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I reached Central Park’s west entrance and forgot about my worries for a bit when I felt a light breeze around me. It swayed the trees, and the air was cool and refreshing. I found Sean and his son pushing their new bikes across the street from me.
Lucas looked glum, as though he didn’t expect this to be any good. I hadn’t spent too much time worrying about what I’d do to make Sean get along with Lucas, but now, I was starting to suspect I’d taken my task too lightly.
It was a pleasant summer evening, and we were not the only ones out biking.
“No tassels for you either, I see,” Sean announced when he approached me, and I laughed.
Lucas responded to my cheery wave with a short, stiff smile.
“Lucas, this is Chloe. She knows the best bike routes in the park and has very kindly offered to show?—”
“You don’t need to lie. I know why she’s here.”
He followed that statement with an accusing glance at his dad. He knew something was up, and I instantly understood that I wasn’t Lucas’s ally anymore. I was part of the other camp, probably since I’d laughed at his father’s tassels joke.
Sean and I met each other’s gaze over Lucas’s head, and before Sean could correct him, I knelt down to look at Lucas.
“I’ll join you guys only if you don’t mind, Lucas.”
But Lucas was already hopping on his bike and pedaling furiously, as though determined to get away from his father and me.
“Let’s go,” I said, telling Sean that he had to hurry instead of double-checking the air pressure in my tires.
Ten minutes into our ride, Sean and I were trying our best to catch up to Lucas, who was very good at biking. Darting between paths like he’d been riding in Central Park for all of his seven years.
Then, at one point, he suddenly got frustrated with the bike. Getting off for no apparent reason, he tossed it aside on the ground and stomped off. He found a vacant bench and sat down, kicking a stone listlessly.
“Ihatethis bike,” he announced, and I could see Sean not even bother to resist an eye roll at the wordhate.
I gestured to Sean to follow him, and a second later, he sat down next to Lucas.
“Why?” he asked in an aggressive tone.
It was my turn to try to not roll my eyes. If anyone needed proof of their troubled relationship, their tones were enough.
“Because I saw a girl riding the same bike just now. It’s a girl’s bike,” he said, looking disgusted.
Nothing about the red-and-blue bike said anything about gender—I’d picked it, thinking about his love for Spider-Man—but I could see Sean open his mouth to try to change his mind about that. It was going to be futile.
Ten seconds into Sean giving him an explanation about gender, Lucas got up and strode off, leaving Sean alone on the bench.
Going by Sean’s tense set of shoulders, he wasn’t happy with how this evening was going.
I hurried over to Sean and pointed to a white ice cream cart in the distance. “How about we try to soften Lucas up with some ice cream?”
“Good idea,” Sean said, following my gaze. “I’ll get us some cones. You stay with him.”
He took ten steps away from me before I called after him, “Do you know his favorite flavor?”
He looked back at me, stumped.
“I’ll ask Lucas,” I said, and he nodded as I ran up to Lucas, who was kicking stones into the lake.
A minute later, I texted Sean after speaking to Lucas.
Me:Cookies and cream for Lucas, please.
Sean:Thank you. What about you?