The old man had one hand in his pocket, jingling coins loudly as he walked into the room. In his other hand he held a small paper bag. His face had a kind but mischievous look. The three children tried to contain their excitement, but their expressions gave them away. Grandpa was home.
“Hi, Grandpa! Is the store closed?”
“Sure is,” he answered them with gleaming eyes. “And we had a few things left over that no one bought today.”
He opened the bag and pulled out three 5TH AVENUE candy bars and three packs of Juicy Fruit gum, giving them one of each. Then he sat down in his big leather armchair, just as he did every day when his grandchildren were visiting. As quietly as possible, he slipped his left hand into his pocket and removed the change, letting it drop into the crevices of the chair.
“Now you all know not to tell Grandma or your Mama about that candy! We’ll all get in trouble if you do. Did you get into your pool today?”
All three had chocolate on their hands and faces by now. The man pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and began cleaning it off of them enough to save the furniture and, hopefully, their clothes.
“Yes, sir!” Scott answered him. “Grandma had a headache today, so Mama brought us a picnic outside. We even played Old Maid on a blanket outside. It was fun!”
The smile remained on the old man’s face, but his eyes changed at the mention of the headache. He guessed his wife had really spent the day in her bedroom crying. Out loud, he said, “You’re great kids. Tomorrow you can come to the store with me for a while. I’m going to check on Grandma now.”
He had barely left the room when they dived for the chair, grabbing up the change. He smiled again as he heard their excited chatter, and went to check on his wife. Again.
