Spring Eternal

Chapter 5
A Day in the Park

Chapter Description: Cal and Iris initiate their time alone with a day in the Park. (Thanks to everyone who helped me reclaim this chapter.)

Sheepishly, Cal’s hand slowly raised and pulled the pacifier from his mouth. He was flummoxed on what to say as he laid it beside him on the bed cover. He stared at it a moment as he felt Randall’s eyes on him. He didn’t know what to say. How could he explain being found with such an infantile object in his mouth? He felt the burgeoning anxiety and embarrassment swell within him. For just an instant, he wished he could replace the pacifier in his mouth to regain his emotional balance. In the next instant, his adult mind dismissed that idea as ludicrous. Clearing his voice, Cal swallowed a large lump in his throat and turned his head back to regard an amused Randall in the doorway.

Seeing the uneasy reaction of his old friend, Randall made an effort to suppress his smile.

“Wow, I see you’ve turned a corner in your public portrayal.”

“Uh, yah. “ Cal responded, pulling the corner of his mouth to the side. His mind was filled with rants and emotional explosions on what to say in regards to the pacifier but all that came out was. “Iwis tahat bee guud idée-ya.”

Still uncomfortable, Cal looked away from Randall, not wanting to lose the precious control he had on his emotions. He was tempted to express his side of the arduous events that transpired earlier, but thought better of it.

“Sure. I mean, it wouldn’t look out of place in your present condition.” Randall stated as he walked into the room and sat beside Cal. “You know, I want to thank you for all you’re doing with Iris. I know it can’t be easy. Patrice is so worried about her mother and her situation. I’ve heard her crying in the bathroom some nights. I just want to say that you’ve been a real friend to us and I appreciate it.”

Randall reached over and placed his hand over his friend’s small shoulder, easily engulfing it. Cal nodded as he pulled his chin forward and sighed. His two friends meant more to him than anything in the world. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them. So what? If his ego was slightly bruised today, he was a big enough man to get over it.

“Did you have a good day with Iris?” Randall asked as he peered at Cal with a searching look.

“Yah. Izza wa guud.” Cal shrugged his shoulders as he responded. He bent his head away from his friend’s searching eyes and looked down at the pacifier on the bed.

“You didn’t have any problems?”

Without looking up, Cal shook his head in the negative in response.

“That’s good. I’m surprised. Iris was having some issues about fitting in, but she came back so happy from your day together. I think you are having a positive response on her. I hadn’t seen Patrice look so relieved in a long time.”

“Ya. Iwis an ay gaa lon fiihn.” Pulling himself together, Cal looked up with an affable grin painted on his face.

“Great! I have a favor to ask you. As you know, Patrice and I were both called into an emergency funding meeting today. It turns out that the state appropriations board is considering massive cuts on funding our departments. Patrice and I both have to go to the capital for a hearing in regards to the funding.” Randall paused to look at Cal and monitor his reaction.

Cal stared at Randall with a stunned expression as he listened to his friend, his mind reeling with the anticipation of what could be coming next. It seemed like a bad dream. No, it couldn’t be. This was the worst scenario that could happen.

“It seems that Iris coming here could not have been better timed.” Randall continued. “There’s no way we could take you along. We’ll be in the hearings all day. An infant would be out of place and we couldn’t leave you at the hotel with strangers.”

Time seemed to slow down for Calvin as he anticipated Randall’s next statement.

“Would you mind if you stayed with Iris while we’re gone?” Randal asked. Then quickly added “It’s just that this is a very important meeting…If the cuts go through, it could mean our jobs. It is absolutely necessary that both of us be there.”

“Oh. Ay sssee.” Cal responded, slowly and methodically. His eyes traveling back to the pacifier once again. It’s tempting presence seeming to call to him to dismiss the disconcerting feeling in his gut.

Cal’s face wrinkled in thought as an inner turmoil writhed inside. In Cal’s head, the following battle of thoughts was going on. ‘No! Absolutely not! You should stay here and take care of me. Isn’t that what we agreed upon? Iris is a crazy old bat! I don’t want to stay with her!’ bounced up against ‘I don’t want to be self absorbed burden. Couldn’t I do this for Patrice and Randall? They’ve rearranged their lives, so I could maintain a certain lifestyle. Is this so much to ask? Maybe, there was a way to deal with Iris.’ Dismissing the emotional thoughts as childish which he had really had his fill of that day; Cal allowed his rational argument to bear in his decision.

