The next morning Cory was still MIA and Jack was growing nervous, but they decided to go to the park as planned. Jack had gotten up early to pack up their lunch, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, potato chips and apple juice, for later in the day. He put their lunch, a camera and a bottle of sunscreen in his backpack and they began to walk to the park.
"What animal are you looking forward to seeing most?" Jack asked her, making conversation.
"Hmm…" She said giving it careful consideration. "The monkeys!" She replied confidently.
"Because they like to climb?" Jack guessed. Amy had always loved the jungle gym.
"Because they're silly," She replied.
"Just like you!" Jack answered. He lifted her up in the air and put her on his back. "Use you arms and legs to cling on, and I'll give you a piggy back ride," he offered.
"Like a monkey!" She yelled and locked her arms and legs around him.
When they reached the entrance to Central Park Jack was panting. "You're getting heavy," He noted. "Soon you're going to be a big girl!" He put her down, and she settled for holding his hand as they walked in, exploring their surroundings.
After spending a large chunk of the morning viewing the different animals, Amy was getting hungry. "Time for lunch?" Amy asked hopefully.
Jack looked down at his watch, 11:30. "Okay," he agreed. He found a picnic table and took the food from his bag. She devoured it quickly. "Wow," Jack said impressed, "you were hungry!" Amy nodded with pride.
"Did you find Cory, yet?" Amy asked sadly.
Jack hated to disappoint her. "No," he replied. "When was the last time you saw him?" He asked. "Think really hard," he told her.
She paused for a moment trying to remember. "I don't know."
"Well," Jack said. "Did you have him at dinner last night, with Joey and Pacey?" Amy shook her head. Jack thought about where else they had gone. "Did you have him at daycare yesterday?" he asked.
"Yes!" She shouted excitedly. "We played outside," she told him.
"Well, I bet he's there, safe and sound," he assured her.
"Let's have some more fun in the park. Then when we go home we'll stop by the daycare and ask if anyone has seen him," Jack promised.
"Okay." Amy was a fairly agreeable child.
They cleaned up and Jack brought Amy over to the carousel. She excitedly ran up and chose a horse. Jack strapped her in. Happily, she rode around and around, waving at Jack every time she passed. Jack waved back enjoying every second; he knew she wouldn't be two forever. When they were just about ready to leave, they stopped in the gift shop to look for a souvenir. Jack wanted her to remember this day.
"How about this one?" He asked, holding up a light blue tee shirt that said Central park. Amy shook her head. He loved that even at such a young age Amy knew what she wanted.
She ran up to him and held up another tee shirt. "This one," she announced. It was green and had three monkeys on it.
Jack smiled. "Okay," he agreed and walked with her to the cash register. "Whoa," Jack said like a little kid, "frosted animal crackers. I haven't seen these since I was a kid," He said taking the bag off of the shelf. "You hungry Amy?" It was about time for her snack.
"Yeah!" She replied sharing his enthusiasm.
After they paid they started walking towards the day care, enjoying their animal crackers and struggling to determine what they were supposed to resemble. They arrived at the Day Care Center and Jack rang the doorbell. "Can somebody get that?" They heard a man inside say. A child opened the door for them and they stepped inside. Jack searched through the sea of children to find an adult that could help them. His eyes were drawn to a man who was sitting on the floor playing a board game with the kids.
"Who's that?" Jack asked Amy. He was interested.
"Rob," Amy said. "He's nice. Last week when I got a boo-boo he gave me a band-aid."
Jack nodded, though he was only half listening. He was still staring at Rob.
"Rob!" Amy shouted. Well, that was one way to initiate conversation.
"Hey Amy," Rob replied walking to them.
"Hi, I'm Jack." Rob shook his hand. "Amy can't find her teddy bear. We thought maybe she might have left it here. Have you seen-"
"Cory. Oh yes, hold on," Rob said and went to go get him. He handed the bear to Amy. "Don't worry. We took good care of him for you," Rob assured. Amy hugged Cory tightly and ran off to go play.
"Thanks," Jack said.
"No problem," Rob replied.
They stood there for a moment looking at each other. Jack could feel an awkward silence coming on and so he tried to avoid it, "I guess we should go," He said.
"I'll see you on Monday," Rob said.
"Actually," Jack replied. "I'm going to watch Amy this summer."
"That's great," Rob said happily. "She's a good kid." Rob paused for a moment. "Why don't I give you my phone number in case you and your wife ever need a babysitter," He offered. "I live right around the corner."
"I don't have a wife," Jack clarified.
Rob had already written it down. "That's okay," Rob replied confidently. "Take it anyway."
Jack smiled and put the piece of paper in his pocket. "Come on, Amy," Jack called. "We've got to get home."
"Bye!" She shouted as they walked out the door. Jack waved goodbye to Rob.
Amy was still holding onto Cory with both hands. Together, Jack and Amy walked down the street, happily. It had been a very good day.