Page 43 of The Hang Up
Henry frowned, and Jason reached out and tousled his nephew’s hair. “Too bad there aren’t any real grown-ups around.”
Henry giggled and ducked out from under his uncle’s hand. “I did good at the doctor, right?”
“You did great,” Jason said. “That’s why you got the ice cream.”
“And the playground,” Ellie added.
“And remember what else I said we’d do?” Jason prompted.
Henry’s eyes lit up. “We’re going canoeing.”
“That’s right. Not today, but this weekend. You and me and your mom.”
Ellie nodded and took one more swipe at Henry’s mouth with a wet wipe. “That’s right. Maybe we’ll even take a picnic.”
“Cool! I can go play now?”
Jason took a deep breath. If it were up to him, he’d swaddle Henry in protective Bubble Wrap and never let him get more than two feet away, but Ellie seemed a little more willing to give her son some space.
“You can play,” she said.“Be careful, though. Remember what the doctor said about being gentle with your body?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Stay where we can see you,” Jason said. “And don’t climb on the monkey bars. Or go on the swings. Or pick up any bugs. Or?—”
“Have fun, baby.” Ellie elbowed Jason in the ribs as Henry scampered off. Then she turned to face her brother.
“He’s fine,” she said. “You heard what the doctor said the other day. At this stage, fresh air is good for him. So is a little bit of independence.”
“I just don’t want anything to happen to him.”
“Neither do I,” Ellie said, then took a bite of her own chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream. “But I also want him to get the chance to be a normal little boy. He hasn’t had that for the last eighteen months.”
Jason sighed. His sister was probably right, but nothing she could say would make him feel any less protective of the two of them. They were all he had left, the only remainder of his family.
He watched as Henry smiled at a little girl with pink butterfly barrettes, then picked up a bark chip to show her. Jason felt his heart twist in his chest.
Nothing in the world is more important than this.
“So,” Ellie said. “You nailed your PR chick.”
Jason sighed and bit into his ice cream cone, not surprised this was what his sister wanted to discuss. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to. I could read it all over your face the next morning. You’re transparent as a wet T-shirt, brother of mine.”
“Can we not talk about this?”
Ellie laughed and slugged him in the shoulder. Her gaze swung to the playground where Henry was playing on some sort of spinny swing thing that would probably make him barf, but he seemed to be having a good time.
“What do you want to talk about then?” she asked.“The presidential debates? The price of milk? Niels Bohr’s theory of atomic structure?”
“You’ve been watching the Discovery Channel again.”
“Henry loves it.” She spooned up another bite of ice cream as her gaze stayed fixed on her son. “And it took his mind off worrying about the doctor visit all week, so that was a plus.”
“He did great today,” Jason said.
“Yeah, he did.” She smiled. “And I’m glad his levels are staying down. I know it’s too soon to get to hopeful, but—” She shrugged and looked down at her ice cream.
