Enough to Go Around
ENOUGH TO GO AROUND – February 18, 2026 – Walnut Creek, California, USA
As soon as the car stopped, four-year-old Jason fought to get out of his seatbelt and booster seat. His favorite playground invitingly sat just outside the car door and Jason could not stand another second of being held back.
“Alright. Slow down,” his mom, Kera, calmly said. “Let me help you.”
After untangling Jason from the seatbelt straps and holding his hand as he jumped to the ground, Kera inspected his hair and face. No matter how she combed and added gel, his reddish-blonde hair sprouted buds that made the top of his head look like a weed clump. Something about the unruly hair made his ears look too big. Kera grabbed a bucket hat from the backseat and pulled it over his head.
“I don’t want you getting sunburned, so keep the hat on.”
Kera clutched her son’s hand as they finally walked toward the city park’s playground area. Jason tugged to make his mom move faster. Whenever they needed a break from being inside their house, they both loved visiting the park built next to a grove of oak trees. The city equipped it with a standard collection of swings, a tube slide, and a climbing tower. Jason’s favorite feature was unique to the park. Someone had built and installed stationary wooden cars with steering wheels and rotating pedals. Although the cars stood still, Jason loved the thrill of pretending to drive.
When they reached a sidewalk marking the beginning of the play area, Jason slipped his hand from his mother’s grasp and ran toward the pretend cars.
“Come back. I’ve got something for you!”
Jason reluctantly returned to his mother and she pulled from her shoulder bag a Ziploc bag filled with orange slices. “Your favorite. You can eat them while you drive.”
Jason eagerly snatched the oranges before turning around and shuffling toward the cars. Kera smiled proudly to herself over providing such a healthy snack, which happened to be one of the few things Jason would eat without constant prodding. She dropped her shoulder bag onto a bench facing the playground and realized she had forgotten her electronic tablet in the car. The tablet contained something she wanted to read so she left her bag on the bench and hurried back to the car.
By the time Kera returned, Jason was sitting inside one of the playground’s pretend wood cars. His hands gripped the steering wheel and he pedaled as if the car was actually moving. The car’s wooden frame was attached to a second car that sat next to it. Another boy was in the second car and also pretend driving. The other boy looked a little older and taller than Jason. He had short, dark hair and wore a bright red soccer jersey.
A wood plank connecting the two cars and served as a kind of shelf. When given a playground snack, Jason liked to place it on the shelf. Kera spotted a Ziploc bag filled with oranges right where she expected it to be. She settled onto the park bench with one eye watching her son and the other on her tablet.
After a minute of vigorous pedaling, Jason reached over and grabbed an orange slice from the bag. He kept one hand on the steering wheel while using the other to hold the orange rind while he bit into the juicy parts. When he was done, he dropped the rind onto the shelf. Without a word or gesture, the boy in the soccer jersey reached into the Ziploc bag and pulled out a slice of his own. After biting through the sweet part, he also returned the orange rind to the shelf.
“What’s that kid doing?” Kera said to herself. “He didn’t even ask if he could have a slice!” Before getting overly upset, Kera added, “They much have talked before I sat down. Jason probably said he could have one. He’s good about sharing.”
Soon after dropping his first rind on the self, the other boy fished into the Ziploc bag and grabbed a second slice. Kera quickly forgot her thoughts about Jason being a good sharer. She scowled.
“One slice is fine, but now that kid is acting like the bag is his. I brought those oranges for Jason. I didn’t plan to feed the whole park.”
As Kera fret, Jason grabbed another orange slice, bit into it, and left the rind on the shelf.
“C’mon Jason, just grab the rest of the bag and put it next to you,” Kera said under her breath. “That other kid looks like he gets plenty of food. He doesn’t need your oranges.”
Jason left the bag where it was and the other kid reached in and grabbed another slice.
“He’s taking advantage of the situation,” Kera thought as she fumed. “Jason probably told him he could have one and now he’s helping himself to the whole bag. I raised my son to be polite and considerate. Too many other parents don’t care about things like that.”
The kid in the soccer jersey was sucking on an orange slice when he waved at a woman sitting on a bench to the right side of the cars. She waved back and returned to reading a book. She had dark hair like the boy and Kera assumed she was his mother.
The woman seemed either unaware or unconcerned with what was happening at the toy cars. Kera studied her from across the playground. The woman looked young and too immature to have a child as old as the boy playing next to Jason. She probably did not live nearby and had accidently arrived at the park. She obviously did not come prepared with a snack for her son. There was a good chance she was from another country and was used to taking advantage of others’ hospitality.
The boy next to Jason reached over and grabbed another orange slice. Kera was tempted to walk over and confront him but she did not want to cause a big scene. What if his mom was confrontational or even violent? Things could get ugly very fast. Kera glared at the dark-haired woman reading her book. Yes, she looked feisty and unreasonable. It was best to ignore things for now. Kera would think of it as a valuable lesson and be more careful during future park visits.
Jason and the other boy continued to trade off pulling orange slices from the Ziploc bag. Kera told herself to stay calm but her heart still raced each time the other boy took a slice that was meant for her son. When there was finally one slice remaining in the bag, of course the other boy grabbed it. He bit through half of it and then passed it to Jason. Without hesitating, Jason chewed through the rest of the slice and drop the orange rind on the shelf between the cars.
When Kera watched Jason put the already bitten slice in his mouth, she automatically stood and wanted to shout a warning about germs. Jason finished the orange slice before she got any words out. Then he stepped out of the car like he was done pretend driving. He collected half of the orange rinds on the shelf and walked them to a nearby garbage can. Then he strolled toward Kera.
As soon as her son was close enough for her to ask questions without the other boy or his mother hearing, Kera began her interrogation.
“Do you know that boy? Have you seen him around here before?”
“No.”
“Did you introduce yourself to him and tell him your name?”
“No.”
“Did you talk to him at all?”
“No.”
“Then why did you let him eat your orange slices?”
“A bee got my oranges. It flew into the bag after you gave them to me. I put them in the garbage.”
“But I saw the oranges next to the pedal car.”
“The boy brought those oranges.”
Kera flinched like she had not heard Jason correctly. “He brought the oranges and you took slices out of his bag?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ask him if you could have them?”
“No.”
“You took someone else’s oranges without asking? Why did you think that was okay?”
“He seemed nice. Like he wanted to share. Most people want to share.”
A horrified look spread over Kera’s face. “But you still need to ask. You don’t take things without asking. Did you at least say thank you?”
“No.”
“Then you should go back over there right now and say thank you.”
“He’s already gone.”
Kera looked over toward the toy cars and the other park bench. The dark-haired boy and his mother had disappeared.
“I don’t know if we can come back here,” Kera said in a quiet voice.
“Why not?”
“You took those oranges without asking or saying thank you. His mother was probably thinking bad things about me. The same things I was thinking about her. But I deserved it. If we came back, I’d be too embarrassed to see her again.”
Jason looked at his mom like she was trying to be funny. “I’ll say think you next time. That boy was nice. He liked sharing.” After staring at the innocent sincerity in her son’s eyes, Kera slowly reconsidered her plan to avoid the park. “Maybe you’re right. From now on we’ll bring extra oranges. And we’ll hope we see that boy and his mom again.”
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