` trying it again [OPEN!]

[Richard Eli Calvin]

It had been yet another long week for poor Rick. He hadn’t slept, he was an insomniac after all, and was now not sure if he could stay awake through this Saturday. He had promised to take his daughter, Jade, to the park before his first performance of the night. The weekends were actually his busiest time and that really was tough with Jade but he did what he could. It was about seven in the morning when Jade came and knocked on the door of his room to tell him she thought it was about time he got up. Rick had sent her downstairs to watch Saturday morning cartoons while he got ready. After he was showered and dressed and all that Rick also went downstairs. He let the two dogs, Manu and Jewel, out into the very large back yard. When he had decided he was going to take responsibility for his daughter his parents, who owned a very successful horse racing stable and therefore and plenty of money, had bought him a good sized house where Jade had lived, so she wouldn’t have to be uprooted. In the end it worked out as well as anyone could hope for. Rick found a job and was now completely independent for everything to do with himself and his little girl.

After he was done watching the dogs, who ran around for a bit and then laid down in Jade’s sandbox, Rick went into the kitchen, after checking on Jade, and made some breakfast for both of them. He made the basic pancakes and bacon, making Jade one large one shaped like Mickey Mouse simply because he just perfected the art. By the time they were both done with breakfast it was around nine and Rick decided they better go out on their walk now if they wanted to be back in time to meet the babysitter. Of course they would be stopping for lunch and ice cream. It was Jade of course and though he tried not to spoil her it never really seemed to work as well as it did in his mind. The dogs were called back in and a leash was attached to both collars. Luckily, Manu was a very well behaved dog. Rick had had him for years and the dog was now very old and Rick was starting to worry about longevity. It was now only a matter of time before the dog would no longer be able to live, but that wasn’t something to worry about today. Anyway, Manu stayed perfectly by Rick’s side and jewel only pulled slightly now. Jade was then told to hold onto the leashes so she wouldn’t wander off.

Getting to the park took about twenty minutes with Jade’s constant stopping to ask what something was or to read a street sign to her father. She was a very bright girl. Once in the park they made their way to the playground so Jade could play for a bit and Rick could study a new script to work for a while. On the way, though, Rick found someone he worked with and had to stop and talk. She was introduced to the dogs and had met Jade before. Rick reminded Jade to stay really close as they talked for a little while, but Jade was young and soon saw a butterfly on a flower a little ways away. Now, Rick wouldn’t have minded her going to get a closer look, he would have still been able to see her from there, and that was originally her plan but when the insect flew off the little girl didn’t think about her father anymore and just chased the bug off the path. Rick continued to talk for a little while before the two were ready to bid goodbye to each other. It was only then he realized that Jade didn’t do as she had been told and didn’t say close.

“Jade?” he asked, worried, looking around him. “Jade?” he raised his voice again and looked around frantic. “Did you see where she went?” he asked his friend, who just shook her head. “Holy shit… Jade!” the two went in different directions to look for the lost girl. Rick went in the direction of the playground and the women went in the way they had come, saying they would call if they found her and if they didn’t within ten minutes they would call the police to help if they didn’t find anyone in that time. The park was big, but her short legs couldn’t get her very far very fast.

Meanwhile, Jade had continued to chase the monarch around until she lost it in some trees. She was giggling and then looked around to go back to her father and see if he was ready to go, but to the poor girl’s horror, he was nowhere to be seen. “Daddy?” she asked looking around. Nothing was familiar to her. She walked in the direction she thought she had come from, but quickly realized she was hopelessly lost. “Daddy?” now her voice was becoming panicked and tears were coming to her eyes. She started walking in some random direction to hopefully find a path and when she did she followed it to one of the many benches placed along the edge of it. She had always been told to stay where she was, not talk to anyone and only ask a policeman for help if she saw one, which was what she planned to do. On her way to the bench, though, she ran into someone else. She looked up at her, tears in her brown eyes, slinking back a little bit, obviously very scared. Jade couldn’t help but stare for a moment. “I sorry,” she said softly, then looked back down again. She made her way to the bench and heaved herself up onto it. She sat with her hands in her lap and her head down, hoping by some magic her dad would come by and save her. Little did she know, the playground was just around the curve in the path and her father was coming that way looking for her as she set there waiting.

((Open to anyone!))