Playing Army

a story about a child learning to listen to other children; it's a story about Adair, the same boy from "The General's Cap." This can stand alone, but the "General's Cap" is earlier in Adair's life.

                Second grade was over. Adair started summer vacation by moving. It was one of those long moves, where a moving company comes and packs all your belongings, and you spend three days in the car staring out at windows. The only good thing about moving was staying in the hotels during the trip.

                Hotels have swimming pools.

                Adair didn’t want to move. He knew other people who had moved. He knew that after they moved he never heard from them again.

                Three days on the road gave him a lot of time to think. People underestimate what eight-year-olds think. Adair spent a lot of time thinking even when he wasn’t stuck in a car seat for hours on end. And then he spoke up.

                “When we get to our new home, do we vanish?”

                His mother turned from the passenger seat, “no” she said, “no one is going to vanish.”

                “oh.” Adair was not so sure. But then he thought to ask, “if you don’t vanish when you move, how come no one ever hears from you again?”

                His mother thought for a moment, “I know you miss your friends, but you’ll also make new friends very quickly.”

                It didn’t answer the question. Adair wasn’t worried about his friends or making new friends. He hadn’t actually left very many friends behind. And even if he did make new friends, none of them would be an army general. He was pretty sure of that.

                The army general had lived next door to Adair and his family. Adair had often walked his dog, Ike, when he went out walking his own dog, Hank. After Hank died, Adair walked continued to walk Ike. Adair liked to tell people he made the soldier a general. They laughed, and Adair knew that he didn’t really make the man a general. But he had placed his general’s cap on his head at the ceremony when he became a general.

                Adair had found Ike when he got lost one day the summer before. After that, the soldier had asked him to be part of his promotion ceremony, and place his new cap on his head. It was Adair’s very best memory, and the new town would never top it, he was sure of that.

                His mother was still talking about him making friends in their new town. “We signed you up for a summer day camp,” she said, “so that you can meet other kids right away.”

                Adair had no response

                “They go swimming every day at this day camp.”

                “Every day!?”

                “Every day,” his father confirmed.

                “I bet I’ll be the best swimmer there. I hope they have they have a waterslide. Do you think they’ll have a diving board? I hope they have a diving board. I need a diving board to perfect my ninja-style dives into the water. Do you think they’ll have more than one waterslide?”  

                “Hold on a there, Adair.” Adair’s father looked back at him using the rear view mirror. “All we know is that they have a swimming pool, they swim every day, and they go outside every day, weather permitting.”

                Adair hoped that the weather was more permitting in their new town than had been in their old town.

 

                Adair liked the summer day camp. Swimming was his favorite part. But the park was only a block away so they played there often. The park had a tire swing, and Adair loved tire swings. His mother was right. He made friends quickly.

                He became friends with Rosie because they both loved Captain America.

                He became friends with Sam because they both loved Star Wars.

                He became friends with John because they both love the army.

                Then came the fourth of July. The Fourth of July should be a good day for boys who love the army. Adair expected to see men and women from the army in the parade. So did John. Rosie didn’t expect to see Captain America in the parade.

                “My father said he might send a representative to our parade,” Rosie told the boys and the sat on the grass waiting for the parade to come around the corner.

                “A what?” asked John

                “A representative,” Rosie said firmly.

                “What’s that?” Adair asked. He didn’t want to seem stupid, but since John didn’t know either, he thought it was safe to ask.

                Rosie thought for a moment. “I think it’s like someone who takes his place when he’s busy.”

                “Like a clone.” Sam chimed in.

                Rosie shook her head “no, not a clone, a representative.”

                Adair jumped up, pointed up the hill, “it’s here, the parade is here.”

                The high school marching band went past them. A local radio station went past them. The fire department, the police department, and the hockey club all went past them. Then, finally, the army came. First veterans. Then younger soldiers. And then Adair said it.

                “I know a general.”

                “Yeah,” John looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

                “Really,” Adair insisted, “I know a general.” He waved at the Navy detachment that followed the soldiers. He hated to admit it, but he liked their uniforms better than the army’s uniforms.

