Chasing Girls and How to Say Thank You

I took Jack to the park this morning. He quickly latched onto a cute older Asian girl who was running around the playground. Maybe it was her speed or the fact she was making funny noises but he wanted to chase her. He announced provocatively, "I'm gonna get you!" and proceeded to chase her around. She was about six or seven, long legged, and way out of his league. Still, it was fun to watch. She would let him get just in reach and then sprint off again. She would lead him to a park bench, sit and wait for him to get there before vaulting off again. Jack didn't seem to tire of the game which, I suppose, bodes well for his future social life in this department.

As I was walking around, I noticed something dark and plastic half buried in the wood shavings near one of the slides. I bent over to pick it up and saw that it was a car key fob, distinctly German in nature (either for a Volkswagen or Audi). It was just the fob and not attached to any other type of key chain. It looked old so I wondered if some parent had given it to their child as a toy.

I asked the first guy I saw if he had his car keys. He said yes and offered, "Wow, someone's gonna need that." I then re-acquired Jack, still in hot pursuit of the Asian girl. She was in the company of her younger sister, who was younger than Jack, and her father.

I walked up to him and asked if he had his car keys. He patted his sweat pants and said no, accompanied by a mild spasm of panic, as I offered him the fob. He took it, said a perfunctory thanks and walked away. It was like I had held the door open for him at the post office and not like I just saved his ass. Granted, he was trying to keep an eye on his younger kid but it doesn't take much to say a more genuine thank you. Some people.