Our Moment

“Hey, Johnny. Do you like applesauce?”

Johnny was sitting right next to his dad, but his mind was almost 3,000 miles away. Johnny and his dad had gone on an “adventure” to Baja, California, and Johnny got no joy out of it. He would rather be back at home online gaming. He played super smash bros religiously as a Donkey Kong main (as they say in the smash community). Out of all his friends, Johnny was the best, and they all knew it. He would spend hours playing Super Smash Bros on his Nintendo Switch and studying all the game mechanics. Johnny would come home from school and play until the wee hours of the next day, and in the summer, it was almost a 24-hour affair. Sometimes he wouldn’t change clothes and even forgot to eat. He loved it.

As he started to replay those memories in his head, a smile spread across his face.

His dad stood in front of him. “Uh, earth to Johnny! What are you smiling about?”

His dad blocked out the sun that was beaming down, which ended Johnny’s daydream.

“Oh!... Uh, nothing. Just enjoying the sun.” said Johnny.

“Mm-hm. I’ve asked you the same question three times now. Do you like applesauce?”

Johnny held a puzzled expression on his face.

“Applesauce?”

“Yes. Do you like it?”

“I mean, yeah, it’s alright, I guess.”

Johnny’s face was expressionless. He did not want to be outside, he did not want to be on this boat, and he did not want to be out on the water. It was so aggravating because he needed to prepare himself for the next Smash tournament, but instead, his dad was standing over him and asking him about applesauce. Johnny was getting angrier with each passing moment.

“Alright!? Man, you must be crazy. I love this stuff.”

As he said this, he whipped out a Mott’s snack-size cup of applesauce, cinnamon flavor, ripped it open, and gulped it down. Johnny was still annoyed but was slightly impressed with the speed at which his dad drained the small container. Johnny couldn’t bring himself to give his dad the satisfaction, so he just shrugged his shoulders and looked off into the never-ending blue of the ocean. He couldn’t help but imagine the Great Bay arena from Smash Bros. Somewhere he’d much rather be than here.

His dad sighed. “Johnny, what do you like besides Dash Brothers?”

Johnny flashed a look. “It’s Smash Bros, Dad.”

His dad chuckled. “I knew that’d get your attention! So come on, what else do you like?”

Johnny got quiet for a while. He had never been asked what he liked. By anyone really, much less his dad. Then the answer came to him, and it was a shock to both him and his dad.

“I really like to paint,” Johnny said sheepishly.

“Really?”

“Yea, I watch YouTube videos about it when I’m not playing Smash online with the guys.”

Johnny’s dad went silent, and tears were welling up in his eyes. Finally, he walked over to the edge of the boat and leaned on the railing. The sudden emotional reaction put Johnny on edge. His dad was a lobbyist on K street back home, and he rarely ever displayed any emotion besides frustration and anger. Even these spur-of-the-moment trips to San Diego and then to Baja were way out of character. Johnny wasn’t sure how to react, so he just stayed put and stared in the general direction of his dad until he finally broke the silence.

“Your grandad loved to paint.”

Johnny never got to meet his grandad. There were pictures of him throughout their house, but Johnny’s dad never talked about him. All Johnny knew was that he died when his dad was 13 years old and that they were really close. Johnny’s dad continued.

“He did all the paintings at home.”

Johnny was stunned. Whenever he did feel the need to leave his room, he always spent time admiring the paintings. One painting, in particular, looked like the Grand Canyon that he always felt he got lost in. The colors were so vivid, and the canyon's detail made him feel like he was being teleported to Arizona.

“Wow. I didn’t know that,” said Johnny.

His dad turned and smiled at him.

“Whenever he would start painting, he would come to grab me and sit me down in front of a canvas he was about to start on. He’d organize his different brushes, palettes, and paint color all around him. He’d put on an apron to protect his clothes, which it never did, and then pause before he got started. Ole’ dad used to turn at me, smile, wink, and tossed me a snack-size applesauce. I’d watch him paint for hours, even after the applesauce was all gone.”

