One More for the Bank

I spent my allotted time at Ditto pricing infant girls’ clothing while the other women tagged Christmas ornaments and antique dishes. Can’t say it’s a thrill. But there are very much worse ways you could donate your time on a Tuesday afternoon, no matter the season. I left two hours later with a red sweater for El Oso.

When Puck walked out of class, there was a noticeable gap in his corner set of pearlies.

“Did you lose a tooth, Puck?” I asked as he flashed by in his Star Wars backpack and orange sweatshirt.

“Yup! I lost it at lunch!” he continued following his classmates down the hall. “CAN I HAVE A DOLLAR FOR IT?!”

A few minutes later, I learned that he had not only lost the tooth at lunch, but he had literally lost the tooth at lunch. We walked down to the cafeteria to hunt it up. But the zip-locked bag housing his 7th lost tooth had disappeared. Puck wasn’t too disappointed.

“Can I have a dollar now?” he asked as we walked out of the building.

Later in the car, he talked to El Oso over the phone.

“Can I just have the dollar right now, Dad, and not wait till tonight?”

“No, son. You need to wait until tonight.”

“Why though, Dad? I don’t even believe in the Tooth Fairy.”

We walked back in the door half an hour later – cold blast of wind – and Puck’s head was still encircled by dollar signs.

“How about a two-dollar-bill, Mom?”

After a dinner of fish – Puck did not appreciate the lemon garnish that I offered him – it was cold and dark out.

“That does it,” I said finally. “I’m turning up the heat.”

Puck stuck his head out the bathroom door.

“What? It isn’t cold at all. Just some icicles on the ceiling … and ice on the floor.”