Taking a deep breath Cal responded slowly as he let it out. “O kaa”

“Wonderful! Tell you what! Patrice and I are going to write explicit instructions for Iris to follow, so there’s no confusion. Patrice will go over them with her mother. It will have everything on it about you and your schedule. It will have all our contact numbers on it too.” Randall stated. “Just in case, I am going to leave you my extra cellphone. It’s got my and Patrice’s numbers programmed in it, so all you have to do is hit the key. One of us come right back if you need us.” With that statement, Randall pulled a cell phone from his back pocket and handed it to Calvin.

Calvin looked at the cell phone being awkwardly held by both of his small hands. Two years ago, the small phone would have been easily balanced in the palm of his hand. Things had definitely changed Calvin thought as he tried to unsuccessfully open the folded phone. After some doing, he managed to open the phone to see the two programmed numbers on the screen. Closing it, he sat it on the bed beside him.

“I can’t thank you enough, old buddy. You’re really being a sport about this whole thing.” Randall spoke as he replaced his hand on Cal’s shoulder and gave it a little brotherly shake.

…………………….

Calvin woke up the next morning; the early morning sun was streaming through a crack in the curtain into the center of his room. He lay there for a second as he blinked his eyes lazily before getting up. He scooted over to the edge of the bed. Flipping over to his stomach, he lowered his legs over the side till he felt the floor underneath them. He reached up and clumsily grabbed the door knob in both hands to open the door, staggering backwards with it once the latch had released. Rubbing his eyebrow with the heel of one hand, he wandered down the hallway to the kitchen. Iris was sitting at the table with the daily paper spread out in front of her with a cup of coffee in her hand.

“Well, good morning!” Iris said with a smile at the small unimposing figure at the entrance of the kitchen. “Patrice and Randall left for the airport about two hours ago. I am surprised you slept through it. It’s just you and me now. Patrice left me a long list of instructions, so we don’t have any mishaps while they’re gone.” Iris held up a stapled pack of paper from the table before setting it back down amidst the newspaper. She stood up from her chair as she looked across at the child in the sleeper, who was looking rather uneasy.

“What can I get for you? It says here that you have milk or juice in the morning. Which one would you like?”

“Umm. Miwk, pu weez.”

“One milk coming right up!” Iris stated enthusiastically, before spinning away from the table to prepare a cup for Calvin.

More than slightly apprehensive, Calvin did not move from the entrance, he only took a step closer to the doorway’s molding so he could lean against it. He was not expecting for Iris to be so energetically onboard with the situation. He was also disconcerted to discover he had missed Randall and Patrice’s departure. He would have like to have been reassured that all things had been discussed with Iris.

Before he knew it, Iris appeared before him on bended knee, offering him a sippy cup filled with milk.

“There you go! One order of cow du jour.” Iris giggled slightly at her joke. “So, would you like to eat breakfast or go get dressed first?”

Cal brought the cup up to his lips as he stared at Iris beaming face. He took a swallow before lowering the cup and saying. “Um. Bureek faas?”

“Table for one coming up.” Iris crowed as she placed her hands around his chest and swung him into the high chair at the end of the table. Securing the straps and attaching the tray to his chair, Iris leaned down and asked.

“What would you like? I think I am in the mood for French toast. Would you like that?” Iris absolutely glowed with good natured warmth as she waited for his response.

Cal’s eyes widened at pleasure at the suggestion. He couldn’t remember when he had French toast. It must have been before the onset of the virus. He nodded almost immediately to the suggestion. He sat and watched Iris become a whirlwind in the kitchen as she prepared the French toast. She told a little anecdote about Patrice as she placed the bread in the frying pan where is happily sizzled. The story and the scent of the cooking made the kitchen seem very homey to Cal. Before he knew it, Iris placed a child’s sectional plate in front of him. There was a puddle of maple syrup in one section while the French toast had been cut into small planks that could be handled by little fingers.

