The Return of Damien Dagger-Teeth

Yep, it was bound to happen. He couldn't stay away forever, could he? It has been two weeks of blissful, unmolested playtime at the park, playtime free of fear for both Mommy and Collin; but he returned today; little Damien the biter. I expected this day would eventually come. I mean we live in a base housing community that is so small I can literally walk the entire circuit of houses in less than ten minutes and no, I'm not one of those arm pumping fool power-walkers. So, of course he'd return to the park eventually.

When I saw him, I swear my intestines turned to water. I am more afraid of this little boy who is smaller than my cat who, yes, stands on two legs quite often, than I am of a rabid wildebeest. What does that say about me? He came careening towards us, all knees and elbows and if I didn't know that he is capable of drawing blood, I would've thought he was adorable. The other mother, present during "the incident" exchanged a knowing glace with me that even through sunglasses said, "EEEEEEEK!"

My first real thought though, was why isn't his mother closer to him, letting him run off from her like that, leaving all these children vulnerable to attack? Jeesh, like he should be on a leash or a choke chain?! I tried to reign in my evil thoughts and let him play, yards away from Collin.

When he did approach Collin, my sweet boy had obviously forgotten all about his previous encounter with the kid and instead of fear, adopted his usual greeting for people, trees, trucks and oxygen: an emphatic wave. Damien looked at him like he could be a ham sandwich and his mother steered him away. I breathed.

The playgroup went off without any blood drawn until it dwindled to Collin, his little girlfriend, Grace and one other girl, Emma. Damien had wandered off with his mother to another house and we thought them to be gone...until he came scampering through the wide lawn to see Emma on a tricycle, which he decided, en route, that he simply must have.

He approached her like a lion, circling from afar at first and then gingerly touched the handlebars, as if he just wanted to see what the bike could do. Then, he grabbed the hem of her shirt, lifted it as high as he could and leaned over, putting his face against her back. My feet were off the ground in a flash, but not as fast as Damien's mother, who reached the scene before Damien could get his teeth through her skin.

I'm thinking that it will be another few weeks before we see him again. What do you think?