When I finally drive up to the rink, a smile fills my face as I grab my iced coffee and walk up the steps and into the arena. “What are you doing here?” Veronica asks. When I started getting busier than even I expected, I hired Veronica to help me with registration for the summer camp.
“I couldn’t miss day one,” I say with a smile, hoping she doesn’t see through me. “How is everything going?” I ask as we walk toward my office. I look up and see that it’s just ten minutes past seven, fifty minutes until the kids start to arrive. I’m about to walk into the office when I hear someone behind me.
“Excuse me,” the woman says, and I turn seeing her dressed in cutoffs and a top that’s seen better days. Her hair even looks matted, and when I look in her eyes, something puts my guard up. The flip-flops on her feet look gray instead of yellow. “Is this the hockey thing?” she asks, looking around, and I look over at the little boy standing beside her. His clothes look like they have seen better days as well. His eyes look tired, and all he does is look around. “We got one of those summer things.”
“That starts at eight,” Veronica says, and I can see the mother getting pissed at hearing that.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you all,” she says, her hand coming up, and I see that her fingernails are dirty as well as the little red dots between her fingers. “I’m here, and I’m leaving.”
“That’s fine,” I say, looking at her and smiling. “We can take him.” I look at the little boy who looks up at the woman. I squat down. “Hi,” I greet him, smiling. “I’m Alex.”
I hear the mother huff out. “I don’t have time for this,” she says. “His name is Maddox. I’m leaving.” She turns and walks out of the arena, and I share a look with Veronica, who just looks at me with her eyes wide.
I look back at the kid, who watches his mother leave. She didn’t even kiss him goodbye. “Are you hungry?” I ask, and he nods his head at me. “Why don’t we go upstairs and see if I can make you something.” I stand, and I hold out my hand to him. He looks at me confused as if he doesn’t know what to do with it.
I drop my hand and smile at him. “This way,” I say, and he follows me. “So are you excited about hockey?”
He doesn’t say anything. He just nods his head. When we get to the cafeteria, the cook is already there and smiles at me when I walk in. “Hi, Gisele,” I say. “We have a hungry boy here and were wondering if you had something he could eat.” She looks over at the little boy and smiles.
“I just finished making these,” she says, walking over to the bagel egg sandwiches. She puts one on a plate, and I walk with him over to the fridge.
“What do you drink in the morning?” I ask, and he just looks at me, his brown eyes just staring at the sandwich on the plate.
“Nothing,” he says, and I just swallow as he looks around, and I have to wonder if he’s scared.
“Well, how about we start with some apple juice?” I suggest, grabbing the juice box and walking over to the table with him.
I put the plate on the table, and he sits down, almost afraid to touch the plate. “You can eat it,” I assure him, and his hand comes out, and I see that they need to be washed. But the way he takes a bite of the sandwich, I know he needs to eat before he needs to wash his hands. I put the straw in the apple juice for him and offer it to him. He looks at me and then at the juice box. “It’s apple juice.”
“Is it sour?” he asks me, and I look at him confused. “Last time, it was yellow, and it burned going down,” he says, and I look around to see who else would have heard him.
I hide the shock and just smile. “No, this one is sweet,” I say, and he takes it, but he just looks at me, not sure if he can trust me. “I promise you, Maddox, it’s sweet.”
He leans over and takes a little sip, and then when he sees that it’s sweet, he smiles and drinks more. He finishes his sandwich, and when he’s done, he picks up the plate to lick the crumbs. My heart speeds up as I spend more and more time with him. I wash his hands with him, and when I hold out my hand to hold, just like I do with my nieces and nephew, all he does is look at my hand. We walk back downstairs, and I see Veronica setting up the tables at the door to greet everyone.