Red

We are in a fort made of an old red flat sheet. Ranger and I are snuggled close together, giggling about nothing in particular when I hear the baby start to wake.

Shhhhhh if we are quiet enough, maybe he will go back to sleep, I say to Ranger. We sit in the fort, silently sharing silly faces while hoping to make this game last longer. Our plan works well for a few precious moments before the whining wail of a teething infant becomes fully pitched to "awake" mode. Even then, the baby and I sit next to the fort so that I can still play.

Ding dong, come in! Ranger is playing house and holds the fort open to invite me in. I stick my head and shoulders inside. How nice to see you, he says his eyes bright with the sincerity of a three year old.

All around us the afternoon sun fills the fort with reflected light from the red sheet. For a moment in time the world disappears and it is just us two telling bad knock knock jokes. Then the baby cries and life returns to thinking about dinner and laundry and school and all the little things.