The Project, part 2 of 3
Saturday, August 6th, 2:34p
Lydia had to keep DJ from climbing the walls while he waited for Don to get home. The boy was so excited about having his dad all to himself for four hours that he was beside himself with joy and anxiety.
He asked his mother, “What if I mess something up?”
“It’s a learning process, Deej. You might mess something up,” Lydia told her son.
“What if Dad gets mad?”
“You know how your dad is. He may blow up at you, but he loves you and he’s not going to give up on you if you make some mistakes,” Lydia tried to assure her son.
“What if he…”
“Donald Francis Alexander the Second.” Lydia looked at DJ with those eyes that said, “Pull it together, young man. Everything’s going to be all right.” She wanted to go to him and wrap him in her arms, but she knew she had to stop treating him like a baby. He was almost a teenager. She had to learn to love him from a distance, or he’d always cling to her in times of stress, trouble and/or crisis. She wanted him to know she would be there for him always, but she needed him to understand that his own two feet were solidly planted without her propping him up.
DJ looked at his mother and gave her a steadfast nod. He wanted her to know he was going to be brave. What did…
