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found his collection of toys to be most
versatile. With the right imagination a boy could play circus games
or gangster games, war games or even westerns, with the dummies
usually playing the “goon” roles. War games were fun as Connor had
his little plastic army men which he used to provide cover fire for
any one of Basket’s adventures. Bear was a big hero of his too,
though Basket, due to his color and generally happy demeanor was
the clear front runner. The dolls were large compared to most
children’s collections. Basket and Dummy were the largest, standing
the height of Connor’s neck and shoulder respectively. The two
smaller dummies were the height of Betsy and dog only came up past
his knees. Bear was a little shorter than the smaller dummies, but
his chubbiness helped him appear larger. His mother bought him
these dolls above others as these were the ones he showed interest
in when they were out. He would pick them up from the shelf himself
and so, Martha knew those were the ones he wanted. Uninterested in
toys from television shows like other kids, Connor chose these
dolls because they weren’t already popular children’s characters.
Much in the same way people prefer reading a book to watching a
movie, Connor loved the fact that he could imagine whole new
personas for his dolls instead of having their personalities
written for him by a TV show. Timing the game just right, no sooner
had Basket defeated the dummies when Connor got called down for
dinner. Oven pizza with fries was Andy’s after fishing specialty,
and Connor could smell the pepperoni.

    The emblem of the local corporate coffee
house seemed softer on Sundays. People have certain misgivings
about coffee hangouts like this one. Having a pretty local girl
serve you a drink to a setting of soft jazz and local rags could
fool anyone into believing this was a family run place. Pale colors
of eggshell and lime green mixed with creamy brown carpets and
hardwood sanitized surfaces. Oversized, odd-shaped mugs set in a
euphoria inducing sunk-in dark felt chair made everyone’s
cappuccino taste better. At the end of the day, no-one cares about
the corporation behind the company, as long as the corporation
pretends (like everyone else) that it is a simple outfit. A few
sips into his Sunday tall breve double shot latte with one hand
grasped firmly on the sports pages Andy was at peace. Alcohol was
not in his Sunday service. Instead, a nice relaxing afternoon with
his son and his coffee was the order of the day. As Connor sipped
on his hot chocolate with an extra pump of vanilla he appreciated
the ambience. He enjoyed the peace of this weekly ritual much like
he did fishing. Sitting quietly he was lost in his own thoughts
while Andy quietly read his paper. Connor felt something on him. A
pair of eyes gazing towards their table. He had felt these eyes
before but never so intensely. Looking up he saw the face of a
woman that would change his life forever.
    “ Single father?”
    Andy wouldn’t normally have engaged a
strange woman in conversation but when he lowered his paper he
realized this was a particularly beautiful woman. This meant all
new rules applied. Taken by her beauty Andy nodded while rolling
his wedding band with his thumb. Unable to tell how she knew that
seeing as how he was clearly still wearing his wedding ring Andy
looked at her intensely, trying to figure her out.
    “ How did you know that?” he asked
    “ I asked about
you ,” said
the woman, gesturing to the barista behind the counter.
    “ I notice d you came in here a lot so I asked
them who you were.”
    Andy was taken aback by how forward the
woman was, but he was also extremely flattered. Pulling out a chair
and sitting down the woman said softly.
    “ The girl told me you used to be
married.”
    Andy looked down at the table
    “ I’m sorry” The woman said,
immediately backtracking,
    “ I didn’t mean to pry. I was interested in
you and all I had to go on was your