“I love you. And Happy Halloween. Another year, another trickandanother treat.”
“You’re my treat, sweetie,” I tell him.
“We’ve got a babysitter now,” he whispers into my ear just loud enough for me to hear but silent enough that the sound of the waves lapping at the sand mere yards from us doesn’t allow my mom to hear. “And with our little boy being cared for it means it’s time for daddy to get his Halloween treat. Mommy.”
“Go,” Mom says, reading our minds. “I’ve got Jaxon. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Enough to last a few days…if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, I know,” Jack says. “See you…not so soon.”
We all laugh and Jack throws me over his shoulder and walks me back the same way we came in.
“I’m too heavy. Put me down.”
“Light as a feather.”
“Jack. Come on!” I protest. “I’ve still got my pregnancy pounds on me.”
“Good. Means I don’t have to hold back this Halloween.”
“You were holding back last year? Sure didn’t feel like it to me.”
“Wait until we get home.”
Home. One of my all-time favorite words.
“And by the way. You won’t be losing that baby weight anytime soon because I’m going to keep you barefoot and pregnant on the beach until my manhood ceases to function, and believe me…it’s going to be a while. A looooong while, as in never.”
“That’s my man,” I say loud enough for him to hear as he continues carrying me like a caveman with a fresh kill over his shoulders. He’s going to eat me when we get home alright. And be feral about it too.
Just how I like…how we both like it. In our favorite place on Earth no matter where we lay our heads to sleep. Home.
Because home is not a place, it’s where your family is. Which means no matter where this crazy journey takes us, I’ll always be home. Because I’ll always have him.
This Halloween and forever more.
Extended Epilogue
Jack
Fifteen years later
“You’ve got it, Jaxon. Go, son. Go!”
Standing in the shallows of Table View Beach, my oldest boy’s kite catches the wind, and off he goes, his first solo kite surfing experience. At only fifteen years old I’m so proud of him that it damn near makes my chest ache.
My boy’s becoming a man in front of my own eyes…and way too fast.
He kite surfs, volunteers with endangered species on the weekends, plays cricket for his school and above all else, he is a protector for his younger siblings. That’s what makes me the proudest.
Turning my back to the sand I see my wife under her umbrella, there with our other three children who clap on their brother.
Hard to believe just over fifteen years ago I was locked up, my freedom taken from me, and here I am at the southern tip of Africa, finding a kind of freedom I never knew could have existed.
We live in a place that looks like a postcard. Yeah, these waters are known for great white sharks, but that’s part of life. I instill in all my children, especially my boys, that you have to be tough. The world’s not sugar and spice and everything nice. It’s definitely snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.
Nodding my head to my family I turn back to my son, even as he takes off across the South Atlantic Ocean, navigating around the multitude of other kite surfers, the bright glare of the sun reflecting off the water, I can still make out his face…and the smile that’s plastered across it.
Being a dad has to be the best thing about life. Watching your children grow, seeing things for the first time all over again through their eyes. What a way to live…through the happiness of the next generation.