course,” John said.
“So, I suppose you had this delightful surprise in reserve, didn’t you? You are always good at wriggling out of a fight with some kind of spectacular diversion.” She smiled and added, “not that I mind, of course.”
John grinned. “Of course. I always believe it is good to have an emergency backup plan.” He raised his right hand to his forehead and made the boy scout three-fingered salute. “You know, be prepared.”
“You can be such a charming bastard, you know,” Sylvia said as she leaned over and kissed his nose. “And just out of curiosity…, exactly when were you going to tell me this fantastic news?”
“In June,” John said. “Specifically, on the 10th.”
“Billy’s birthday,” Sylvia said. “Of course.”
“Yes,” John said. “It was going to be part of his big surprise. It is not every day our little boy turns eight, after all.”
“Well, let’s not say anything about the beach house yet. Let it still be a birthday surprise.” Her smile dissolved a bit when she added, “and let’s hold off on inviting your mother. Let things cool down a bit first.”
“Agreed,” John said.
“Daddy, is this right?” Billy said as he rushed forward with the ice cream. In his right hand was a half-eaten Nutty Buddy, a thin trail of melted vanilla ice cream dripping down his latex clad arm. In his left was a dripping, mushy, mess that appeared to have once been an ice cream sandwich. It was soft and bent in the middle, and it seemed to be on the verge of collapsing any second. It was a hot day, and not the ideal conditions for frozen treats. But most unappetizing of all, clumps of grass and leaves adhered to the sides of the package. It was apparent the trip from the vendor’s stand had not been uneventful.
“Yes…, I think so,” John said as he took the mushy envelope of melted milk from Billy’s hand. He held it gently with the tips of his fingers so as not to get it all over him. He chuckled as he brushed several leaves and a large clump of dirt off the white foil. “It appears you had a bit of trouble here, Buddy.”
“Sorry Daddy, I…, I dropped it.”
“Yes, I can tell,” John said as he glanced over at Sylvia and grinned. “Well, I suppose even Superman has his off day.”
“Spiderman, Daddy!” Billy exclaimed. “Remember, Superman has a cape.”
“I stand corrected,” John said as he turned back to his wife and smiled.
“You know, John,” Sylvia said. “I think I may have changed my mind about that ice cream after all.”
“I knew you would,” John said. “You are never hungry until you see someone else eat.” He flicked his fingers clean of the melted ice cream and added, “I think I might need to go back and replace this anyway, so, what do you want?”
“I think a Dove Bar,” Sylvia said. “I had one the other day, and it was fantastic.”
“A Dove bar it is, then,” John said as he stood up.
“Do you want me to go get it, Daddy?” Billy said. “I promise not to drop it this time.”
“Tell you what, Buddy,” John said. “Why don’t we both go, even Spiderman needs a side-kick. I will be Robin, what do you say?”
“Daddy, you are so silly,” Billy said as he laughed. “Robin works for Batman! Everyone knows that.”
John reached out and mussed up Billy’s hair. “You really have this whole Superhero thing down pat, don’t you? So, who is Spiderman’s sidekick?”
“I dunno,” Billy said. “I don’t think he has one.”
“Well…, he needs one. Every superhero needs a sidekick,” John said. “I know. I can be IPO boy!” This comment immediately triggered a muffled snicker from Sylvia.
“IPO boy,” she said under her breath as she shook her head.
“That’s great!” Billy cried. “So…, what are your superpowers?”
“Oh, they are very super,” John said. “They are the most terrifying and powerful weapon on earth?”
“Oh, what’s that?”
“Billable hours!”
Sylvia laughed again.
“So, come on IPO boy,” Billy said. “We have our mission.”
John bent down to Billy’s ear and said, “Yes sir! And maybe, once we complete this mission, we can convince Mommy here to be Wonder Woman for our next adventure.” He turned to Sylvia and added, “You know, I bet she will be able to fight all sorts of crime in those red leather shorts.”
“John!” Sylvia exclaimed.
“You are so silly, Daddy,” Billy said. “Everyone knows that Wonder Woman has stars on her shorts.”
“Not the way I imagine her,” John said.
Sylvia smiled as she watched John and Billy walk across the lawn to the ice cream vendor. It wasn’t far, maybe 60 feet, but there was a crowd now. As the first sweltering day of the season, it seemed like all of Manhattan had decided to come to the park for ice cream. She knew John and Billy would be gone a while.
Lying back on the blanket, she kicked off her sandals and stretched out her bare feet onto the lawn. She sighed. It was wonderful feeling the warm, freshly mown grass between her toes. Living in the city does make one out of touch with nature. And soon, instead of grass, it would be sand. Nothing is better than that. Amazing. She could not wait until June. With a big yawn, she reached over and dug out her paperback romance novel out of her purse. On the cover, Fabio was in his full, chiseled jaw, bare-chested, long hair flowing, glory and appeared to just be about to whisk Lady Catherfield onto his pirate ship. Many bodices would be ripped for sure. It was a guilty pleasure she knew, and completely mindless, but hey, why not? As a working Mom, alone time was erratic, and she needed to take advantage of this rare, albeit brief, opportunity.
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