Iraq

We are passing the bus stop outside of the ice cream shop when I see a little boy, who is probably about 5 or 6 and the cutest child I have ever encountered, sitting on the footpath.
He has blond hair, like Lego child hair, and is wearing something like a blue school uniform and drinking something red through a straw from a big plastic see-through cup.
'Hmmm,' I say to him, 'that looks nice,'
'Yeh', he says, 'and I am going to a birthday party,'
'Wow,' I say to him, 'how exciting is that!'
Then, a blond bearded long haired man in a wheelchair, with a big gift wrapped box in his lap says, 'Yeh, we're going to Sunshine's party, she's turning 1.'
'Woah,' I say, 'that's a big present for a 1 year old,'
'Yeh,' says the little boy, 'but we can't tell you what's in it because it's a surprise,'

'But,' I say, 'I don't know Sunshine and I'm not going to the party so you can tell me,'

'Okay,' says the little boy, 'it's a musical toy, it makes musical sounds,'

'Oh, my god,' I say, 'that's going to be so exciting for her,'

'Yep,' says the little boy.

'I hope you have a good time,' I say to him as we walk off toward the car.

'We will,' he calls to me.

As I open the car door I give him a thumbs up.

And he gives me one back.
Then I give him a thumb sideways, and he gives me one back.

Then I give him another thumbs up and he gives me one back and I laugh and he smiles at me and drinks some more of his red drink.

In the car Krista tells me a story about the boy and the man in the wheelchair.

'He's an Iraqi veteran,' she says, 'and his wife divorced him and that's his little boy. He wheels him to and from school on his lap,'

'How sweet,' I say, 'that might be the cutest child on the planet,'
'Yeh,' says Krista, 'and one time, he dropped his wallet on the bus, while riding with his little boy and so he wheeled as fast as he could to the next to bus stop to get his wallet back but by the time he got there someone had already stolen the wallet,'
'No fucking way!' I say.

'Yes way,' says Krista, 'and what sort of bad fucking karma do you suppose the person who stole that wallet's gonna have?'

'Arse cancer,' I say, thinking of the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone, 'yes, arse cancer.'

 *******

Now look at my shop and get a print. It'll make your life so much better.