A Swing in the Park

12. The Green Room

"Why must Fred come with us to the park?" I asked my mother as we were crossing the road. "I don't like it."

"He gives me comfort," my mother said.

"But I give you comfort," I said.

"You don't understand," she said. "A child cannot give an adult comfort. Only another adult can."

"What does it mean when you say your bed is cold?" I said. "My bed isn't cold at all."

She sighed impatiently. "Never mind that," she said brusquely, "I shouldn't have said that. Now walk faster. Fred is already waiting at the bench."

We walked into the crowded parking lot and onto the pebbled path were Fred sat waiting.

"Hi Fred," I said. "Are you keeping my mother's bed warm?"

He looked at me, unable to say anything.

"Here's your sandwich," my mother said, putting it in my hand. "They were out of pickles today. Now go play. And don't speak to strangers."

I skipped as I made my way to the swings. They hung empty, slowly swaying in the soft breeze, their ropes creaking like old rusted hinges.

A man sat near them on a bench, wearing a crumpled overcoat and a hat. My heart skipped a beat thinking it was George come to tell me of his family, but it wasn't George. He looked older and he had no beard. He sat quietly, watching the children play on the grass. He smiled with the smile of someone seeing something wonderful in a shop window.

"Hi, mister," I said, approaching him. "What are you doing?"

"Watching the lost children," he smiled. "You look like one yourself."

"I'm not lost," I said. "My mother and her boyfriend are right there on the other side of the park."

"That's far away, isn't it?" He smiled. "Are you still sure you're not lost?"

"Sure," I said and sat beside him. "There was another man with a hat," I said. "At first I thought you were him. He was lost. He had lost his family."

"Oh dear," the man said. "That is terrible."

"But he found them again," I said.

"How did he do that?" He said.

"I took him to the desert," I said. "We climbed the dunes all afternoon and spent the night by a grove. Then in the morning Ahmed came with a camel and we rode all morning to the mountain."

"My," the man said, "that was quite an adventure. How kind of you to go all that way with him. You must make a wonderful friend."

"I dunno," I said. "I just liked him. His eyes were sad."

"Are my eyes sad?" He said.

"No," I said. "Your eyes are hungry. I can give you my sandwich if you like. I'm not that hungry."

"I'm not that kind of hungry," he smiled, "but there is something you can give me."

"What's that?" I said.

"That's a secret," he said.

"Then how can I give it to you?" I said.

"That's why it's a secret," he said. "You know what a secret is, don't you?"

"Sure," I said. "It's something no one knows about."

"Right," he said. "You're a clever girl. What is your name?"

"Katie," I said. "Katie Desoto."

"That's a pretty name," he smiled.

"What's your name?" I said.