We get to Mystic on Friday and walk around the town. On Saturday, Matt and Malachi take an overnight trip to get the van. They ride the Amtrak train down to Baltimore and then get a bus to Annapolis. It’s raining all day so Joshua and I stay on the boat. He watches a movie while I clean up and have some time to myself. The rain finally stops at around 5 pm and we walk into town. We stop at the bookstore and then go to the playground. He drags me off a bench and insists I play Lava Monster with him (a glorified game of tag). I’m surprised how fast he is and then even more surprised when spectators start cheering for him throughout our entire game. I have no choice but to lose gracefully. This is why adults just sit on benches at playgrounds – so as not to make spectacles of themselves in public.
On Sunday the weather still doesn’t look great so I explore indoor options. My phone map shows the Aquarium is an hour’s walk away. I run this by Joshua who says, “I don’t mind walking for an hour.” “Really?” I say, “Are you sure you can last that long?” “Sure,” he says. Before our outing, we walk into town. Five minutes into the walk, Joshua says it’s taking forever and can’t we please stop because of how tired he is and how much longer until we get there. A cab to the aquarium is only about $15 so I immediately take the ‘walk’ option off the table. They have an excellent Titanic exhibit and I read him the detailed ship’s log of what happened in the hours before it sank (‘that’s so sad,’ he says). We see penguins, dolphins, birds, frogs, seals, etc. Joshua is thrilled when a Beluga whale stops near him at the tank. He is so fond of all animals that, when a crab he fished out of the marina pinched him, he told me, “Mom, I think that’s how he shows affection.”
Matt and Malachi arrive in the late afternoon with the van and meet us at Old Mystic Village, a short walk from the aquarium. There is confusion and miscommunication about where to meet so the evening starts off on a sour note. Later that night Matt crawls over me to get into his side of the berth and I say something snarky about how I changed the sheets and perhaps he should shower. He responds by saying, “Huh, I see you’re wearing your Bitch Cape.” “What?” I say, shocked. “Your Bitch Cape,” he says. “Usually you just have it slung over one shoulder but tonight you’ve got it all the way on.” I am so stunned and find it so funny that I burst out laughing. “Where did you get that line?” I ask. He says he made it up. I cannot help but be impressed. It is my new favorite phrase when I’m in a bad mood. I briefly consider getting a glittery gold cape with a large cursive B on it. Sadly, there just isn’t space on the boat for it.