Cal studied the plate in front of him, wondering if he should ask for cutlery. Then the thought occurred to him that didn’t many fast food place serve French toast stix. If that was perfectly acceptable, why did he need to make a fuss? Besides, his aptitude with a knife and fork slowed him down. And, damn it! This French toast smelled delicious and he didn’t want to waste time letting it get cold. Besides, after yesterday, he didn’t want to sour their first meal together with minor petty demands. He shrugged as he picked up a piece of the toast between his dimpled fingers and dunked it in the puddle of syrup. With anticipation, He brought the dripping sticky piece of fried bread up his mouth.

With his first bite, he was transported to heaven. His renewed taste buds once again made every flavor much more intense and satisfying. The cinnamon and nutmeg danced in a spritely dance leaving warm tingling footprints over the surfaces of his mouth. The vanilla and butter added to the rich eggy carpet played off the delectable sweetness of the maple syrup. He bounced his legs against his seat as he enjoyed the fabulous flavor sensations occurring within his mouth. As he sat there reveling in the decadent meal in front of him, he did not look up to see Iris’ smiling face watching him.

Finally, when all the French toast had been consumed, Iris came over to wipe his hands from the sticky remnants of the syrup which he could not lick off.

“What would you like to do today?” She asked as she retreated back to deposit the rag back in the sink.

“Ay du no.” Cal responded, all his hard thoughts about Iris evaporating with the consumption of his rapturous breakfast.

“Well, there’s supposed to be a really nice park a little ways away from here. I was thinking we could go there today.” Iris suggested as she came back. “What do you think?”

“O kae Ay gees.” Cal responded slowly.

“Great! I’ll fix up a picnic basket and we’ll make a day of it.” Iris said as she pulled away the tray from Calvin’s high chair and placed him on the ground.

After helping Calvin pick out some clothes, he retreated to the bathroom as Iris returned to his room to make the bed. As she pulled up the sheet up under the pillow, her hand came across something hard. Puzzled, she tilted her head as she pulled out the small device from the bedding. She recognized it as a cell phone. She turned it in her fingers for several seconds as she pondered how it got in Calvin’s bed. Shrugging, she placed the cell phone at the back of the dresser for safekeeping and continued to finish making the bed.

Hearing the shower, Iris returned to the kitchen to clean up the breakfast dishes. Humming, she picked up the dishes from the table and took them to the sink. She had just filled the sink with sudsy water when she heard the familiar beeping of the garbage truck stopping at the neighbor’s trash cans. She realized that today was trash day and the home’s trashcans were not on the street to be picked up. She only had a minute to gather the trash and drag the trashcans out to the street. She grabbed the wastebasket from under the sink and pulled it over to the table. Quickly grabbing all the papers on the table together, she flung them into the can. Unfortunately, she did not realize that she had accidentally included a particularly important pack of papers which had been mistakenly bundled up with the other papers from the table. She crammed the seeming newspapers down into the can before she and the can rushed out the door to catch the garbage truck.

It was about mid morning, when Iris and Calvin arrived at the park. It was one of the oldest historic parks in the area, built around the turn of the century with a large gazebo in the center by a large pond. It was known for its beautiful canopy of trees and fountains. Iris pulled into a parking spot and soon she and Calvin were on their way on the walking path. Iris had brought Patrice’s jogging stroller, so Calvin and she could go over the walking trail. She stuffed a knapsack with their lunch on the back of the stroller. It was a beautiful park. Calvin had never been there. Although he had always intended to visit it, because of its proximity, it was always put off. He enjoyed the morning birdsongs as they moved over the park’s trails. He sat there with his legs straight out in front of him, as he bounced slightly in his seat over the rougher parts of the trail. Finally after an hour on the trail, they had reached the center of the large park. Iris sat down on one of the benches in the area around a large pond which had a jet of water in the center.

“How are you doing, Calvin?’ Iris asked leaning forward to check on the stroller’s occupant.

“Aye okaa” Calvin responded, although he was feeling a little flushed.

“Are you thirsty? Would you like some juice?” Iris offered, as her hand disappeared into the diaper bag hanging behind Calvin.

“Shuwa.” Cal responded with a shrug.

