A Whole Car

The lady in front of me dressed like a goat person was eyeing me up and down, making my heart race.

“What?” I nervously choked, not understanding a thing.

“Ah-ha!” She struck a pose, feeling up and down her own body. “It’s ok! You can take a picture all you want, although this wasn’t my best work. I know a fan like you could tell.”

I felt that there must’ve been a misunderstanding, but I had no idea how to stop her rambling.

“Um…”

“Oh man it’s been so long since I’ve met another fan in public, and someone who appreciates the same show too!”

“Excu-“

“This version of her is the absolute best. I love the white gown she wears and how she’s like a cape to the MC, and the introduction at the spirit hotel!”

“H-hello?”

“That part when she sets him on fire and he’s all like, ‘Ahh,’ and goes into this dream. De veras, necesito ver ese episodio de nuevo.”

I was sweating bullets at this point. She obviously was enjoying this, and I didn’t want to ruin that, but at some point, I was gonna get myself dragged into something I’d regret, so I had to put a stop to this.

“M-ma’am…” I tried to grab her attention, but my voice was too weak.

“The animation studio and director they got for that show was absolutely perfect. I’d even say the show was better than the manga, and me personally, I’m more of a manga reader, so that’s saying something, know what I mean?”

She closed the distance and locked eyes with mine, eager for a response.

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about.” I winced, unsure if I made the right choice to shatter her expectations.

“As in?”

“As in, I don’t know whatever this is.” I gestured my hand toward her costume. “I’m not familiar with this cartoon stuff.”

“Anime?”

“Is that what it’s called?”

“You don’t know what anime is?” Her voice quickly began to quaver.

“I’m sorry, but I think it looks cool, the horns and stuff.” I tried to repair any damage I made.

“Ay dios mío, and I was saying all of those things!” She covered her face in embarrassment. “Then why were you taking a picture of me?”

“I was trying to take a picture of my daughter.”

“Your daughter?” She peeked out from her hands. "¡Eso lo empeora! Ay, me siento terrible.”

Those last words were muffled behind her hands, and I didn’t understand a thing that she was saying besides ‘terrible,’ which was all I needed to hear.

“Uh, it’s ok, you look great. Why are you dressed like that here anyways?”

“Look great huh?” She put her hands on her hips and gave me a smug look. “I guess I am a pretty stunning Baph.”

My words must have boosted her confidence so much she forgot what just took place.

“Baph?”

“Baph, from April Fisher, the anime, she’s the companion of the MC who is just so adorable and hilarious! I know it’s probably weird of me, but I ship them so hard. She’s a lot more fair-skinned and doesn’t have these.” She feels her chest. “Kinda wish I could hide the-“

“Ahem!” I interrupted her tangent to avoid things from going too far off-topic.

“Oh-oh right, sorry! That…” She put her hands behind her back and nervously smiled. “My son loves Anime too, so one day when I got a little curious, I tried on some cosplay. It was just for my own fun, but when he saw me all dressed up one day, he just couldn’t help but ask for more of his favorite characters. Now I put in a lot of effort to dress up whenever we have time together.”

“That’s sweet of you. Did he also do any of that cosplay stuff?”

“Oh yes! It’s so cute when he wants to look like his favorite character for Halloween or conventions.”

“Conventions for cosplay?”

“I have a million photos. Here, let me show you!” She reached into her purse and slipped out a phone before crashing down beside me on the bench.

She was squeezed up against my arm, holding out her phone between us so that I could see. I’m a grown man and a father, yet here I was feeling like a virgin teenager with no experience talking to women. It was nostalgic, but also a little stressful. I respectfully put some distance between us, as for all I know she could be married or have a partner, and I didn’t want to cause any trouble.

“Look here, this is when he dressed like this, this was from back in October, and oh-my-gosh I love how this one came out!” She kept swiping through pictures of her son who was also a preschooler.

Each image made me smile and sometimes we’d both chuckle at a funny face her son was making. The costumes were so cute and it made me think of what it’d be like if my daughter ever got in one, she’d probably think it was just as cool as her son does.

“What about your daughter, got any pictures you’d like to share?”

