"It's bloody ten-fifteen, Iris!" Rena accosted me at the front door of Million Year Picnic, tapping her Spiderman wristwatch. "The kids have been waiting f... Oh my gosh!" She clasped my chin with her thumb and forefinger, seeking out my eyes. "Are you okay? You look awful! Have you gotten any rest over the weekend?" Her nose scrunched. "Have you even showered? And are those... White chocolate stains?" Rena gestured towards my mouth. "I don't understand why you just don't come and live with m—"

"I'm fine. It's fine." I heard myself say as I interrupted my best friend and weaseled out of her pro-wrestler embrace.

I just wasn't ready at all for Rena-firing-squad to accost me. Not right now, when I was in such a foul mood. 

"Sorry. Traffic. Just... Bathroom!" I blurted it all out in a single breath, pushing Rena off of me.

I whooshed up the rickety stairs and barged straight into the first bathroom for customers.

Ceramic urinals and ghastly pee stench informed me it was, in fact, the men's toilet.

Eww!

At least temporarily, it was empty.

No Man's Land.

All I needed was a moment alone with my thoughts.

A moment away from the people and all that crowd that waited for me.

The aimless ten-minute stroll I had taken after surfacing from the underground abyss had not helped.

Wandering the streets, being surrounded by unknown passers-by had forced me to compose myself, instead of letting it all out.

Bad day?

Stop, take a deep breath!

Scream at the top of your lungs until everyone thinks you're bat shit crazy?

I wanted to do it so much.

But I couldn't.

Today wasn't about me.

Today was about the shop.

Even though things were improving, slowly, we needed more storytelling sessions to pay off all of our debts.

This was for Rena. For us both.

"Story... telling?" I almost heard Rena's sobs subside as tiny cogs of the past turned in my head.

"Yes! Why not? We could set it all up right here! On the first floor!" I danced up the rickety wooden stairs. "I mean, don't you just see it? We would place the little multicolored cushions for our tiny customers to sit here." I pointed at the bare parquet. "I could read them stories, from either children's books or even better, from our comics! And the entry fee would be something symbolic! Plus, usually, when the kids come to the store with the parents they will not leave without buying something."

It had all been my idea.

It was a really good idea, too, born from the accidental encounter with the Raining Man way back in late March.

There must be so many cute little bums adorning those multicolored cushions at this moment.

All of them waiting for me to come and tell them a story. 

The soft, droning voices are probably whispering from behind the door: "Where is the storybook lady? Are we at the right time?"

Their sweet tiny hearts ready to smile upon hearing my words.

The corners of my mouth lifted up almost against my own volition.

Grinning Iris looked back at me from the mirror.

And now, it was time for Happy Face Iris to skedaddle before I got the fabulous opportunity to overhear men's extra-interesting urinal talk.

"Hello!" A shoulder-length haired blond cutie, he couldn't have been more than six, shone a toothy grin at me as soon as I stepped out from the Man's Land.

That smile fortified my Happy Face, even if for a split-second, he resembled a little version of a no-longer-mine Jayden.

"Hey, are you the storybook lady?" he added, tugging at the lower part of my Baby Yoda t-shirt.

"Baby Yoda!" the mini Jay-Jay then squeaked in excitement, slamming his tiny Thor cosplay hammer into the wall.

I could almost see his voice booming out of his mouth in a comic book thought bubble.

In all caps, too.

"Storybook lady, I am! And Baby Yoda, it is!" I knelt next to him and tousled his tresses until he whimpered and scampered away to join the overtly-excited group of cushioned toddlers.

Several rounds of tiny hand applauses ensued as I finally hopped onto the small podium.

"Are you ready foooor... Superhero Powers Time?!" I yelled into the audience.

The Powerpoint slides were prepared since Friday; the Monday session had actually been the second one, and that was a good thing. I didn't have to think about it all that much. 

I clicked and clicked, and clicked,  going through soothing, familiar motions.

I ooh-ed and aah-ed, playing the correct soundtracks and special effects when prompted.

It felt good, working. Just talking about different superhero powers.

Focusing.

Not thinking about how my secret superhero power was that I was really really awesome at putting on weight. Quickly.

Not thinking about teary-eyed Jayden begging me not to leave him.

Not thinking about Mr. Ruffles Bunny and his beautiful little daughter who also happened to love Baby Yoda.

Or, for that matter, of his Missus Wife, who had just floated into existence about a mere hour ago.

She'd been there since January, of course. Since many years ago, probably.

What was she like? Beautiful? Smart? Fun?

She just had to be an amazing woman, since a man like him gave her all his love, affection and devotion.

Not a hot mess like me.

The final slide halted. Its left half showed Chris Hemsworth as Thor, zooming on his almond-shaped steel-blue eyes.

Several moms in the audience sighed at the attractive brooding visage and prominent cheekbones.

I had to fight hard to bite back a snicker.

