Be Right Back, Daddy

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Left to right: Christopher and Nico on Disney's monorail

April 17th, 2013

The carts of the roller coaster slowly ascended towards the deep blue sky that is like a canopy saturating the magical world of Disney. The crowd seated in the rows of the 8 carts in front of me, began to raise their hands towards the sky as if they were worshipping god.

Clank- clank- clank - could be heard over the shrills and shrieks of the excited riders as the cars slowly reached the peak.

And without warning the ride suddenly stopped, just inches from the top. “What the hell happened,” I hear someone exclaim. I sunk low in my seat and looked around as if I hadn’t had a clue. But I knew and everyone else who was standing in line behind me knew.

My kids had stopped the ride.

At the last moment on Saturday I decided that I would take the boys to Walt Disney World. I know it’s not like we weren’t just there but I wanted to get out of the house and since I pay a monthly fee of unlimited park visits during the year. So, I decided I would put my money to work.

It was 11 o‘clock in the morning and I was debating all morning whether I would drive 3 hours there.

Okay. It is 11. I would get on the road by noon. Get inside the park by 4. Ride the rides. Leave at the closing time of 9 and I would be back home by midnight. Perfect!- So I thought.

I placed the boys in their carseats and secured them snuggly. I then had to replace their TV’s back firmly on the headrests of the minivan's captain chairs, so they could watch a DVD.

“I don’t know why you guys take these off.” I say out loud.

I place Wreck it Ralph in the DVD and I’m off on the road.

My mind wanders as I think about what I may have left behind. Then it hits me.

“My wallet.”

I reverse my car and align it parallel with my drive-way.

“Be right back, daddy,” Nico announces. “be right back,” I retort.

I run towards the front door as I fumble with my spare keys. I want to slide the key in the lock without breaking momentum. I run back in the house grab my wallet, run back to the van and announce again, “Let’s go, Mickey!”

“Mickey!” Both boys shout in unison.

I begin to pull away and realize they’ll need pillow for the ride home because they will fall asleep.

I place the van's transmission back in the park position and open my door. As I get out, I turn back and before I can say it my son Nico says, "be right back, daddy.” Before I could utter it.

I run back into the house, again fumbling the keys, slide it in the lock open the door, get inside, run to the back room, grab the pillows, then haul butt back in the van where the boys were beyond ready to go to.

“Disney!” they shout in unison.

This time I do not move the van from its spot. I think long and hard about I need before I drive away. What am I forgetting? Nothing comes to mind, so I must have everything I need. I begin to pull away and it hits me!

“Crap,” I say loudly.

“Be right back, daddy?” I hear from the gallery in the back seat.

Finally, we head out to the open highway with nothing between us and Disney but traffic, toll roads, and heavy rain. This should be interesting. Before the rain clouds and the traffic I pull the car into Starbucks for some road treats. I’ll sip on my coffee while the boys enjoy their chocolate milk.

On the road trip the boys get lost in their DVD and I get lost in deep thought. Back in the beginning months of Mimie's death, I would just think endlessly about how I can get myself together from my losses. These road trips were such a deep thinking process for me. Now I just wonder if they boys are comfortable and sometimes I would look over to the passenger seat and imagine she was there.

My boys are my world and I want them to be happy so it brings me such joy when they scream for Mickey Mouse as we pass under the steal girders the displays Walt Disney’s name and Mickey’s likeness. I feel like Clark Griswold and can only muster out, “We’re here. We made it damn it.”

The boys and I enter the park. The heavy crowd doesn’t dampen our enthusiasm.

“Let’s go to the new Fantasyland, guys.” I say so excitedly, like this was my first time.

We make a few stops and get on a few rides. The boys were having a ball. My ears pick up the sound

of a mini roller coaster. I look towards the direction and think to myself- the boys would love that.

We head towards the sound of fun. Before we can get on the ride I am told by Disney patrol that my boys have to stand so they can measure them with the stick to make sure they can ride this ride. PASS!

Before we board the ride I am told that only 2 people can fit in the cars. “ No problem my boys can ride together and I will sit behind them.”

With that thought in mind Nico, my oldest son, decides he wants to ride with me. He decides this as I speak my words to the helpful attendant. I grab his hand and we sit nicely in our seats. The railing locks our legs in but there are no straps to harness them down.

Click, click, click

The cart ascends to the top and Christopher, my youngest son, panics. He was having none of this ride, alone. So in the midst of our climb to the top of the roller coaster to begin our decent down, he does his own climbing after he slides under the safety bar and begins to scale over the top of the car and towards me.

Crap!

I lean forward and I grab him by his shirt, like a mother cat carries her kittens. Once in my grasp, I plant his butt down firmly in our seat.

Boom- the ride stops.

I look around as if I am looking for the person who ruined this ride. "What's going on" I say in my mind.

Knowing it was my boys I sat quietly. As I looked around, I see they are closing the ride down and making everyone leave the line because they were shutting the ride down.

My sons did it, they shut down Disney, finally.

As the safety crew walked up the stairs to disembark all the passengers from the roller coaster, Christopher looks up at me and says, “Be right back, daddy?”

“Only if Disney lets us.” I say.

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