Free Tragic Renewal by Marlina Williams Page A

distracted.”
    “Alright, call me after your date and tell me how it went.”
    “Yeah, right, Mom, like that’s going to happen. Bye, you stubborn old woman.”
    He hung the phone up then set out to search for Grayson.
    “Mr. Grayson where are you little man?” Noah shouted, projecting his voice through their modest home.
    From the floor above he detected a faint response. Noah crept up the stairs, carefully avoiding the creaky spots, ensconced in a game of find the missing kid. When he reached the landing he turned left then tiptoed across the slick hardwood floor in his socked feet.
    He heard a shrill giggle before he spotted Grayson. Grayson, seated at the top of the old laundry shoot, ready to launch down the slick yellow plastic tube.
    “Grayson, don’t you do it, don’t you do it.” Noah’s voice rose with false fear and playful admonishment.
    Noah watched as Grayson’s wild black curls bounced around on his head and a stream of bubbly laughter flowed behind him as he launched from his seat atop the shoot.
    Noah ran to the shoot, shouting and laughing. “No, no, no what am I gonna do without my little man? Oh, please someone save me from this heinous torture.” He yelled in mock agony at the boy’s back as he disappeared from view.
    Grayson’s laughter stopped with a thump then started back up. Tinkling little boy notes sang of boundless child joy. Noah could hear Grayson racing up the stairs then slamming the basement door, ready for another round with the slide monster.
    The slide monster came into being two years ago when Noah’s wife, Debra, left a Dear Noah letter on their kitchen table and disappeared from their lives. A few weeks after her disappearing act, as they were coming to terms with her being gone, an envelope arrived via messenger with divorce papers. Debra didn’t want anything, including visitation rights with her son, her freedom from a life she no longer wanted. Noah granted her the divorce, and they hadn’t heard from her since.
    During the initial weeks the shock and disbelief threatened to overwhelm Noah. His need for an outlet pushed his creative mind into overdrive. With Grayson’s input Noah designed the indoor slide. He ripped out the old laundry shoot and replaced it with a series of enclosed playground slides. The slide’s thick smooth plastic made the perfect ramp for a fast exhilarating ride, longer than any playground slide he’d ever seen. It looked more like it belonged in a water park with its twists and bends. The end of the slide dumped out onto a large mattress set into a foam covered frame.
    Grayson stomped up to Noah with the heavy tread of a kid hopped up on fun. He wrapped his four year old arms around Noah’s legs. “Daddy, come slide with me. It’s sooo much fun.” He stared up at his dad with pleading eyes. A tiny trickle of sweat ran down his face and dampened the neck of his neon green T-shirt.
    Noah, wholly incapable of denying this precious kid any whim he agreed to one trip. “Listen up little dude, one trip only. I have to finish up work for Mr. Danny then we need to go next door to feed the animals.”
    Grayson clapped his hands with excitement. He loved going to feed the animals and there was a mutual adoration between Ziggie and Grayson. So far the boy was the only person the giant dog responded to since Cara’s death. When Noah first met Cara and saw the size of the bear sized beast of a dog he pushed Grayson behind him for protection if the need arose. It was all for naught because Ziggie was an absolute marshmallow for the kid. Ziggie’s reception of Noah was lukewarm at best, but he never showed aggression, but instead a haughty attitude of Noah not quite making the short list of his loved people.
    Noah’s heart ached for Ziggie when he saw the depression clearly evident in the dog’s eyes. He watched the dog walk around the fenced yard and through the empty house in abject dejection. With tail uncurled and hanging between his back