He Charms Me

The first time Friend met The Boy, Boy was three. She said at the time, Ah, he's got you wrapped around his little pinky. Sometimes I think that hasn't changed.

Of the new orange cranberry raspberry juice I bought this week, The Boy said, "Eww, that craspberry juice you bought is awful."

I love this note he left me one night:

Dear mom,

I've gone to Friend's school play and will be back when the play is over. Dinner is in the fridge, you just have to make it.

Love,

Boy

Last night, I dropped him off to a classmate's house. The classmate and another friend are dance majors. They are both in a film and video course with The Boy. The three were supposed to re-enact and shoot a scene from The Fight Club. To do that, they went to a mall where there is a back alley beside a convenience store. Dancer's mom took them and waited in the parking lot watching them. They put their video camera on a tripod and The Boy walked around holding a Star Wars rocket blaster as his gun. As they went about their work, a van drove up. The driver looked at them with fear and suspicion. They waved to her and her children to reassure them everything was alright.

A little later, three police cruisers pulled up and surrounded the kids. Dancer's mom came running out of the car. Four officers got out of their cars. One of the officers was a neighbour of the Dancer. He knew both the Dancer and her mom. Dancer's mom explained what was happening. The officers laughed and said, "Don't worry, it was a misunderstanding. Happens all the time." Then they examined the rocket blaster The Boy was holding. One of them said, "It's pretty cool. Maybe I'll get one for my son."

The Boy doesn't lie. He was concerned when he told me about what happened. He asked me several times if I was okay with what happened. I assured him he's not in trouble even though the cops descended on him. The Dancers were apparently quite upset and sought the same reassurance from Dancer's mom.

Honestly, I think it was a funny story and I am relieved nothing bad happened. I am glad Dancer's mom was there. I am glad one of the cops happens to be their neighbour. Still, I wonder if the woman in the van would have called the police if The Boy was white.