Ok, since a couple people were curious, I decided to share a bit. If people like these, I might share a few more as I write them.

This is one of the practice scenes I've been writing for my novel. William is the main character. At the time the novel starts, he's ten years old, but this scene shows a little of what he was like when he was younger and of what his family is like.

They took William to see the Bean when he was five years old. He ran all around the outside, then underneath. He pointed excitedly to his distorted reflection in the mirrored steel, reaching out his hand to feel its smoothness.

Cassandra followed at every step, not just in the way that a mother ought to, to ensure he wouldn't hurt himself or be snatched away, but delighting in the sculpture through his eyes, laughing at his funny faces, giving him encouragement. She told him that the name of the sculpture was Cloud Gate because it reflects the sky high above and the people down below at the same time. She told him that everyone called Cloud Gate the Bean because it looks like one, but that the artist who designed it didn't like that name because it was completely opposite to his artistic vision.

William paused his playing to listen to her carefully. He nodded at the end.

Mothers of two or three children who thought themselves more experienced shook their heads. The boy was just playing at understanding.

John walked up bearing grape, cherry, and lime flavored popsicles and gave William his pick – "Cherry," he said happily – before offering the grape to Cassandra and taking the lime for himself.

"Now, William," he said carefully, as the boy's tongue licked at the frozen treat, "did you know that the shape of the sculpture was inspired by liquid mercury? Mercury is the only element that is both a metal and is a liquid at room temperature. The statue is a solid, but it looks almost like a big drop of liquid, doesn't it?"

William crunched a bite of popsicle and said, "I know elements only have one kind of atom in them, but why isn't mercury like all the other metals, Daddy?"

Now the mothers who had thought that he was only pretending turned to stare.

"Great question, William!" John enthused, and the boy smiled with red stained teeth.

Cassandra caught the looks of the other mothers, and her reaction was to smile as well.

"That's right," she thought, "he talks about elements and atoms, but he still says 'Daddy'."