King of the Mountain

I overheard this conversation earlier today:

Carrick: Hey, Mackin. Are you awake?
Mackin: No.
Carrick: Yes you are! And you’re in my spot.
Mackin: I like it here.
Carrick: Will you please move?
Mackin: Yes. In three minutes when my nap is done.
Carrick: While we’re here, can I talk to you?
Mackin: You can always talk to me, Carrick.
Carrick: It’s about last night. About what Mommy told us about Seamus.
Mackin: That he’s not coming back?
Carrick: Yes. I’ve been waiting for him. And looking for him. I guess I don’t need to anymore.
Mackin: Mommy said he’s with his other Dad now.
Carrick: I know.
Mackin: And our other Dad is the biggest, strongest, most loving Dad ever. Even more than our Dad!
Carrick: That’s a pretty neat Dad.
Mackin: I can’t imagine a Dad better than ours, but that’s what Mommy said. And Seamus isn’t sick anymore. He’s all better now.
Carrick: Do you think Seamus is happy without us?
Mackin: I think he’s happy because he feels so good and he gets to take naps with his other Dad. Our other Dad’s lap must be so big!
And Seamus probably gets all the treats he wants.
Carrick: I guess that sounds nice. But I’d rather have Seamus here with us.
Mackin: Me too.
Carrick: Can I tell you a secret?
Mackin: Yes.
Carrick: I loved Seamus. I just didn’t know it until he wasn’t here to love anymore.
Mackin: I knew you loved him. So Seamus probably did, too.
Carrick: Can I tell you another secret?
Mackin: Yes.
Carrick: If he was here, I’d bop him on the nose and run away so he’d chase me.
Mackin: I would lick his ears until he bopped ME on the nose.
Carrick: You can lick my ears.
Mackin: And I will chase you!
Carrick: It won’t be the same. You and me and Seamus were brothers.
Mackin: We’ll always be brothers, Carrick. And someday we’ll all sit together in our other Dad’s lap.
Carrick: Until Seamus chases us away. I sure do miss him.
Mackin: I know. Sometimes at night I hear you crying for him.
Carrick: I don’t cry! You take that back right now, Mackin!
Mackin: Mommy said it’s okay to be sad.
Carrick: Mommy’s sad.
Mackin: I know. Daddy said we need to step up our game so she won’t be so sad. What do you think that means?
Carrick: I think it means we should play lots of extra games to entertain Mommy.
Mackin: I like games!
Carrick: Me too. We can start with king of the mountain.
Mackin: I don’t know that game.
Carrick: It’s when I knock you out of my spot and then yell, “I’m king of the mountain!”
Mackin: That doesn’t sound fun. Let’s play hide and seek.
Carrick: You always hide behind the bedroom door! I don’t even get to seek.
Mackin: We can play your game and then hide and seek.
Carrick: Okay. Do you want to pretend that Seamus is playing, too?
Mackin: Yes!
Carrick: Me too. Except he was always the king of the mountain.
Let’s pretend he’s playing, but this time I’ll win!
Mackin: Okay. And then I will take a nap in my dad’s lap.
Carrick: And I’ll take a nap and dream about Seamus being with the Dad who loves him more than we do. Even more than Mommy does. And I’ll dream about having all the treats I want.
Mackin: That sounds nice, Carrick.
Carrick: I’ll be back in three minutes. Goodnight, Mackin.
Mackin: Goodnight, Carrick.