Friday at the sandbox - Part 7 "McDate"
Summary - Modern day AU/AU. Ennis, Jack, kids, a playground, coffee and donuts...
Warnings - none
Length - c400 words
Feedback - yes please!
Jack persuades Ennis to join him for lunch...
We stand in line in McDonalds. Bobby is clasping my hand and bouncing up and down like a yo-yo. Amazing what the thought of a little junk food can do. I’m sure if I were four years old I’d be jumping up and down too. But for different reasons.
Ennis and his girls are in the line to the left of us. They stand silently and wait patiently. How does he do that? He must be a real disciplined parent. I guess I’m just a pushover as my boy has never stood still for more than thirty seconds in his life. Ever.
I drag my eyes away from them and place our order. Do we want fries with that? Stupid question I always think. Of course we do. And a crap plastic toy for Bobby. I daren’t forget that part.
Ennis’ knees brush mine briefly when he sits down opposite us in the booth. His eyes catch mine for a second before we both look away.
The kids eat quickly, thank god, as it’s impossible to have a meaningful conversation when your boy is loudly debating the merits of brown dip versus red dip for his chicken nuggets. There’s a little play area off to the side with half a house and something that looks like it was once a piano. Perfect. Bobby drags the girls over, leaving me and Ennis alone at the table. Finally.
I heave a sigh of relief and catch Ennis’ eye.
He smiles back. “He’s a handful isn’t he?”
My mind hits the gutter as I immediately imagine a different kind of handful. I clear my throat and nod. “Oh yeah.”
Ennis drops his gaze to my drink and I notice that my hand is gently stroking up and down my cup. I snatch it back quickly, burying it under the table.
“What do you do? Work wise?” he asks me.
“Sales. Medical sales.” I say. “Gives me the flexibility to look after him,” I nod over at my boy. “You?”
“Construction.” Ennis replies.
That would explain the building activity in the sandbox. And the jeep. And his well muscled arms. And the sexy tan.
Ennis shifts in his seat and our legs brush again. I lean forward on the table and return my hand to my drinks cup. “So what do you do for fun, Ennis?”
He shrugs. “Run. Read. Sometimes grab a beer in town.”
“Me too.” I smile. “Don’t the kids in those places make you feel old though?”
He looks me in the eye again, “yeah, I guess.”
“We should go together sometime. Couple of old guys out on the town. Give the youngsters a run for their money.”
His lips quirk. “Maybe we should.”
A small commotion breaks out in the half-house play area. I sigh with regret. Time to extract my boy and go home.
****
Warnings - none
Length - c400 words
Feedback - yes please!
Jack persuades Ennis to join him for lunch...
We stand in line in McDonalds. Bobby is clasping my hand and bouncing up and down like a yo-yo. Amazing what the thought of a little junk food can do. I’m sure if I were four years old I’d be jumping up and down too. But for different reasons.
Ennis and his girls are in the line to the left of us. They stand silently and wait patiently. How does he do that? He must be a real disciplined parent. I guess I’m just a pushover as my boy has never stood still for more than thirty seconds in his life. Ever.
I drag my eyes away from them and place our order. Do we want fries with that? Stupid question I always think. Of course we do. And a crap plastic toy for Bobby. I daren’t forget that part.
Ennis’ knees brush mine briefly when he sits down opposite us in the booth. His eyes catch mine for a second before we both look away.
The kids eat quickly, thank god, as it’s impossible to have a meaningful conversation when your boy is loudly debating the merits of brown dip versus red dip for his chicken nuggets. There’s a little play area off to the side with half a house and something that looks like it was once a piano. Perfect. Bobby drags the girls over, leaving me and Ennis alone at the table. Finally.
I heave a sigh of relief and catch Ennis’ eye.
He smiles back. “He’s a handful isn’t he?”
My mind hits the gutter as I immediately imagine a different kind of handful. I clear my throat and nod. “Oh yeah.”
Ennis drops his gaze to my drink and I notice that my hand is gently stroking up and down my cup. I snatch it back quickly, burying it under the table.
“What do you do? Work wise?” he asks me.
“Sales. Medical sales.” I say. “Gives me the flexibility to look after him,” I nod over at my boy. “You?”
“Construction.” Ennis replies.
That would explain the building activity in the sandbox. And the jeep. And his well muscled arms. And the sexy tan.
Ennis shifts in his seat and our legs brush again. I lean forward on the table and return my hand to my drinks cup. “So what do you do for fun, Ennis?”
He shrugs. “Run. Read. Sometimes grab a beer in town.”
“Me too.” I smile. “Don’t the kids in those places make you feel old though?”
He looks me in the eye again, “yeah, I guess.”
“We should go together sometime. Couple of old guys out on the town. Give the youngsters a run for their money.”
His lips quirk. “Maybe we should.”
A small commotion breaks out in the half-house play area. I sigh with regret. Time to extract my boy and go home.
****