Pulling out a bottle of water for herself and small juice box made specifically for toddlers for Cal. She took a quick swig of water and then prepared the tiny juice box for Calvin. She punctured the juice box with the tiny straw. She leaned forward with the juice box in one hand while guiding the straw to Cal’s mouth with the other.

The juice was cool and sweet on Cal’s tongue. He had not realized how the heat of the day had risen as they had walked. He took long sips on the straw in his mouth. He finally took his mouth away from the box, so he could catch his breath. Iris pulled back slightly with an astounded look and said.

“Oh, my goodness! You were really thirsty!” She pushed the box back toward Cal. “You want to finish?”

Cal nodded and took the straw back in his mouth to finish the tiny juice box. Once finished, Iris disposed of the empty juice box and sat back with her bottle of water on the bench.

“Ooh! It is really starting to get hot!” She declared as she adjusted the collar of her top and fanned herself. Looking around, she added. “This is really a beautiful park. You can tell it’s old because of the charming lay out and the old fountains.”

Iris watched the other people in the park, moving around the large pond. Her eyes were drawn to a little area that seemed to have a congregation of women and children.

“Is that….?” Iris sat forward as she stared at that little area. “I think we just found a way to beat the heat.”

Iris pushed Cal’s stroller over to the busy area that was on the far side of the large pond. It took nearly twelve minutes to walk around the large pond till they got to the area. There, the center of activity was sitting not far away from an outcropping of some old shady oaks. It was a small shallow pool that had young children splashing in it while their mothers or caretakers soaked their feet. Parking the stroller, Iris bent down and gushed to Cal in the stroller.

“Isn’t it wonderful? I remember wading pools from when I was a girl. It’s a wonderful way to cool off on a hot day!” She spouted as she reached in and released him from the stroller’s restraints.

Placing him on her hip, she walked toward the busy wading pool. It was a small concrete pool with a two foot wide concrete surround. It appeared to have been from a time when air conditioning was not commonplace in homes. It started at about six inches deep for little ones who could not stand yet and not be too far away from their caretakers. Babies could be sat just inside the edge of the pool where they could splash to their heart’s content under the watchful eyes of the adults. Toddlers could stagger to the middle of the pool. At the center the pool was a full eighteen inches deep for toddlers to wade up to their waist.

“Good morning.” Iris said as she came near a woman with a two year girl standing in the water next to her. The little girl was obviously enjoying herself, her body language telegraphing her joy as she tried to unsuccessfully tried to leap but only bent her knees in a spastic jerks.

“Good morning. It’s a nice day, isn’t it?” The young mother with her hair pulled back in a ponytail responded.

“Yes, it is.” Iris approached the edge of the pool. “Is the water nice?’

“Yes, it’s lovely.” The woman wrapped her arm around her little girl’s waist and turned to Iris with a smile.

“Wonderful!” Iris declared as she kicked off her shoe and dipped her toe into the water. “Oh, Yes.” Iris sighed as she dragged the top of her foot through the water.

Iris quickly sat down on the edge of the pool and set Calvin on his feet. She pulled off her shoes and tucked the back of her skirt up through her legs and fastened it on the front of her waist band.

“Come on. Do you want to go wading?” she asked as she reached toward Cal.

Without waiting for an answer, she pulled him into her lap and pulled off his shoes and socks. She scooted over to side of the pool and stuck her feet into the water; she then stood Cal in front of her legs in the water. Cal was surprised. It was a hot day and the water was delicious. The pool’s water came up just under his knees. It was unexpectedly cool and made goose bumps appear on the skin above the water level.

Iris took a step away from him as she looked back expectantly at him. Turning to follow, Cal raised his leg up to his waist level and thrust it down in the water. He suddenly found himself off balance. He expected the pool floor to be flat, so he did not anticipate the slight slope. His foot continued to press forward, beyond where he thought it should stop. The momentum caught him off guard. He tumbled forward as his coordination was not quick enough to right the situation in time. His chin brushed against the cool surface of the water as Iris grabbed hold of his hand to keep him from falling completely below the surface. He dangled from her hand, so that only his head and shoulder were above the water. Everything from his armpits below went below the waterline.

