What Happens Over the Summer

“What’s your name?” I asked slowly.
His face closed up. “I’m not suppose to tell that to strangers.”
“You’re very right but I could get you back to your dad a lot faster if I knew what your name was.” He still looked hesitant. “What if you just tell me your first name?”
He thought about it for a moment. Then very quietly said, “Max.”
One of my favorite guy names even though I’d never met a Max before. “Well nice to meet you Max. My name’s Josephine, but all my friends call me Jo.” I stuck out a hand to him.
He took it. “My name’s really long too. It’s Max-a-mus. But my Daddy said that was too long so my name could be Max.”
“What about your mom?”
His little brow furrowed. “I don’t remember her. My Daddy said she just couldn’t take care of me.” Then the boy’s face broke into a brilliant smile. “But that’s okay. I love my Daddy lots.”
Well obviously the kid wasn’t abused or anything. But that still didn’t explain why his oh so loving father had left and not come back.
“I’ll be right back Max,” I said, looking over at the ride operator for the motorcycles. “You stay right here okay?”
He nodded and I walked over the operator as he hit the button to start the ride.
“Hey Ricardo what’s kickin?”
He looked over at me and smiled. “The heat. What’s up?”
“See that kid over there,” I jerked my head in Max’s direction.
His eyes slid to the bench a few yards away. “What about him?” he said slowly.
“He ride with you?”
“I just got here. Manny was feeling sick so he went home. He’s been here since I got here but that was just fifteen minuets ago.”
Great. It was unlikely anyone else knew for certain how long the boy had been sitting on that bench without his father. There weren’t any other rides around that were in the line of sight with the bench. I could call Manny but without seeing the boy there was a very little chance of him knowing with kid I was talking about.
I sighed. “Thanks anyway.” I got on the radio with base and told them the situation.
The guard manning the desk seemed to sigh. It was always dicey when kids got separated from their parents. “I don’t know Jo,” he said. “No one knows how long the kid’s been there.”
“Yeah I know.”
Then a third voice joined in. “Jo you’re going to have to bring him to the nearest station.” It was the head of security. We all called him Chief. “It’s too hot for a kid to be sitting out and as much as I hate to admit it, someone might snatch him. If he’s been there for at least a half hour he could already be a little dehydrated.”
I sighed. “Ten four Chief.” I walked back over to Max and sat down again. “You thirsty Max?”
He nodded.
“Why don’t you come with me and we’ll get out of the sun and get a drink.”
He looked around again biting his lip. “But my Daddy said to stay right here.”
“I know but maybe he went to where I work looking for you. What if he’s there waiting for you?” I knew that wasn’t the case but I didn’t want to frighten him.
“At the police station?” he asked, sounding fascinated.
I couldn’t help my smile. “Something like that. So what do you say we go see if he’s there?”
He looked reluctant. “But he told me to stay right here until he came to get me and not to talk to strangers.”
“I know but he might be looking for you there.”
He hesitated a moment before saying, “Okay.”
I smiled and reached a hand out for his. He took it and smiled up at me. I couldn’t help the broadening of my smile in response.

I brought Max into the nearest guard station and gave the guard on desk duty the story. Max hid behind me the entire time.
“We could be looking at an abandonment case,” the other guard, Miles, said, scratching his head.
“That’s what I thought,” I said, lowering my voice. “I’ve never had to deal with something like this before.”
“You’ve been on the job longer than I have,” Miles argued.
“That has nothing to do with this. Chief said to bring him in and get him a drink. Keep him out of sight and have the parents ID him before he can be turned over.” I turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” Miles asked. Max looked a little panicked.
“Sector D is a man short right now because I had to bring Max in. If you were at the last meeting you would have heard Chief say he doesn’t want anywhere a man short, especially this month. It’s our busiest season.”
“I want to go with you!” Max exclaimed, coming to hide behind me again.
I looked down at the boy and it felt like something stuck in my throat. This little boy liked me and wanted to stay with me.
I got down on his level. “I’ve got to work buddy,” I said gently.
“I can help. I help my Daddy at work all the time. As long as I don’t get in the way. And I won’t! I promise. Can’t I please go with you?”