Been there, done that. Not falling for solely physical appearance anymore, ladies!

Immunized to blond hair and Alpha manly looks, I am!

The right half of the screen displayed another Chris, Chris Evans, in his role as Captain America. His jawline and steel buttocks received significantly fewer reactions.

"We have gotten to the end of the session, Superheroes and Superheroines! I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did! So, for our question of the day, I am asking you this: what do these two superheroes have in common? Raise your hand! If you happen to know the correct answer, you will get a very special present from me."

A skinny, ruffle-haired pale little boy wearing glasses in Captain America's red, white and blue costume, clutching the emblematic shield, raised his hand, blushing.

Then he seemed to change his mind since he turned away and hid his head in the bosom of an eye-catching, crimson-haired woman.

I was about to ask for his name when an oncoming  whirlwind interrupted my intervention.

"Thooooooooorrrr!" Mini Jay-Jay rushed over in my direction, bristling with self-confidence, waving his mystical war hammer until he practically collided with me.

"Well, hello again, little ruffian!" I cooed, extending my palm to aid him to get onto my lap if he so wanted.

He pushed my palm away, standing proudly on his own.

"Do you know the answer to my question? Do you know, what is something that Thor and Captain America have in common?"

Mini Jay-Jay shook his head no, but I was not about to leave him without any kind of prize.

"Don't worry! It doesn't matter. I will ask you a different question so we can still make sure you don't leave here unrewarded. Do you know a lot about Thor? Is he your favorite? What's your name?" I sat on the floor, crossing my legs.

"I... am... Thor!" He let out a little lion cub roar. "The mightiest! The strongest! The bestest!"

"Okay, Thor." I giggled back.

So Jayden-ish.

"Listen, let me make a deal with you. If you can answer this one question about your family, I will give you a present. What is your brother's name?"

"Psshhh, that's an easy one!" He rolled his eyes and adjusted his helmet. "Thor's brother's name is Loki!"

"Your answer is... correct!" I clapped my hands. "And as promised, here is your prize!" I handed out an illustrated pop-up to him.

Tiny Thor frowned at it. "What is it?"

"Well, it's a pop-up dinosaur book! What do you say? Wouldn't you like to read that?"

Little Captain America seemed to perk up at the mention of the book at the same time as Thor frowned and crossed his arms in disapproval.

"Dinosaurs are stupid!"

"We'll find you another prize in a moment now as soon as the storytelling is over! But I really need a home for this dinosaur pop-up book! What about you?" I straightened myself up and motioned towards the miniature superhero. Micro Captain America attempted to dive behind his mom's back this time around, but she egged him on and towards the podium with an Oh, he loves dinosaurs exclamation.

There was nothing left for him but to advance towards me, blushing profusely in his adorable shyness.

I scooped him up onto my lap.

"Gotcha!" I giggled as he curled up on my legs and let out a loud sneeze.

The time machine of the sound teleported me back to mid-January and the day of my birthday.

The day I first had seen Him.

The boy's shy disposition, cute ruffled hair, and blushing cheeks reminded me of my Train Man so much.

I grabbed the dinosaur book perched atop the table and handed it to him. His eyes were still closed in shame, but his hand was now patting his newly acquired treasure.

Little Jayden eyed Little Ruffles with disdain. "Only babies sit in laps!"

"Thor, come over here!" A tall, lanky, dark man seated next to the crimson-haired woman called out to him and Thor obeyed, accommodating himself on top of his dad's shoulders to see better, still wearing his indelible frown.

I could almost see the adult versions of the two boys, all grown up.

One would stand out and take what did not belong to him; the other—intelligent, insecure, and shy — would be reluctant to claim his rightful life award.

It had been that selfishness and self-commodity that I disliked so much in Jayden, I realized.

I concentrated on the hero on my lap. "So what's your name? Let me guess. It's Captain America." I smiled encouragingly.

"It's Curtis." He whispered, his eyes still refusing to meet mine, fixated on the long-neck dinosaur image on the booklet cover.

"That's a very beautiful name you've got there, Curtis. You know what? I saw you raise your hand back there, and I bet you know the answer to my first question! What is something Thor and Captain America have in common?"

"They can both lift Mjölnir," he replied.

"Your answer is... correct! They both are able to lift Mjölnir, the Hammer of Thor. And that storybook is more than deserved! Would you mind telling me just this one little thing? Why do you like Captain America?"

Curtis paused for a moment, pushing his square-rimmed glasses higher up on his nose. Then he hopped off my lap.

"I like him because he is nice. He... helps people. He always says: "I am with you... Till the end of the line."

"Those are all good reasons to like him, Curtis." I smiled at the boy, kneeling down to get to his level. "And don't forget one thing. Your superpower, it's being you. No one can do that. No one can be you as well as you can."

He nodded solemnly and ran off to join his mom. As I observed the happy family of four, a smile kept popping up on my lips.