Member-only story
Superman Lives!
Death was invited. Death sent its regrets.
When my son was in kindergarten, he made his first favorite friend and immediately the two were inseparable. They came from very similar households, but there were differences that made play dates exciting and a little bonkers. Jonah reveled in Zan’s family’s snack drawer and epic LEGO collection. Zan, in turn, sampled my exotic, half-assed cuisine and sat in wordless, wide-eyed amazement though my profanity laced road rages. This first self-selected friendship came with many world-expanding experiences for two little boys with matched curiosity, confidence and imagination. They completely insinuated themselves into each other’s households, which is why it came as absolutely no surprise when Zan’s hermit crab came to live on Jonah’s windowsill.
I was my own fault. I pretty much walked right into it.
“Maybe I’ll get Jonah a hermit crab as a starter pet,” I said to Donna, Zan’s mother, when I dropped him off at her house one afternoon. Like the boys, I had basically wrapped myself around her leg the first day of school and silently begged her never to leave me alone in Mommyland. We’d only known each other for a short time, but I pretended every day like we’d exchanged rings and made vows.
“Have ours,” she responded with what I now realize was zero latency. “His name is Superman.” I’d hardly…