“Uh oh!” Iris said in a soft consoling voice as she lifted her hand, to pull Cal upright. She pulled the little body closer to her as her hands went to right him. Her initial reaction to make sure the little one was alright. Seeing him topple over like that, set off her maternal instincts. She picked him up out of the water and held him slightly away from her, since his clothes were dripping water. She took a few steps back to the edge of the pool where she stood him on his feet on the concrete. The young mother and daughter were still sitting there, watching the drama unfold.

“I see someone decided to go swimming.” The young mother joked as she looked over at the drenched toddler.

“Well, it’s my fault. I should have kept hold of both his hands.” Iris said shaking her head. Then looking over to the stroller with the diaper bag, she muttered. “Oh, darn! I forgot to pack any extra clothes for him.”

Her eyes traveled back to the defeated little figure standing before her. Seeing the miserable expression on Cal’s face as he peered down at his clothes sticking to him like a second skin, made her want to cuddle him and make everything alright.

“Aw, look at you. Come here, sweetie. Let’s get those wet things off you.”

Cal took a step back away from Iris. Was she actually considering stripping him of clothes again? The clothes uncomfortably clung to his body. It was making his skin itch as he clumsily tried to pull the wet cloth away from his skin. Before he could consider any other options, Iris’ hands were at the bottom of his t-shirt pulling upwards. His arms were involuntarily pushed up by the gathered t-shirt as it passed by his armpits. They stuck up in the air over his head as the hands hung lifelessly at the end. For a second, he was trapped in the in-between place of being half dressed as Iris pulled mightily on water tightened shirt. Cal felt the damp cloth of the t-shirt stretch over his face, mashing his nose. For a moment, the world was eclipsed by the water soaked cotton. Then just as suddenly, it released his head in a sudden popping sensation as the tightened collar skimmed over his jaw and face with bracing scrape.

Once freed, Cal staggered as he tried to get his eyes to focus on the world around him. When he finally regained his composure, he felt Iris’ hands drag his shorts down to his ankles. The next instant he was pulled up by a firm arm around his waist as the shorts were pulled off and over his ankles and feet, leaving him feeling cold and exposed.

He was set back down, now wearing only the heavily saturated disposable diaper that he wore when he was out in public. The added weight of the water caused the diaper to hang lower than the manufacturer’s recommended snug fit. Feeling the diaper hanging half mast around his hips, Cal looked down over his protuberant tummy to look at the situation of his diaper. He could feel the cold damp clod of diaper suspended between his knees.

“Hmm. I don’t think that diaper is going to last that long in the water.” Iris stated as she assessed his waterlogged attire skeptically. Turning to the young mother watching, she added. “Back in my day, we used cloth diapers. We never had this problem.”

“I know what you mean. It’s the price we pay for modern conveniences.” The woman commented with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Oh, well. You’re just going to have to go without, until your clothes are dry.” Iris decisively declared and then with a sudden definitive motion, she whisked it off Calvin before he had time to dispute the decision.

Calvin stood there in the center of the park with nothing on. Naked as the day he was born, he froze as his eyes traveled around to see if anyone noticed his current au natural state. It seemed like all the air had evaporated around him. He stood there as he heard the screams of children, mothers chatting and the birds tweeting in the trees. No one seemed to direct their attention to him. After all, he told himself, I look like any random baby in the park. Right now, he didn’t have any option on what to wear. Iris was busy laying out his clothes in the sun to dry on the handles of the stroller. Standing there alone, he thought it would be better to not draw attention to himself.

Suddenly, Calvin found himself lifted and placed back in the pool, this time on his bottom in about eight inches of water. Iris took a seat on the edge of the pool a few feet away. The little girl was bouncing at her mother and pointing at Calvin. Cal just sat in the water, grateful for whatever camouflage the water could accord him. He hands were cupped in front of him, in an attempt to retain some dignity. He sat flat on his bottom as the brisk water tickled his elbows as he looked back over his shoulder to look at Iris with consternation.

