Page 18 of Penalty Kill

They cheered like I just told them tomorrow was Christmas. It amazed me how easy it was to make them happy. Hopefully this wasn’t just a honeymoon phase.

We got there without issue, and sure enough, the park had an enormous wooden castle with slides, swings, rock walls, and horses you could rock on. Its real name was Rockwell Park, but Wood Park clearly made more sense. The boys took off across the drawbridge and I lost sight of them as they climbed but a few moments later their blond heads reappeared at the very top near the dragon flag. They waved down to me and I returned the gesture while pulling on my sunglasses.

As tough as it must have been to have two newborns, then toddlers, it was nice that they had each other to play with. I reaped the benefits for sure. They were content chasing each other, rather than showing off for me. I decided the number one word used at any park was “watch.” Every three seconds some child shouted it.

The boys got my attention a few times, but for the most part they played well with each other. I made sure to keep them within sight at all times, moving along the sidewalk that created the border. Most of the adults were either on their phones or chatting on the benches, but I felt wrong doing either of those things. I was here to care for the boys. I’d been able to catch Milo before he fell last time, and I hoped to prevent either of them from getting hurt. I couldn’t do that if I was staring at my phone.

I meandered around, watching all the activity. Younger children screaming, a woman attempting to feed a baby while also chastising her toddler for pushing another child, a man talking on the phone with his back to the playground.

People watching was one of my favorite activities, and with the boys I had a feeling I was going to be doing it a lot. I never wanted to judge anyone, especially when I was only getting a tiny glimpse into their lives, but it was fun to make up stories about who they were.

I wondered what people thought about me? Did they think I was a hippie, like some people had called me in the past? I liked loud patterns and flowy clothes. I didn’t think that was all that strange. Plus, my loose pants made it easy to get on the ground and play with the boys or climb behind them at the park.

“Sydney! Look up here!” Finn called down from the top of the tallest slide. Of course, that’s where they were.

“Hey!” I waved, and they jumped together, flying down the slick metal.

“They’re yours?” The woman next to me took a step closer.

I wasn’t sure how to reply. Did she mean like mine, biologically? Mine to watch? The ones I was here with? I just smiled and nodded.

“They’re cute. You’re so lucky to have twins. They can entertain themselves for you.” She pointed at a little girl making her way across a swaying bridge. “I told her she has to play on her own for five minutes so I could have a break.”

I chuckled. “Yeah it’s nice they have an automatic best friend.”

“How old are they?” she asked.

“Four.” I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. Maybe this was normal? Adults chatting with strangers while their kids played. That seemed to make sense. I didn’t usually struggle this much with small talk, but the park and children were new territory for me. I didn’t know the customs yet.

Milo and Finn were climbing back to the top of the slide, and I noticed her little girl wasn’t far behind. Did she want me to get them to play together? Was that what we did at the park? There wasn’t exactly an instruction manual for playground etiquette.

“So is Alice,” she said with a smile.

Okay then. I nodded and took a few steps out on the wood chips that covered the play area and shouted to the boys. “Milo, Finn, come down here for a second.”

They raced each other to the slide, Milo getting down first but closely followed by Finn. They stopped in front of me with bright red faces. If they didn’t slow down soon, they were going to be out of energy before the game started tonight. Were they too old to take a nap? Another thing to look into.

“See that girl?” I lowered to their level and pointed to the cute little brunette with bright pink leggings on. They nodded in sync. “Her name is Alice and she doesn’t have a friend here to play with. Do you think you guys could be her friend and invite her to play?”

I waited, not sure how they would react. Finn spun to face me with a wide smile. “Okay!”

Milo took off running. “Alice! Want to be our friend?” His shouts drew the attention of everyone at the park, but he didn’t care.

The little girl stopped and stared down at them for a moment before smiling. “Yes.”

I watched until the three of them met and started running together before returning to the sidewalk.

The woman was beaming. “Thank you so much. I really appreciate you getting them to include her. She’s so shy. She won’t ever be the first to ask to play with anyone, but if someone comes to her, she’ll open up.”

“No problem.” The boys seemed to be having fun with their new addition, so I shrugged. Call me the kid matchmaker.

“I’m Melanie.” She offered her hand.

I shook it, feeling a bit awkward. This was too formal for a playground. “Sydney.”

“Do you guys come to this park often?”

I smiled to myself at the twist on the overused pick up line. “This is my first time with them here, but they really like it. We’ll probably come once a week or so.”