Once again, Johnny didn’t know how to respond, so he just sat there. This time, however, he felt a little different, and at that moment, he felt a little closer to his dad. Johnny was about to ask his dad a question when the boat began to hit turbulent waters.

The boat swayed back and forth, the sky got dark, and the clouds were grey. Johnny’s dad held himself upright using the boat railing, but it became more difficult with each sway. Luckily, Johnny was sitting and then could quickly get to one of two seatbelts onboard. Then the rain came. Johnny’s dad decided to make a mad dash for the seat, but the rain had already soaked the floor, so he slipped and cut his knee. Finally, he grabbed hold of a seat, pulled himself up into the chair, and strapped in.

A small trickle of blood combined with a raindrop and slid off the boat into the ocean water.

Johnny’s dad was soaked and breathing heavily. “Whew! Flash rain! Didn’t see that coming.”

The rain was beginning to slow, and the water was starting to calm, so the father and son sat beside each other, watching the sky clear. The sun beamed down on the water so bright it was almost blinding to the pair. When the boat settled, Johnny’s dad glanced back to the captain steering the ship, and he gave a thumbs up with a smile.

Johnny’s dad unstrapped himself, walked over to the front of the boat, and looked out into the ocean.

“They say there are sharks in these waters. Great Whites, in fact. I was hoping we’d see at least one today.”

Johnny unstrapped himself from the boat seat and walked to the rail on the left side of the boat. He looked over the edge and scanned the water for sharks until he remembered his question. He was about to ask, but his father spoke first, still scanning for sharks.

“You know these sharks can smell blood from miles away. I’m glad I'm not in the water!” said Johnny’s dad, not realizing his blood was in the ocean.

Johnny smiled, then asked.

“Dad, what’s our applesauce moment?”

His dad turned around and looked at Johnny’s youthful face. He was speechless. Then he smiled and pulled a snack-sized applesauce cup from his pocket.

“You tell me.”

Johnny’s dad tossed over the applesauce cup. Johnny had spent countless hours playing Smash Bros, so his hands were highly dexterous, but he spent minimal time participating in anything physical. So the applesauce cup went over his head and through his hands. The cup rolled under the seats, and Johnny laughed nervously. He then rushed over to obtain the cup from under the chair he was sitting in. It had rolled pretty far, so Johnny had to go prone.

As soon as Johnny went prone, out from the water launched a prehistoric-sized Great White shark biting at the air where Johnny’s head had just been.

“JOHNATHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Everyone on board froze, but Johnny fainted. The shark circled the boat, and Johnny’s dad ran to grab his son so that they could lock themselves in the captain’s quarters. After about two minutes, Johnny came to, and by 30 minutes, they could see the shark swim off. Johnny’s dad hugged his son harder than he had ever done before.

“I can’t believe what just happened,” said Johnny.

“Me neither, but please don’t tell your mother.”

“Sure thing Dad.”

After that harrowing experience, everyone on board wanted the trip to end. So the captain turned the boat around and headed straight for the pier. The captain docked the ship, Johnny’s dad paid him, and they walked down the boardwalk, still reeling from the near-death experience they just had.

“Um, Dad?”

“Yea, son?”

“I think in a strange way you saved my life. If you hadn’t tossed me that cup, I’d be shark food right now.”

“Hm? You know Johnny, I think it was the applesauce.”

Johnny stopped and looked up at his dad.

“Then that could only mean one thing,”

“What’s that, son?”

“It was grandpa. Saving me through the applesauce cup.”

Realization washed over Johnny’s dad like a waterfall, and tears flowed down his face.

Johnny was looking straight ahead. “I wish I had gotten to meet him, but I guess that was our applesauce moment. I want to show you some of my art when we get home.”

“I’d love that.”

“If you play a round of Smash Bros with me.”

Johnny’s dad chuckled. “Sure thing, son. Sure thing.”