I took Paul to baseball practice last night, he crashed here for the night, and he's got a game today. As soon as he's finished with this particular episode of Spongebob, it'll be off to Donutland, our traditional breakfast spot whenever he stays over.
Sometimes it's difficult for people to understand why Paul and I still hang out together. "But he's not your kid," they'll say, "and you and his mom aren't dating anymore."
True, I say, Tabbatha and I broke up. But Paul and I didn't.
After all, Tabbatha and I were serious enough in our relationship to go apartment hunting together. We'd even mentioned marriage. And Paul was very much a part of those plans. He'd taken to calling me dad, and I liked the sound of that.
Even as my relationship with his mom wound down, Paul and I spent more time together, as her new work hours left her unable to pick him up from school or daycare. I'd pick him up, fix him supper, take him to movies, ball games, or just hang out. We had a blast.
Neither one of us wanted to stop. So we didn't.
Last night, since his practice ran late, we didn't have time for the movie marathon we had planned. We watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, but he informed me next time he was over we'd finally get around to Temple Of Doom.
(Probably a good choice, by the way. Yeah, I realize Temple Of Doom was largely responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating, but it strikes me as the most kid-friendly of all the Indiana Jones movies. It starts off with a bang, has a really scary villain and a wisecracking young sidekick, features tons of bugs, monkey brains and a still-beating heart torn from a body. What eight-year-old wouldn't love it?)
Of course, I'm not sure when we'll get around to it. Between practice and games, baseball will be eating up a lot of Paul's time for the next two months. But we'll find time, darn it. Nothing can stop us from being there for opening night of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. We're practically waiting in line already.
