“I thought we had a deal. I have nothing left. You have everything. I have nothing left.” The man was whispering into his phone. I wanted to leave him, but I was also afraid he would do something if I left him alone in the park.
His son was going a little wild so I wanted to make sure he didn’t leave while his father was on the phone. The longer his father ignored him, the more daring he got on the playground. I knew he was daring his father to pay attention, to notice. But so far, no luck.
“You can’t do this, you can’t take everything away. Everything I have worked for. Everything we’ve worked for together. When will I see my son?”
I almost interrupted his phone call to bring his attention back to his son. I was honestly beginning to be afraid his son was going to break a bone or several. His stunts were getting increasingly more dangerous. The longer the man stayed on the phone, the more anxious I got. As I looked around at the other mothers, they were all looking as anxious as I felt. And were starting to shoo their children away from the boy and shooting furtive glances at his father.
It wasn’t until the scream rang out that the man next to me paid attention. Everyone was as surprised as I was the scream did not come from his son, but from the woman who appeared out of nowhere.
Standing Room Only 