“Of course, I’ve got just as many if not more!” As proud as I was of my daughter, I of course rushed to grab my phone to show.

Opening up the image library I immediately regretted my urgency since the picture of the lady’s butt was the latest I had taken and the first to show up. I immediately pressed the delete button but the image was up long enough for things to get really awkward.

“Sorry, forgot to delete that!” I looked away in embarrassment and so did she.

“It’s ok.” She gave an uneasy snicker.

We both sat still, competing to see who would break the ice.

“Hey,” she tugged at my shirt sleeve. “Those pictures?”

“Right.”

The moment I pulled up the first picture she was surprised. “Your daughter is Imani?”

“Yea.”

“I’ve heard a lot about her from Sammy, today it was something about eating a worm?”

“Oh no, not the worms…” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“There’s always something strange when it’s about Imani.”

“What else has she been doing?”

“I think it was a week ago. Sammy told me that Imani made everyone her servants, and the playground was her castle.”

“And they went along with it?”

“Sammy tried to rebel apparently, got a few on his side, but a majority were loyal to Imani.”

“Why haven’t I heard of this? My daughter is secretly terrorizing the preschool!”

“Oh don’t worry, they all seem to love it, Sammy’s favorite characters are villains so he said he felt super cool.”

“They’re the villains in this scenario?”

“Maybe Imani’s kingdom is a peaceful one.”

“I hope so.”

“Then again, what peaceful ruler threatens their servants with eating worms?”

“I’m so sorry!”

The lady began to laugh and it was so contagious it spread to me almost immediately. We were nearly in tears before we settled down, and when we looked at each other afterward, there was this relieved yet heart-pounding sensation that I haven’t felt in years. I might have fallen in love, but I can’t get too ahead of myself.

The lady took a deep breath to recover. “I never got to ask, what’s your name?

“Carmine, and you?”

“Sofía”

Did we just become friends? It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to someone like this outside of work, and not on this level of intimacy.

My instincts took over and I started to talk smoothly, “That’s a really nice na-oomph!” But was quickly shot down by my daughter slamming into my stomach with a hug.

“Don’t eat my papa!” She warned Sofía.

“What are you saying Imani!?” I struggled for air.

Sofía leered at me. “Eat?”

“You’ll eat my Papa if I don’t watch! She’s a goat papa, she’ll eat anything, like a whole car!”

“A whole car? I don’t know if I could do that, but your papa? Maybe.”

“Noooo!” Imani hugged me tighter.

“Ha-ha!” A boy pointed to Imani in a teasing manner. “My mom’s gonna eat your dad!”

At first, all was fun and games, but things were flipped upside down once I heard Imani begin to cry.

“No, not my papa, anybody but him!” She wailed.

“Woah-woah!” I lifted her up in my arms and wiped at the tears flowing down her cheeks. “She’s not gonna eat me Imani, everything’s fine, she’s not a goat, and it’s just a costume.”

She sniffled and looked back at Sofía. “Costume?”

“Yes, I’m not a goat, and I won’t eat your papa. In fact, we’re friends, right?”

“Yes, Very good friends!” I continued to sway Imani in my arms as she buried her face into my shoulder.

It’s been a long time since I've seen her this upset. A lot of topics are usually careless fun, and she laughs along with it, but I guess when it comes to me being hurt or taken away in some way, that’s a no-no zone. I really am the only family she has, and I need to be careful not to scare her.

“I’m so sorry.” Sofía bowed her head to me and Imani. “Samuel?”

“I’m sorry Mr. Imani’s Dad.” Samuel was deeply remorseful, even on the verge of tears for making Imani upset.

“No need to apologize, it was all just a little confusion.” I reached one hand down to pat Samuel on the head. “And my name is Carmine.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Carmine.”

“I got your message buddy, don’t worry.”

“Come on Sammy, let’s eat now before it gets too cold.” Sofía put her hand on Samuel’s back and gently led him over to their table.

Watching them walk over to eat reminded me of a way to treat Imani.

“Imani.” I rubbed her back.

“Mm?” She whimpered, still with her face down on my shoulder and both her hands tightly gripping my shirt.

“Do you want something to eat?”

“Mhm.”