“No,” I tell him immediately. “These frogs are on exhibit, David, and they’re endangered. They’re not for sale. Besides, remember that time you found a frog in the garden?”
“The one I put in Annie’s hair?”
I frown. “Yes, that one.”
If David hadn’t brought it up, I wouldn’t have remembered that nanny’s name but I remember that she was so freaked out, she fainted.
“You put a frog in someone’s hair?” Sabrina looks at him in horror.
David nods.
“Made her faint, too,” I tell her. “After that, I asked the gardener to make sure there weren’t any frogs in the garden so that the incident would not be repeated.” I look at my son. “And you think I’ll get you a frog?”
“I promise I won’t do that to Sabrina,” David promises.
I believe him. Even so…
“These frogs are actually poisonous, David,” Sabrina says. “You can’t have one as a pet, especially not if you have a dog. If Zombie ate it, he could die. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”
David shakes his head and sighs. “Okay. No frogs.”
I heave a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for Sabrina. She really does know what to say.
“Can I have a small gator, then, just like the one in that swamp exhibit?” David asks.
“No,” I tell him, pinching his cheek. “No wild animals for pets.”
“Why not?”
“Because wild animals belong in the wild,” Sabrina explains.
David frowns.
“But hey.” Sabrina lifts his chin. “I read in the brochure that you can win stuffed toys at the arcade here and they look just like exotic, wild animals. How about you try to bring some of those home, huh?”
David smiles. “I’m sure I can do it.”
***
David can’t, though; the games too hard. He wasn’t able to get a prize at the shooting game, the ring toss game or the whack-a-mole game. Now, here we are at the balloon dart game, and he’s still struggling. Sabrina has tried to play and win for him but even she can’t do it.
“Maybe it’s just not our lucky day, kiddo.” She pats him on the shoulder. “Sorry. Maybe we can just buy one at the gift shop?”
David frowns. “But I wanted us to win one.”
Sabrina looks at me and I sigh. “All right, I’ll try. I’ve played darts before.”
“Really?” David looks hopeful.
“Now, don’t get your hopes up,” I tell him. “These games are meant to be hard. That way, people will keep spending money.”
“But they can be beaten, too, right?” David says. “Otherwise, why put prizes on display?”
“To get people to play.” I pay the man at the stand. “Some people don’t like to take a chance if they don’t know what the reward is.”
David just blinks.
“But hey, David.” Sabrina places a hand on his shoulder. “Even if your Daddy doesn’t win, it’s okay. At least, he did his best. Sometimes, that’s what matters.”
David nods. “Okay.”
“If you win, though, I promise I’ll wear whatever you want me to wear tonight,” Sabrina whispers in my ear.
Whatever I want her to wear?
I suddenly imagine her in one of those pieces of Victoria’s Secret lingerie or a bikini covered in chocolate and my heart flips, heat stirring in my crotch.
Fuck.
I have to win this.
At first, I miss, distracted by the images I just had, which have done more harm than good. But during the second round, I win.
“I won!” I tell David as I give him a hug, unable to believe it.
“Yay!” David cheers.
“I knew you could do it.” Sabrina grins.
“You know what this means, right? You have a promise to keep,” I remind her.
She blushes.
“What are the two of you talking about?” David asks as he clutches his stuffed alligator.
“Nothing,” Sabrina and I say at the same time.
David narrows his eyes in suspicion.
“Hey, why don’t you and I play a video game tomorrow?” Sabrina places an arm around him. “That’s the kind of game you’re good at, right?”
“Right,” David says. “You won’t be able to beat me.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t have to because we’re friends now, right?”
“Yeah. But we can still try to beat each other for fun and then we can play together as a team.”
Sabrina smiles. “I like the sound of that.”
I walk behind them, just watching, listening. Yes, Sabrina may look young but they don’t look alike so one wouldn’t think they’re mother and son. But I don’t care what others think. I don’t even care what Sabrina and David call each other. I haven’t seen David this happy before. It’s like he’s finally found something he’s been missing all his life.
“Hey!” Sabrina shouts at me as she stops and turns her head. “You snooze, you lose, daydreamer.”
I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped walking.
“I was not daydreaming,” I tell her, catching up to them. “Just looking around.”
“Checking out someone?” Sabrina asks with furrowed eyebrows. “Because I’ve seen some women checking you out.”
“No. Never. I was just trying to figure out what we’ll do next.”
“What about lunch?” she suggests, looking at David. “You’re hungry, aren’t you, David?”
“A little,” David answers.
Sabrina touches her chin. “But if we eat lunch, we might not be able to go on the rides after because we might throw up.”
“There is that,” I say.
“So, what about we try the rides now? There aren’t many, right?”
I nod. “Sure. Whatever you say, Mrs. Brewster.”
She chuckles.
“Hey, Dad, why don’t you call Sabrina ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’ like some other dads do?” David asks suddenly.
I ruffle his hair. “You watch too much YouTube.”
He puts his hands on his head. “I did not get that from YouTube.”
“I’ll call Sabrina whatever she likes.” I look at her.
She shakes her head. “Sabrina’s fine. It’s my name.”
I nod. “Sabrina, it is. So, what ride should we try first?”
***
“Are you sure you want to try this ride?” I ask David moments later as we’re strapped to our seats at the Lighthouse Dive, which is a ride that goes up to sixty-five feet and then suddenly drops.
“Yes,” he says even though I see him shaking slightly. “I’m old enough. I’m practically a man.”
I chuckle.
“It’s still okay to be afraid, though,” Sabrina tells him. “Fears aren’t just for girls. Everyone has them. The important thing is to not let your fear control you.”
“Hear, hear.” I look at her with pride.
“I’m fine,” David insists.
“Okay.” I nod. “What about you, Sabrina?”
“I’ll survive,” she says. “I mean, I survived eating three burgers in ten minutes and soaking in a tub of I-can’t-remember-what. How hard can this be?”
“You can do it, Sabrina,” David cheers.
She smiles. “I’m sure we can all do it.”
Just then, the ride starts ascending.
“Or maybe not,” she says.
“Hey,” I tell her. “You’ll be fine.”
“I know.” She nods. “I’ll just scream at the top of my lungs.”
***
“I didn’t know you could scream that loud,” I tell Sabrina after the ride, which just lasted a few minutes.
“Neither can I,” Sabrina says, rubbing her throat.
“At least you didn’t throw up,” David says.
She pats his back. “Thanks for reminding me, David. By the way, you were really brave.”
“I screamed, too,” he says. “And so did Daddy.”