Smitten

My daughters, it seems, are smitten.

It started last Saturday night. One of my friends from school was hosting an open house. I first met her 14 years ago, but never knew her well and had lost touch with her quite a while back, until we wound up in the same class in our first semester at the GSSW. I was better friends, back in the day, with her now-husband, but he and I had also lost touch ages ago. The open house was them and another couple, at the other couple’s house. An eat, drink and be merry type of thing, children welcome. So I brought my girls, some holiday-y goodies… and a friend of mine. A male friend. (Can I stress the word “friend”? Just friends.)

We picked up my friend – let’s call him Cole – at his place, where I happily turned over the keys to the van, and the maps to the party. Yes, maps. The one included in the invitation, and the one from Mapquest. I have a feeling that with either map alone, we would have been toast. As it was, we got slightly, er, misdirected, with the kids piping up from the back seat, “Are we lost?” “No, of course we’re not lost!!!” insists Mom. Well… only kinda. LOL In the meantime, Cole had rolled down my driver-side window. I, of course, had forgotten to tell him that I don’t ever roll that window down, since it doesn’t like to roll up. So as we finally pull up to the house, we’re still struggling to close the window. Finally we decide, it’s a safe enough neighborhood, with enough people around, that we can leave it rolled down.

I’ll fast-forward through the details, and give you just the highlights of how my girls became so smitten. I think it started when Cole took a seat somewhat near the piano, watching as Red and Little Bit tinkered around with the keys. Little Bit soon lost interest, but when I looked around, I saw that Cole was teaching Red to play a song. I forget which song, I recognized it, but nevertheless, he was teaching my Red, a.k.a. Princess ADHD, how to play. Soon the Clone joined them, and he taught her the same song. Long after Red had wandered away, Cole and the Clone were working happily on “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” I was free to wander the party, talking to old friends and new, checking occasionally on whichever kids weren’t with Cole at the time, while he charmed them each in turn.

Then came the walk through Lights in the Heights, a holiday light display in the neighborhood. We bundled the girls up in their jackets and headed out. With no discussion whatsoever, Red and the Clone each grabbed one of Cole’s hands and headed out down the street, as though they did that every day. Soon Red was begging to ride on Cole’s shoulders, and even as I was scolding her for asking, he was lifting her up over his head. Now, Red is almost 9 years old, she’s a big girl, but Cole was game. I hoisted Little Bit onto my own shoulders, the Clone grasped Cole’s hand again, and off we went. That alone amazed me. What amazed me more, was that when he put Red down and the Clone begged for her turn, he lifted her onto his shoulders with no hesitation. The Clone. The 10 year old, who is getting bigger, taller, and to her mother’s chagrin, heavier/curvier by the day. Like she was made of air, he lifted her up. Of course, Little Bit eventually got her turn on his shoulders too, and was delighted. Heading back to the party house for one last restroom trip, Little Bit started getting fussy, and Cole quickly launched a game that kept her distracted. Even I can't do that.

I think one of my favorite parts of the whole evening, though, was when we were pulling away. As soon as he started the van, Cole started trying again to get the window to roll up, and less than a block away, it finally did. Amidst the cheers that filled the car, I heard Little Bit’s emphatic declaration, “I KNEW you could do it!!!”

Quietly, so that the girls did not hear, Cole extended the invitation for us all to hang out at his place for a while. You can’t know how much that meant to me, both that he wanted us there, and that he was thoughtful enough to ask me privately, rather than in front of the girls and backing me into a corner. So we headed to his place, where the girls ooh’ed and aah’ed over his holiday decorations and settled happily on the couch to watch the Grinch.

Now, I knew the girls must have really liked him, when their recounting of the evening to their grandmother the next day was punctuated by, “Mr. Cole did this” and “Mr. Cole said that.” But I REALLY knew it last night. You see, somewhere along the walk, the Clone had started singing to Mr. Cole. This is the same child who will stop singing when she sees that her grandmother and I are paying attention, and she was singing to him. So Monday, I mentioned to him that the big girls are in their school choir, and will have a short outdoor concert Friday night. I told him not to feel obligated to come, but to know that he was welcome. He cleared his calendar and promised he would be there. And when I told the girls last night as we drove around looking at Christmas lights, I heard two high-pitched squeals from the back seat, and the sound of feet kicking against the cushions. It seems they are thrilled at the idea of Mr. Cole coming to hear them sing.

Yep. My girls are smitten.