We are waiting in line to meet Elmo at a bookstore. The line snakes so far out of the children’s area that we can’t see him in the fur yet but Matt is just happy enough to see the Elmo merchandise prominently displayed at his eye level.
An employee with sample sized hot chocolate with whipped cream and white chocolate shavings on top along with wedges of lemon frosted donuts stops by our section of the line. A sugar high is probably the last thing a line full of young children needs but exactly what the parents all need.
We inch closer and closer and soon can see Elmo sitting in a chair like royalty among his loyal toddler subjects. Matthew immediately grins and waves at him. When it is finally our turn to take a picture Matthew looks both delighted and star struck.
Matthew has discovered the shelves of Dr. Seuss books at the library. In other words, the puzzle table and wooden boat are now our old haunts. Today we cozy up in a far corner away from that tourist trap play area to read the Seuss books he picks out from the shelf.
“No. No. No. No,” Matthew browses through the titles, pulling them out just far enough to see the cover. His eyes flicker with recognition when he sees The Foot Book, one of his favorites at home. “Here you go.” Before I get to the second page of the new copy he back to browsing the shelves. “No. No. No…”
In the next aisle over a girl his age with whitish blonde ponytails pokes her face between the empty space of books on her side and says hi to us. Matthew pushes some of the books on our side away to make room to see her. “Peek-a-boo,” he says grinning and covering his face with an arm. She giggles and does it back. She and Matthew start chatting to each other in their sing songy toddler voices. I imagine their conversation going something like this:
Matthew: I finally found some books in this place that I can remember all the words to.
Blondie: Those are my favorite kind!
Matthew: I wonder why none of the pages are ripped in any of these books?
Blondie: Maybe nobody likes them the best yet. My mom doesn’t let me put library books in my mouth.
Matthew: Mine doesn’t either, how do we know if we like a book without tasting it?
Blondie: Quick question, do you Elmo or Abby better? On no, that is my mom picking me up just now. Maybe I’ll see you around the coloring table sometime.
“Buh Bye,” Matthew says to the girl when her mom scoops her up, casting me an apologetic glance, before carrying her back to the play area. Matthew returns to me and plops back down on my lap.
