"No, dear. It's too far."
Too far. Far too far.
"Did you say something to me, Richard?"
"No. I was talking to the tree. I'm the Spaceman and he's the Martian. But he doesn't want to be the Martian!"
Richard plays. Let us play. Let us play.
You're close enough to get into the game, surely. A hundred and fifty feet, maybe. Effective range, fifty feet. Rate of motion? Projected time-interval? Depends on which system you observe it from. Richard has a system.
"He doesn't want to play, Mommie. He wants to see you!"
"You tell that tree your Mommie never sees strangers when Daddy isn't home!"
"I'll make him wait!"
Stoutly your pot-bellied little protector prevents his protective mother from going to pot.