At The Movies
Tommy stared at the screen, entranced at the sight of Reptar as he rampaged about the city, only for his dad to suddenly lift him into the air. "Up we go, champ!" Stu said with a smile as he cradled Tommy, flicking off the TV.
"Rep-tar!" Tommy babbled, reaching for the screen, even though it was blank. He wanted to keep watching the fun green dinosaur destroy the city! Where had he gone?
"Yeah, raw-raw," Stu said with a chuckle. But Tommy began to cry, not happy in the slightest. He wiggled and fussed as he tried to escape Stu's grip and get back to the tv. Maybe Reptar was still in there!
"You know Stu," Didi said as she came down the stairs with her purse and saw how upset their son was, "maybe Tommy is too young to go to the theater. I'd hate to ruin things for the other audience members if Tommy gets fussy. Chuckie is fine… maybe Phil and Lil… but he just turned one. He'll need at least one diaper change after all."
"Yeah, you're right." Stu turned the still crying Tommy towards him and rubbed his back. Tommy blinked, his cries turning to sniffles, as he saw how disappointed his daddy was.
"And now he won't have to see that dang-gum silly movie!" Lou declared, thrilled they weren't going to see the Dummi Bears.
Stu though, as he bounced Tommy up and down, thought about things. It seemed a shame not to do something after making such a big deal about the movies… "Hey, why don't we invite everyone over and rent a movie for the kids! We could make popcorn and dim the lights... and would be cheaper!"
Didi beamed. "And if anyone gets fussy we can pause the movie! Oh, that's a great idea!"
"And I can watch MY movie on my portable TV," Lou said, waggling his eyebrows.
So they did exactly that, with Tommy sitting on his daddy's lap the entire time as they wanted old Disney cartoons.
"See champ?" his daddy whispered. "That's Mickey Mouse. Now normally mice aren't good and we don't want them in the house but Mickey is different. He's a good mouse!" Tommy giggled a bit as he watched the screen. It wasn't Reptar but this was really fun! Mommy had cooked some yummy smelling food (but Tommy was only allowed a few small pieces) and the living room was dark and quiet as they all sat watching the video.
But Tommy was also conflicted. Yes, they did get to watch some fun movies… and he hadn't wanted to go to the movies anyway… yet he also felt… odd.
Like by crying he'd somehow cost himself a fun adventure…
His eyes grew heavy and soon his dreams were filled with exploring the magical movie theater and all the neat things he'd not be able to do now…