Line Please

Most Barnes and Noble stores, in the children’s section, have a little stage area. They use the stage area for Friday night story time, and crafts, and other events. When the stage is not being used for events, most times, you can find kids playing on or around the stage.

The stage is one of Maxfield’s hangouts whenever we go to Barnes and Noble. Much like his father, Maxfield loves being on stage. He may not have anything to say but he enjoys his time in the center of the stage. Sometimes he dances, sometimes he just talks and sometimes he just jumps up and down. Whether he has an audience or not, he has a great stage presence.

Last week at B&N Max had an audience. Seated at a round table, to the right, were four little girls probably between the ages of 5 and 10 reading princess books and such. Just a few feet away, in a little chair designed for kids, sat their mother. Max bounded onto the stage and spun around. The noise he made caught the attention of the girls and he noticed that the youngest girl was watching him.

Max, motivated by the attention, ran from one side to the other, all the while keeping an eye on the girl to make sure she was watching. He waved to the youngest girl and she waved back. Max giggled and hopped up onto the higher raised platform and from behind a column, played peek-a-boo with the girl. She laughed. The older girls looked up from their books to see what was so funny.

Now he had a larger audience. He leapt down. He spun. He waved his arms. He stopped dead center of the stage. Then, like his father, he seemed to struggle with what to do next. He seemed like he was trying to figure out what his next line was.

Then he smiled at the girls.

And then…then he farted.

He farted loud and long. The girls all started giggling. The mother looked up from her book, unaware of what happened, to shush the girls. They pointed at Max and as the mother’s eyes followed their finger she saw Max smiling back at her.

And as if on cue, now that he had another member of the audience, Max farted again.