Butterfly Boy

That silly Boy and his friends. Butterfly Boy is one of my favourite.

The Boy made plans to spend the day with his friend, Handsome Dancer. But he hadn't okayed it with us first. The Man put a break on his plans and asked him to paint the front porch. The Boy did so without complaint and did an amazing job. Then The Man drove him to hook up with his friend.

Handsome Dancer was already at another friend's house. There, they watched some TV and ordered in Chinese for dinner. After, The Boy and Handsome Dancer went clear across town to visit Butterfly Boy. That's when The Boy phoned home to check in. He left a message on the answering machine telling me where he is, filling me in his plans for the evening and when he'd be home. At the end of his message, I heard Butterfly Boy say, I haven't talked to your mom for a long time. Let me talk to her. So he left me this message:

Hi Sylph. Hope you are having a good summer. It's good to see your whole family together again. I just want to say that your son is an amazing person. In fact, a masterpiece. So good job on that. We are very good friends. Okay, bye.

This message made me laugh, in a good way. On the one hand, I feel I had been Eddie Haskelled. But Butterfly Boy is a special kind of boy. For one thing, he hugs me every time he sees me. He's smart and funny. He has strict parents, almost as strict as me. He's a regular on one of the afterschool TV shows. I forget which one. I've never known him to be insincere. In fact, he strikes me as innocent and charming, happy to sing and dance, often just blurting out whatever's on his mind.

So I marvel at Butterfly Boy and admire his openness, forthrightness and spontaneity. I wonder whether he, The Boy and their friends are typical of today's teenagers. But if I had been Eddie Haskelled, I see why that approach incurs favour with a friend's parents. It certainly worked on me.