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“Oh, I am?” She looks to me for confirmation.
“If it’s okay with you. He really wants to go, and I agreed to take him.”
“Most definitely! This will be so much fun!”
Liv steps inside, taking off her sneakers and setting her purse near the door. Then, she follows Elijah into the living room. They chat briefly about the shark video he has on, and then she turns to me.
“So, I’m guessing we haven’t had breakfast yet. Right?”
I nod, rubbing the back of my neck. “He wants eggs like you make, but I’m not sure what that entails.”
She laughs, the sound completely unsettling me, and then joins me in the kitchen. As she takes off her light jacket and hangs it on a chair, she comes around to where I’ve laid out the pan and carton of eggs.
“I got your back. First off, unless you know something I don’t, do not put cloves in your eggs.”
She holds up the small jar I had pulled forward and smirks at me.
“I…that wasn’t what I was actually picking. I just—” I sigh. “Okay, I’m bad at this.”
“That’s okay. I’m here to help. Just don’t go giving away my secret egg recipe. Got it?”
Liv eyes me snarkily, and I cross my finger over my chest.
“Cross my heart. Hope to die.”
“Good.”
Liv cooks with me, showing me her secret to fabulous eggs, which includes a bit of milk, Italian seasoning, and fresh ground pepper.
She also informs me it’s a common hack and I can definitely Google it if I forget.
Once Elijah and I have consumed the last of the eggs and I’ve had a blissfully strong cup of joe, we get dressed, and I drive us down to the aquarium.
The trip downtown isn’t long, only about fifteen minutes, but it’s still enough time for my son to fill every silence with facts about fish, the ocean, and an ancient shark, apparently called a megalodon.
And the truth is, not only is the information actually interesting, I’m really impressed with Elijah for keeping it all straight in his ten-year-old brain.
“You’re really smart, kiddo. Your teachers must love you.” I smile back at him through the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, my science teacher is cool. He said he’s going to include an ocean life section next semester just for me!”
I look over at Liv, who quietly whispers that it’s part of the typical curriculum, but it makes me happy to know his teacher wants him to feel special.
It also takes me aback for a second because I know the public school can’t be paying the teacher much, which seems like an especially big shame right now. Such is the way of life, I guess.
When we reach the aquarium, we step inside and get right into the line for admission tickets. It’s not much to get in, particularly not on my salary, but then I notice the signage for tokens that allow you to have animal experiences and actually feed the fish.
They’re ridiculously priced, but what the hell? I can afford it, and Elijah deserves something special. I purchase the largest amount available, and we all agree to visit every last one so Elijah can see absolutely everything.
Going inside, Elijah stops at every tank and tells me about the fish or animals inside. There are otters and baby alligators in the first area, and around the corner, we come to a huge tank with octopuses, tons of colorful tropical fish, and several eels poking in and out of the fake coral.
The tank is a large circle, and from my side, I can see Olivia through the glass. Elijah is pointing and likely telling her about one of the larger fish in the tank.
I can’t hear what they’re saying, but Liv looks totally thrilled by his story, and whether or not she actually is, it’s the sweetest thing I’ve seen.
My son runs off to another tank in the room, and Liv stays, watching the fish swim in large, slow circles.
Watching her through the water, I’m enraptured by the way her eyes track the movements of the swimming school of shiny scales. She tucks a curl behind her ear and then gently drags her fingers across the glass, mimicking their paths.
