I stared for a while, more intrigued by her appearance than the show that fascinated my son. Sometimes I got stuck in these situations where I wanted to stare at her instead of anything else, where my brain was so stimulated by her appearance that I couldn’t look away.
She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
The presentation ended, and the lights came on.
Derek’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “They didn’t say anything about aliens.”
I broke eye contact with Cleo and turned to my son. “There’s been no scientific evidence to support their existence, so why would they be mentioned?”
“NASA says there’re fossils of bacteria on Mars, which means there was life there once. Doesn’t that qualify as an alien?”
My son always impressed me with his intelligence. “I think so.”
“Well, they didn’t mention that.”
“Maybe they’ll talk about it somewhere else.”
Cleo sat up. “What about Area 51? What do you think is there?”
Derek climbed out of his chair. “Not aliens. I think they’re hiding knowledge, technology, stuff the public isn’t supposed to know about.”
I rose to my feet and took Derek’s hand, making sure he didn’t fall down the stairs as we left the theater. “Maybe we’ll find out someday.”
“Doubt it,” Derek said as he rolled his eyes.
We went to the gift shop next since our time was almost over.
Derek immediately grabbed a handful of things. “I’m gonna get this and this…”
“You can pick one thing, Derek.”
He turned to me, his hands full of stuff. “What? That’s not fair!”
“One thing,” I repeated.
He growled under his breath and started to return items.
I turned to Cleo. “I don’t want him to be spoiled.”
She smiled. “Good call.”
“Kids who are used to getting whatever they want become assholes.”
“Did you get everything you wanted?”
I turned to her, seeing the smile on her face. I knew it was a joke, picked up on it right away, when I never understood anyone else’s jokes. “Very funny.”
Her smile widened. “You think Derek will be an astronaut someday?”
I turned back to my son, watching him move through the store as he tried to pick a single item to take home. “No.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Astronauts are extremely intelligent, but they’re also quick on their feet, have fast reflexes, can solve problems in a very short amount of time. If Derek grows up to be like me, which I imagine he will, he won’t have that kind of intelligence. I take my time thinking things through. I can see him being an astrophysicist or a theoretical physicist. But kids change their minds all the time. I imagine he’ll be a lot of things.”
She smiled. “You think he’ll be a doctor like you?”
I turned back to my son. “He’s never expressed an interest in that. But we’ll see.”
“You don’t care what he decides on?”
I shook my head. “As long as he’s a good person, I don’t care.”
“Good answer.”
Derek finally picked something. “I want the rover replica…but I want a t-shirt. Ugh, I can’t decide…” He held both of them, like two sides of a scale.
It was difficult to watch his struggle, and like all parents, I caved. “Alright. You can get both.”
“I can?” He held both items in the air. “Yes! Thanks, Dad.” He carried them to the register.
Cleo was grinning at me.
I turned back to her. “What?”
“He’s got you wrapped around his finger.”
“That obvious?”
She nodded. “Because it’s sweet.”
I went to the shirts and grabbed one for myself. Then I grabbed a women’s version, getting the smallest size they had. “Is this okay?”
“You’re going to buy me a shirt?” she asked in surprise.
“Yeah.” I carried them to the register. “That way, we can all match.”
We went to a restaurant afterward, having a late dinner.
Derek wore his shirt, a picture of the solar system with the planetarium logo on the front. He also brought his rover toy inside, quietly playing with it as he sat across from me.
Cleo looked at the menu. “The pappardelle looks pretty good…”
I’d already decided on my dinner the second I glanced at the menu. “Derek, what are you getting?”
“Pizza.” He didn’t take his eyes off his toy.
“No pizza. You had pizza for lunch.”
“But I like pizza.”
I looked at the kids’ menu. “How about the chicken noodle soup? Or the grilled chicken?”
He stuck out his tongue.
Cleo tried to hide her chuckle but failed.
“You can’t eat junk food all the time, Derek.” I set the menu down. “You want to be strong like me, right?”
He sighed.
“I don’t eat pizza.”
“Fine…” He kept playing with his toy.
The waiter came over, and I ordered for the two of us before I turned to Cleo.
“I’ll take the pasta.” She handed her menu over.
The waiter left.
Derek kept playing with his toy, but it was obvious he was getting tired. His energy was gone, and his eyes were a little heavy. When I walked into his bedroom at night, I usually found him asleep on his desk with his models in front of him, as if he played until exhaustion pulled him under. “What are we doing tomorrow?”