***
As her men ran off the field, Mom traversed the field with the stroller in the direction of the dugout and noticed the strange boy still sitting on the bleachers. She locked eyes with him as she pushed the cart through the gate toward the stands.
“Hello, I am a friend of Tyler.”
“Well, hello, how are you?” Mom responded.
The boy reached out to shake hands. As she took the boys hand, Tyler’s Mom felt warmth along with an almost deep hum running through his palm to hers. Although the sensation startled her, she sensed a pure goodness and involuntarily smiled.
“My name is Ethan. I am new here,” said the boy.
“Very nice to meet you Ethan. Where are you from?” asked Tyler’s Mom.
“I am from a place called Ganrea. It is far away?” responded Ethan in an abrupt tone.
“Hmm, I’ve never heard of Ganrea. Is it a country?” she asked.
“A country is an acceptable description” Ethan replied.
“How did you meet Tyler? Are you in his class?” Mom inquired.
“We met at the science museum this afternoon. One of the exhibits frightened Tyler and I helped him,” said Ethan.
“Thank you for helping Tyler,” she said with a smile. “You are a good friend.”
“Tyler is a special person,” Ethan said, smiling back.
“Yes, he is” responded Tyler’s Mom.
Tyler came running up and gave Ethan a huge ‘high five’.
“Ethan! Did you see us play?”
“I did. Very exciting. I like this game, baseball” said Ethan.
As the boys chatted, Dad leaned over to Mom. “You know the kid I told you about this morning?” he whispered.
Mom nodded as Dad continued, pointing to the boy.
“He’s the kid from the park.”
Mom finally noticed Ethan had on the same outfit Tyler had worn to school. “His name is Ethan. He met Tyler at the science museum this afternoon. Do you remember the exhibit that frightened him when you and your parents took Tyler to the museum last summer? I guess Ethan helped Tyler when he got scared,” explained Mom.
“Tyler told me about Ethan when I picked him up this afternoon. So what’s his deal?” asked Dad.
“Well, he’s new in town. From a country called Ganrea or something. I can’t put my finger on it but Ethan seems like a good kid,” Mom said.
The boys now faced Tyler’s Mom and Dad.
“Hello Ethan, I’m Tyler’s Dad, so nice to meet you. Were you at the park this morning?”
Tyler shot a nervous look toward Ethan.
“Yes, I hoped to find new friends at the playground.”
It seemed strange that Ethan didn’t use contractions or any sort of slang. In fact, he spoke perfect English, maybe a little too perfect.
Then, as if a switch had been thrown, Ethan said, “Now that’s messed up but totally cool.” Dad raised his eyebrows and his eyes popped wide open as he looked at Ethan’s sudden change in demeanor.
“Wow, he picks up quickly,” Mom commented.
“Yeah, ‘Wow’ kind of sums it up,” muttered Dad.
“Say goodbye to Ethan, Tyler. We have to get going,” said Mom in that mothering tone every kid knows.
“Okay. Bye Ethan,” Tyler bellowed as he waved, walking backwards while still facing Ethan. Tyler snapped around and took off running as he yelled over his shoulder, “Come on Dad! I’m going to beat you to the car!” Dad blasted off in a sprint and caught up to Tyler as they raced. Tyler won, of course.
Tyler and his Dad rode in silence during the drive home.
Dad kept going over in his head how Ethan had suddenly changed gears and spoken like any local kid instantly.
Once they got back to the house, the family slid right into the Friday-after-tee-ball routine. Since Tyler had eaten earlier, he scurried upstairs to take a shower while his Mom fed his sister.
Stepping out of the shower Tyler finished toweling off, got dressed and began working on his teeth, then came skipping down the stairs in his super hero PJ’s, clean as a whistle. He glided over to his Mom as she took Matilda out of the high chair.
“Hi Mom. I can play with Matilda now.”
“Thank you Tyler. Here you go,” Mom smiled at Tyler as she gently set Matilda down on her feet.
Tyler bolted to the playroom as Matilda giggled, waddling behind him. On days like today, Tyler would often watch his little sister to allow his parents time to sit down and have a meal together. They truly appreciated these little breaks and Tyler liked doing something nice for his Mom and Dad.
“All right Tyler, pick out a book and grab a seat,” said Dad when they'd finished their dinner. “It’s ’butt down’ time.”
Tyler thumbed through his collection on the bookshelf, selected his favorite super hero book and jumped up on the couch next to Dad. Even reading books together had become a special ritual, as they traded off reading every other page. By the time Tyler read the last page, his Mom returned downstairs.
“Well, she’s out cold,” Mom said. “I hope she sleeps through the night tonight.” Mom then turned to Tyler and whispered, “Come on sweetie, time for bed. You’ve had a long day.”