My heart melted at the look on his face. I sighed and stood up. I radioed in to Chief and explained the situation.
“Tell Miles to take your post. You stay in the office with the kid.”
“All right.” I gave Miles the news and he grudgingly headed out. I was left in the office with Max.
I thought he would become easily bored, but he seemed fascinated by just being in the office. There weren’t very many people coming and going from the office, so eventually, I got bored and broke out a deck of cards and started teaching Max how to play “Go Fish”. Surprisingly, he beat me by six cards.
“Beginner’s luck,” I teased.
He smiled and shook his head. “My Daddy says I’m real smart. That I learn really fast. I’m already in kindergarten.”
That was surprising. “How old are you?” I asked.
“Five,” he boosted proudly. “I’m not suppose to be in school yet but I’m smart. I’m even smarter than the older kids.”
“Wow,” I said with the proper amount of appreciation. The more I liked the kid, the more I was beginning to hate the father.
Before I knew it, it was my lunch hour. And no one had come in to claim Max. The guard who came in to relieve me looked uncomfortable having to watch him and the fact that he was attached to me. I radioed in to Chief and got permission to take him to lunch with me.
“We’re going to my favorite restaurant,” I said after I’d hung up all my equipment and started down the boardwalk.
“Do they have cheeseburgers?” he asked excitedly.
I laughed at his enthusiasm. “No, they have Italian food.”
He looked confused for a minuet. Then he brightened and asked, “Like pizza?”
“Yep, like pizza.” He was pretty sharp.
I led him into Mario’s and snagged a two person booth near the counter. Zeke noticed me and smiled, then looked confused when his eyes landed on Max. He finished up with his customer, and then walked over to me.
“Hey,” he said, sending a questioning look at the kid. Max looked shy, so Zeke smiled at him. “So, are you Jo’s date?”
Max smiled but didn’t respond. I caught Zeke’s attention then mouthed, “I’ll tell you later.”
“Yeah you’d better,” he said through his teeth. Then so both of us could hear, he said, “What’ll it be?”
“What kind of pizza do you want?” I asked Max and was rewarded with another smile.
“Pepperoni,” he said immediately. “And extra cheese.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said. “What about a drink?”
“Am I aloud to have soda?”
“Sure,” Zeke said.
“Root beer,” Max said at once.
“The usual,” I said.
“Coming up. I’m on my break pretty soon so I may snag a chair and join you guys. That okay with you?” he asked Max.
Max looked hesitant.
“Max Zeke is my best friend in the whole world. He’s really nice. Well,” I relented, “most of the time.”
“Okay,” Max said.
Zeke smiled at Max again and then returned to the window that leads to the kitchen to yell the order to Mario.
“Is Zeke your boyfriend?” Max asked.
So much for the quiet kid. I smiled at him. “Not anymore.”
The boy frowned in confusion. “But you’re best friends?”
“Yep.”
“My Daddy isn’t friends with any of his old girlfriends,” he said.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I responded.
Zeke came back with our drinks and Max asked shyly where the bathroom was. Zeke pointed him in the right direction and the second the boy was out of earshot, Zeke pulled up a chair plopped down in it.
“Who’s the kid?” he asked immediately.
I sighed, resigned into telling the whole story again, but just then Chief walked in, scanning the patrons until his eyes landed on me. I sat a little straighter even though I was off duty. He walked up to Zeke and I and I noticed someone standing behind him.
But before I could study his companion further, he spoke: “where’s the boy?”
“The bathroom,” I responded.
“Well this man claims to be his father,” Chief said, motioning to his companion.
I turned to look at the man, prepared to dislike everything I saw. I froze when my eyes connected with Max’s supposed father, at the same second I heard Max shout in joy, “Daddy!”
The man’s eyes didn’t leave mine until Max was upon him, then he reached down and scooped him up, hugging him tightly.
Things started falling into place then. The excuse: “I’ve got some things to take care of home…I’ll be back.” That was five years ago. Max was five years old. The boy had looked familiar. Now I knew why. Because standing in front of me was an older version of the child: tall, rugged, blonde hair, blue eyes, broad across the shoulders, washboard stomach so many boys craved. The boy’s father: R.J. Christopher.