Saturday, September 25, 2004
Saturday has become a very important day here in the house for monsa hand. Saturday was the day he smelled another monster at the mall and a tradition was born. 9 am when the doors open, I walk into the mall and stay until noon at which time my wife arrives and takes over the duty.
The duty is to patrol. While I wear a light jacket monsa hand rides on my shoulder near my ear sniffing the air, hoping for all he is worth that he will smell another monsa again. With little whispers of "nope, keep walking" I trawl back and forth giving him the chance to meet another one. By noon I am normally tired so I retreat to the food court and go to my regular booth in the far corner. It is isolated enough that monsa hand can crawl onto the table and, from behind my jacket that I lay on the table, view the people at the other tables.
With drinks and food we sit and talk. Dad and kid stuff until my wife arrives for the evening shift.
It has been over two months since he smelled the other monsa, and almost a month since he saw the little blue monsa "with the pretty green eye". He tries so hard to keep his spirits up, and we support him as best as we can, but time is getting to him and today he said we could skip the mall trip if we wanted.
"Are you OK small fry?"
"I really think there are no other monsa here for me in town." he seemed down when he said this. Well with promises of chocolate and caramel we went to the mall and I am so glad we did.
My soda was empty and since I am cheap I got it at a place that offered free refills. After standing in line for ever I finally returned with a filled soda to the booth when I saw him. He was standing on my jacket. Now this is strange because he normally is very careful about hiding. So there he was, in the open for all to see, and none had yet thankfully, when I saw what he was holding.
His one eye was glittering, and that is the only word that seems appropriate, and clutched in his folded arms was a small piece of Irish-green ribbon.
He looked up at me and whispered "She likes me, she really really likes me" he held up the ribbon for me to see "and she gave me this".
He was just quivering with joy.
The duty is to patrol. While I wear a light jacket monsa hand rides on my shoulder near my ear sniffing the air, hoping for all he is worth that he will smell another monsa again. With little whispers of "nope, keep walking" I trawl back and forth giving him the chance to meet another one. By noon I am normally tired so I retreat to the food court and go to my regular booth in the far corner. It is isolated enough that monsa hand can crawl onto the table and, from behind my jacket that I lay on the table, view the people at the other tables.
With drinks and food we sit and talk. Dad and kid stuff until my wife arrives for the evening shift.
It has been over two months since he smelled the other monsa, and almost a month since he saw the little blue monsa "with the pretty green eye". He tries so hard to keep his spirits up, and we support him as best as we can, but time is getting to him and today he said we could skip the mall trip if we wanted.
"Are you OK small fry?"
"I really think there are no other monsa here for me in town." he seemed down when he said this. Well with promises of chocolate and caramel we went to the mall and I am so glad we did.
My soda was empty and since I am cheap I got it at a place that offered free refills. After standing in line for ever I finally returned with a filled soda to the booth when I saw him. He was standing on my jacket. Now this is strange because he normally is very careful about hiding. So there he was, in the open for all to see, and none had yet thankfully, when I saw what he was holding.
His one eye was glittering, and that is the only word that seems appropriate, and clutched in his folded arms was a small piece of Irish-green ribbon.
He looked up at me and whispered "She likes me, she really really likes me" he held up the ribbon for me to see "and she gave me this".
He was just quivering with joy.
