The Accidental Attraction

After this morning's emotional turmoil I was left to haul the Boy to a birthday party for one of his "girlfriends", the delightful Brienna. As we left I dropped the address into the GPS and it didn't show up so I called to get directions. Brienna's mother said she was glad to hear we were coming and added that she had been worried the girls would be disappointed if the Boy hadn't made it (the baby was seriously ill over the weekend and I had called then to say we might not make it if she ended up in the hospital).

We arrived a little early and the Boy was the first guest. He and the birthday girl played as I made small talk. As the other guests began to show a curious pattern emerged. First, all the guests were preschool girls. Second, almost every one that arrived entered the door with the phrase, "where is he?" or something similar. They would then race through the house until they located the Boy. They were accompanied by their mothers and as I introduced myself the moms would say, "Oh yes, Arlo's dad."

The Boy was the only representative of his gender at the party - a swarm of preschool girls and him. Later another boy - 7 or so - showed up, brought in tow with his younger sister, but he only cared about the pizza. I got the distinct impression my son was the "entertainment".

As I stood in the kitchen chatting with the moms I happened to notice the refrigerator. It was like ours, covered in photos and kid artwork. And then a small construction paper xmas tree caught my eye. It had the Boy's name on it. "Is that my son's artwork," I asked. Brienna's mom looked and said, "Yes, he made that and gave it to Brienna. She insisted we put it on the fridge."

Later I told the Boy that it was nice of him to have made that for her. He said he hadn't actually. He said he had done it at school but didn't like it and was going to throw it away. Brienna had asked for it. He had said sure. I told him it was nice anyway and he smiled his sweet smile.

I have written about his apparent ability to inspire an odd degree of fandom (for lack of a better term) amongst the girls his age, but today took it to a whole other level. If I could figure out a way to hire him out, trust me, I would.

In the meantime, he remains oblivious regarding his legions and just has himself a grand time. His biggest thrill today was the pencil and eraser he got as party favors.