We spent the day together, just him and me.
We frolicked in the cold outside. Looking at birds in the trees, playing in the sandbox at the park, pretending to be dogs and cows, never kicking a ball, and then late in the afternoon sitting at the counter having hot chocolate at the nearby cafe.
Gabriel wore his soccer outfit with peach-colored leggings underneath with pink and yellow sneakers. Mix and match, with a pastel scarf tied around his neck and a grey stocking hat, pulled over his eyes. I don't know how he could see. Chelsea wasn't feeling well this day, so I think he dressed himself as a darling ragamuffin.
We went to the cafe to have a drink and waited for his dad to pick him up. Gabriel was timid to sit at the counter, I thought about putting him on my lap, but I was nervous about the hot chocolate spilling, so I stood by him instead. The melted chocolate was served in a cup, and a silver creamer had hot foamed milk to add. Gabriel did it himself and never spilled a drop. What charm.
When his dad arrived, we went to say our goodbyes. I bent down on my knees to hug Gabriel; seeing he was sad, I asked what the matter was. He said, holding back tears, "I love you and don't want you to go." He buried his head into my neck, and we held close.
And there, in the pathway to the cafe, with people coming and going, we shared a hug that lasted an eternity. I closed my eyes and soaked every bit of it in.
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