                “Whatever.” John lost interest in the parade once the army had gone by. “And Rosie knows Captain America. Or his representative.”

                Rosie and Sam looked at John. They looked at Adair. Then back at John. Adair was simply confused.

                “He lived next door to us,” Adair explained. “When he became a general, I got to give him his general’s cap.”

                “Yeah, sure.” John just walked off.

                Adair’s father walked up behind him, smiling. “Did you kids enjoy the parade,” he asked. Adair wasn’t sure if he had or not. He did, but then he didn’t.

Rosie smiled. “It was great,” she said, “but it would have been better if Captain America had made it.”

                Adair’s father laughed, “well, I think he’s busy.”

                Rosie turned to Sam, “see he is real. Adair’s dad knows he’s real.”

                “Come on Adair,” his father said, “your mother is waiting for us by the drinking fountain.” Adair waved good-bye to his Sam and Rosie.

                The walk home was short. As their house came into view, Adair turned to his father and asked: “why doesn’t John believe I know general?”

                “Hmmm.” His father always said “Hmmm” before answering anything more than a yes or no question. His mother never said “hmmm” but then she usually answered some other question that wasn’t what he had asked. So he waited for his father to come to answer because this time he really wanted an answer.

                “Well, I don’t know for sure.”

                Great, Adair thought. I could have asked mom. She would tell me, but at least she wouldn’t tell me she doesn’t know.

                His father went on, “he could think your bragging, trying to look important or more special than him.” His father paused for a moment, “or he could think it’s true but he jealous and doesn’t want to admit that.”

                “What if I took the picture of me giving General Williams his cap to day camp tomorrow? Then he’d have to believe me.” Adair’s eyes lit up.

                His father raised his eyebrows. “is that the most important thing, for John to believe you?”

                It was.

                The next day Adair took the picture to day camp. At lunch, he showed it to John. John turned away, saying “I bet that’s not you.” Adair just stood there, watching John walk away. He didn’t know what else he could do.

 

                It was a week later when he told his father what happened. He was sitting in the back of the car on the way to day camp. “I just don’t understand,” Adair said. “I showed him the picture. He still doesn’t believe me.” Then Adair added, “and now he’s being mean to me.”

                “What did he say?” His father asked as they pulled into the parking lot.

                ‘He doesn’t believe it’s me in the picture,” Adair explained. “But it is!”

                His father put his hand on Adair’s shoulder, “I know it is. You know it is. But maybe John just doesn’t want to believe it right now.” Then he stopped, leaned down and looked at Adair. “Why don’t you stop talking about General Williams and ask John what his proudest moment has been?”

                “How will that make him believe me?” Adair asked

                His father thought for a moment. “It might not. But try it anyway. You might learn something about John that helps you understand why he doesn’t believe you.” Then his father stood up, and said: “I bet if you ask him about his proudest moment, he will stop being mean to you.”

                Adair thought about it. He didn’t really think that asking John what he was proud of doing would make him stop being mean. But after snack, he asked anyway. He was surprised by the answer.

                “I’m a dog handler,” John said. Adair wasn’t sure what to say, but John went on. “I taught my dog all kinds of stuff, she’s really smart. She’s a Border Collie. Border Collies are the best.”

                Adair wasn’t sure that Border Collies were the best. But he just asked, “What’s your dog’s name.”

                “Sadie,” John said. “I taught her to jump through hoops and to jump railings, and run through tunnels. She won an agility contest.”

                “But do you ever just sit and pet her?” Adair remembered his old dog, Hank. Wouldn’t have bothered to run through anything, much less jump. He had been old.

                “Yeah, sometimes. I guess.”

                “It's so cool you can train dogs," Adair said.

                 It was time to go swimming. After swimming, it was time to play in the gym because it was raining too hard to go outside. Then the parents came one-by-one and the children left day camp. When Adair’s mother picked him up, John came up to him and said, “hey, wear army clothes tomorrow. We can play army. It’s cool that you know a real general.”

Author's Note

Please let me know what you think of this (and how it follows "the General's Cap)