Leaving on a sea cruise

"Can I go to Camp Carnival yet?" B asked for the umpteenth time. Simone checked the time. "Not yet. Not until 8 pm. They don't open for another fifteen minutes. But if you want, we can go there and wait for them to open." B did, indeed want to do this, so they headed up to Deck 11 and waited. "They don't open until 8:30, apparently," said the mother ahead of Simone in line. Ah. Great. Still, there they were there and more children, accompanied by their parents, were arriving so they kept their spot in line. Shortly after 8:30 pm, the line thinned and, as Simone drew closer, she discovered why: children in B's age group were being sent to another deck at the other end of the ship. Ah. Great. Of course, once they reached the other end of the ship, on the appropriate deck, another line of hopefuls waited to be admitted into the free daycare section. Simone had been up since 4 am and she was beginning to sway with fatigue. "Please pick up your child by 9:45 pm," said the daycare provider when Simone finally reached the front of the line. That would be, oh, 30 minutes from now. Just the right amount of time to make it back to the room, at the other end of the ship, get into pjs and return.

On passe d'une chanson à la réalité

Pour son cours de danse, B et sa partenaire avaient dansé au rythme de "Partons en croisière!" Et, le lendemain matin, c'est précisément ce que B s'apprêtait de faire: vol en direction vers Miami, billets de croisière en main et quelques heures de loisir avant de pouvoir aborder. Que faire? Du shopping à South Beach, bien sur! Il faisait beau. Il faisait chaud. Et tous les restaurants avaient ouvert leur terrasse. Bon, d'accord. À Miami, ce n'est pas exceptionnel. Mais venu du Canada où, la semaine précédente, il avait neigé, ça faisait beaucoup de bien. Surtout le mojito. Rien de tel pour se sentir franchement en vacance...

Dancing Star

Simone watched as the beat of the music started up. B, in his costume looked ready. His partner, in her costume, appeared ready. And then they started dancing...

Comment ça, je vais manquer la fête de mon meilleur ami?

B n'en revenait pas. Sa mère venait de lui dire qu'il ne pourrait pas aller fêter l'anniversaire de son meilleur ami. Il faut dire que les parents de l'ami de B organisent toute une fête à chaque année, avec plein de bonnes choses à manger, des jeux, un magicien - le gros lot, quoi. "Mais pourquoi?" "C'est une surprise!" fit Simone. "Mais tu ne seras pas ici pour fêter les 6 ans de C." Vu la mine dépitée de son fils, Simone s'empressa d'ajouter, "Et si on organisait une petite fête entre nous à InPlay?" Aussitôt dit, aussitôt fait. Les deux garçons se rencontrèrent à InPlay où ils passèrent une excellente matinée. Simone a pris un tas de photos, a offert un album à chaque garçon ainsi qu'un tas d'autocollants et ils purent se faire un album-souvenir de cette belle journée passée ensemble. Bon, d'accord, il n'y avait pas de magicien. C'était bien quand même. Et puis il reste la surprise...

You know you're in trouble when...

Irritated with B's persistent interruptions while Simone tried to have a conversation with her 15 year old daughter, Simone, reverting to her native tongue, told her youngest, in no uncertain terms, that his behaviour was poor and that no, she would not answer his question now - certainly not until AFTER her conversation with the teen had ended. "You're in big trouble now," the young woman whispered to her brother. "Mom just went French on you!"

On n'écoute qu'à moitié...

"B, dans cinq minutes, il faudra aller au lit," fit Simone. B n'avait pas du tout l'air de prêter attention à sa mère, surtout avec le regard scotché à son jeu électronique. "B, qu'est-ce que je t'ai dit?" S'énerva Simone. Sans ciller, l'enfant répondit, "Il faut aller au lit dans dix minutes."

CN Tower - Up Up and Away!

B stared out the windows of the observation deck of the CN Tower, thoroughly fascinated by the view. "Which way is North?" He asked. Simone duly pointed out all the cardinal directions, feeling pleased with herself that, after all these years, she could finally manage to differentiate between them. "Would you like to go up to the highest part of the tower?" Simone asked. B nodded enthusiastically and up they went. Together, they leaned against the guard rail and looked down the angled glass at the people gathering for the baseball game in the open stadium below. They watched planes take off and land from and at the island airport, an entirely different experience when viewed from above! Finally, they took the elevator down to the glass floor level. Simone led B onto the glass and he followed willingly. "Look down," she told him. As soon as his gaze went down, B's face blanched. Cautiously, ever so slowly, he retreated from the glass floor to stand on the relative safety of the carpeted area. "Come here, Mom," he begged, extending his hand. "Wait! I'm going to take some pictures," Simone said. B threw the stuffed Mario doll he had with him at his mother each time she took a picture. Finally, Simone left the glass and B gingerly pulled her into his arms. "You're safe now," he whispered into his mother's belly. "I love you."