Breakfast with Max

It was a warm spring afternoon and me and some guys from my team were eating a late breakfast at a restaurant celebrating a playoff win in our adult hockey league. One more win this afternoon and we’d be playing for the championship on Sunday. One of the guys had two of his sons along for the meal. I’d gotten to know all of his boys pretty well through the years and kind of watched them grow up before my eyes. Having a handful of nephews the same age as his boys made it easy for me to entertain them in a big group of adults. The kids can get neglected when the team is hanging out, so I make it a point to provide them with some entertainment They always light up when they see I’m there, and we joke around and have a lot of fun together. This day he had his 12 year old son Max, his 9 year old William, and an 11 year old friend named Max as well. The older Max is a very cute kid. The kind you’d see model clothing or haircuts in magazine ads. Short blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a perfect white smile. He carries a hint of baby-fat, but is in no way overweight. A tall athletes body, waiting to mature. His arm is in a sling from a recent hockey injury, but his spirit is good and he’s more than willing to belly-roll at any joke thrown out there. William is a quieter kid, more reserved and intelligent. He was sitting there, working on masterpiece with crayons on the back of a placemat. The other Max I’d never met before. He was an adorable little boy. Longer brown hair tossed messily atop his head in need of a trim. Large ice blue eyes and thin lips on a short and skinny frame. He wore remains of his breakfast across his shirt in a little stain.

Shortly after we were seated I heard the older Max say “this is the guy from my dad’s team I told you about. His name is Danny and he’s really cool.” I smiled to myself feeling good about the approval from a younger audience. I noticed while we were sitting around the table waiting for our food that the younger Max was staring at me quite a bit. Checking out a stranger I guess. The place was very crowded so we waited a long time for our food to arrive and we joked and laughed and drew pictures to pass the time. At one point I drew a picture and the boys leaned in to take a closer look. The younger Max was across the table and got up and stood next to me to get a better view. While standing there he leaned his whole body against my arm. I was delighted but figured he was trying to get in closer to see better. He was standing against me in an oversized hockey jersey, hiding his cute little butt. I wanted a better look and was saddened that I had to imagine what he’d look like in his jeans underneath.