In the next instant, the nude body of a two year old girl came staggering over to him. She flung herself on her backside next to him. Calvin turned back to see the two women enjoying the sight of the two infants play in the water. A small wet hand landed on his chest, drawing his attention back to the little girl with blonde wisps twisted up into two thin pigtails on the top of her head. She was smiling at him innocently, obviously wanting to play with him. The next thing he felt was a splash of water as the little girl slapped her hand in the water between them. He wrinkled his brow and drew away as she crowed at his reaction. She again struck the water with the flat of her hand, make the water spray on Calvin. He sat there huddling under the onslaught of water, waiting for his playmate to get bored with the game.

“Mia, be GENTLE!” Mia’s mother patiently called from beside Iris.

For some reason, his passivity had run out at that particular second, Cal reached out and slapped his hand and forearm against the surface of the water, returning the favor of the splash back to the little girl. The little blonde seemed to find this incredibly amusing and giggled. He did not expect appreciation as a response. He splashed his hand again and more giggles poured out the little girl. Her enjoyment was infectious and soon he was chortling right along with her. She and Cal began to participate in game of splashing back and forth, much like a tennis game. Despite his initial reticence, Cal found himself enjoying this little girl and her game. It had been a long time before anyone had included him in a game and he found even this simple game delightful. He had always been so serious before and since the virus that to allow the burden to be put down for a second was quite a release. Before long, he had forgotten about his nudity and was voluntarily playing and having quite the good time.

Cal didn’t know how long he had been playing until Iris appeared over him to pick him up. She brought him back to the edge of the pool where she dressed him in a fresh diaper and his now dry and sun warmed clothes. Saying goodbye to the little girl and her mother, Iris took his hand and together they walked back to the shaded areas of trees. They are set back away from the kiddie pool, to where was shaded and quiet. Iris brought out the knapsack. Pulling out an old blanket, she laid it down at the base of an old oak. She began to unload the knapsack for their picnic. She brought out paper plates and their lunch out the bag and set it on the blanket. The food was packaged in separate plastic bags. Cal looked back at the area of the wading pool, smiling at the children still playing in the water while Iris was busily setting up lunch.

Before he knew it, Iris placed a plate in front of him. On it was one of the toddler’s meat sticks that she had bought at the store yesterday, alongside it was a cheese slice had been torn into small finger size pieces. He looked up shocked over at Iris, who was busy cutting a peach in half in order to share with him. She leaned over his place and cut his share of the peach into bite size pieces and let them fall onto his plate.

Cal was taken aback at the meal set before him. He looked over at Iris to see that she had pulled a pimento cheese sandwich out for her with carrot sticks. Cal hated pimento cheese and his teeth were definitely not up for the hard baby carrots. The water had been so wonderful, but the high was quickly fading. He was hungry! With a huff, he clumsily grabbed a bit of the meat stick and shoved it into his mouth. It wasn’t half bad, he thought. He was able to taste the simple recipe of the meat stick quite clearly. What would he have called it back when he was adult size? He asked himself. Rustic! That’s what it was. The cheese slice was the perfect counterpoint to the meat stick. Iris set down a sippy cup of milk in front of him. He leaned forward and grabbed it with both hands, taking a satisfying gulp. He let the cup sit in his lap as he reached for a bit of peach. Iris was silent as she watched Cal industriously clean his plate.

Once lunch was finished and cleaned up. Iris pulled a paperback from the knapsack and leaned back against the base of the tree. Cal sat there, looking at Iris. Becoming bored, he stood up and started to move across the blanket toward the area of the pool. Iris held up her hand to stop him.

“Naa.” Cal disputed as he pointed back to the pool. ”Ay waan gao bek.”

“We’ll go back. I just want to rest a bit first. Let me finish this chapter.” Iris said with practiced diversionary tactic as she pulled him back. “Why don’t you relax and we’ll go in a minute.”

Before he knew it, he found himself sitting in her lap, the side of his body pressed up against her as the weight of Iris’ arm kept him there. Her hand slowly patted the outside of his leg as her other hand held the paperback. Calvin relaxed in her embrace as he felt the slight breeze ruffle his curls and his water cooled skin. The combination of the exertion in the water, the warm body next to him and his meal began to make him very sleepy. As he sat there he head lolled against her blouse, his ear picking up the solid thump of her heart. Unaware, he brought up his hand to his mouth to stick his ring finger and pinkie in his mouth to suck on them. He felt so protected, warm and loved in this instant, that he allowed his eyes to drift shut.