against the tree to peer down into the foliage. “Are you a kid or what?”
There was no answer. He was now really creeped out. He scrambled back over to the safety of the path as fast as he could go. Then he laughed at himself for feeling scared. Stupid bush. There was no one there. Stupid Alfred. Stupid school.
He walked down the trail the way he’d come, kicking rocks and thinking about all the stupid things that bugged him. Especially the ‘what ifs.’ What if that voice had been the monster of the deep? What if the monster in the refrigerator was waiting to get his mom? What if...?
Kidd ran all the way home and was relieved to see his mother in the kitchen when he got there. She was already starting to make dinner and was rooting about in the refrigerator. Her head, safely attached to the rest of her, emerged as she carried out a carton of eggs and some vegetables. What a relief !
“How was your day, Kidd?” she asked with a warm smile.
“Okay,” he replied as he always did.
“Are you hungry?”
He nodded.
“You can have three cookies.”
Kidd reached up to the cookie jar on the counter and selected three cookies. His mother was busy making dinner and didn’t watch as he picked out the three biggest ones. He always took the biggest ones first, though they all seemed pretty big.
“Are you going out to play?” his mother asked, smiling.
“Naw, going to my room.”
Kidd gave her a quick hug as he passed by.
“Okay,” his mother replied as she prepared dinner. “Thanks for the hug.”
Suddenly he whipped around and gave her another quick hug just to be sure she was fine before he climbed the stairs to his room.
Kidd felt good when he was in the kitchen beside his mother, but as soon as he sat down on the bed in his own room the ‘what ifs’ started in again.
“What if the monster really was in the fridge?”
He ran back down the stairs to check that his mom was okay and then opened the refrigerator door just to be sure there were no monsters inside.
“Kidd, what are you doing?” his mother said, her voice betraying a hint of annoyance that was softened with laughter.
“Looking for monsters,” Kidd replied.
“What a funny boy you can be,” she chuckled. “But I need you to get out from underfoot for a while. Please go look for monsters elsewhere while I’m cooking dinner. I’m sorry I’m so busy now but we can talk later, after dinner, if you want.”
“Okay,” Kidd replied with a sigh.
Walking out into the backyard, he started playing with his toy truck and excavator. He pushed the machines around, making roads in the soft earth, but he wasn’t paying much attention. He kept thinking about the ‘what ifs.’ How could he tell his mom about the ‘what ifs’? Did she ever have ‘what ifs’ when she was a kid? Somehow, Kidd had trouble imagining his mom or his dad ever being kids, they were so grown-up now and so occupied with grownup stuff. The ‘what ifs’ were Kidd’s problem, one he had to deal with himself.
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