I see the curtain move and I see his little Spiderman sneakers peeking thru. I wonder out loud to his whereabouts.

“Hey Carmen any idea where the squirt is?” I asked just for his benefit.

“I don’t know babe….” She says looking at her file.

“Man I can’t find him anywhere…..” I hear him giggle. I tip toe toward the curtain. He hears the squeak of my sneakers on the hard wood floor and makes a run for it. I chase him down and catch up to him. I pick him up give him a big kiss and tickle his tummy. He laughs as he tries to tuck himself into a ball. Then he starts to tickle me. And I laugh and laugh not realizing I was so ticklish.

“Hey buddy you want hotdogs for dinner?”

“Yea….otduug….”

“Hey Carm you want barbeque for dinner…?”

“Sounds good to me….’ John says.

“Now honey you know your heart can’t take too much…Shane honey can you grill some chicken or maybe fish for John…?” Miriam says.

“Sure …Carm BBQ….?”

“Yeah Shane take the midget with you….when you go shopping….”

“I need to go shopping?” I ask with Marco climbing all over me.

“Yeah we need charcoal and we need chicken and hotdogs buns….”

“Wanna go shopping buddy…..”

“Yeahhhh.”

“Ok kiddo….let’s go kiss mama goodbye.” He runs over and blows a big kiss at Carm. She blows one back and goes back to talking to John.

I lock in him his safety seat. Put on the Prince CD he likes so much.  And we pull out and head to the market. My mind drifts a little when I drive and I notice that I missed the exit for the market. I have to drive longer looking for a way to go back when I pass the cemetery Carmen was buried in. I stop the car. Marco fell asleep. I sit there for the longest time till I turn around and head back to the market.

Dinner went well. I grilled. Everyone ate. Marco was asleep on my stomach. His light snore and little puffs of breath making me feel normal. We are chilling under the big tree in the yard. Carmen comes over and sits behind me. We made an interesting picture. Me leaning on her Marco leaning on me. She kisses me on my forehead. Her lips linger signaling a more intimate intention.