Sometimes it's not just an attempt at saving a bad story...sometimes you actually DO find five dollars!
18. The “And Then I Found $5” Story (March 2013)
The time
was Spring Break. And the place was Florida .
But unlike so many other college students (and spouses) on vacation, Kate and
Mister were not at the beach…or clubs…or even a swimming pool. They had brought
their swimsuits (of course!) and were looking forward to the beach, but for the
moment, and for most of the rest of the evening, they were in a closet.
They had
gone down to Venice where the Miller grandparents used to live, and were
planning on bringing back (by truck) the beautiful dining room set to use just
in time for the Miller clan to arrive the following week. “Thanksgiving
worked,” Kate had reflected as they made plans to go, “but fitting that many
people around our tiny tables was not something I wanted to do again.” The
large dining room table would be a godsend, and the matching white china
cabinet and buffet would certainly be both useful and beautiful in their lovely
light green dining room. But the personal possessions at the Venice home would eventually have to be
sorted through and moved to different homes. Hence, Kate was in a closet,
surrounded by boxes marked with messages like: “Christmas Ribbon”, “Yarn”, and
“Linens” (and sometimes more) all on the same box. She pulled off a dusty lid
and began rummaging through the contents.
Meanwhile,
Mister was roaming through the house, taking pictures of furniture, paintings,
pictures, kitchen appliances, and anything else he could think of that would
interest other family members. He would put the pictures online so that if
people wanted anything he would be able to pack it in the truck and bring it
back to Virginia
for pickup, since everyone was coming a few days after their return.
“How’s it
going?” he called to Kate through the closet door.
“Mph.” Kate
grunted, and then corrected, “just fine!”
Mister came
over to the door, “I hope you’re not standing on that ladder…” he said as he
opened the door. Kate was standing on the ladder with a box on her head. Mister
shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?” he asked.
Kate
grinned, “Kiss me?” she suggested.
The
suggestion was followed and Kate sat down again amidst a new stack of boxes.
“Nothing much interesting in those,” she pointed to a stack. “I found these
super-cute felt, old fashioned shoe ornament thingys,” she held one up. “But I
have no idea what they’re for. Those two boxes do actually have yarn in them,
though, and I’d like to take them, if no one objects.”
She opened
another box, mysteriously labeled, “For kids to go through.” She prepared
herself and pulled off the lid. It was like an antique store in miniature.
There was a soap bar wrapped in plastic, a small decorative box set up like a
Bakery window, a glass angel figurine, cross-stitching thread, a gigantic candle,
tiny glass bowls too small to be reasonably useful for anything, a similarly
diminutive jar-vase-all purpose (no purpose) vessel of some sort…and the list
went on and on. There was a smaller shoebox wedged in the bottom, which she
pulled out and opened. Again, it struck Kate that the assortment of items held
an uncanny resemblance to Mary Poppin’s handbag, though considerably less
useful. But then Kate noticed some crumpled paper lying in the corner of the
shoebox. She unfolded it and stifled a laugh. It was a dollar! Who had stuffed
a crumpled up dollar into a shoebox full of…stuff?
And then, flat and smooth, four more dollars appeared at the bottom of the box.
Kate giggled and pulled the money out.
As Kate and
Mister munched on dinner, Kate drew out the list of items that she had found,
while Mister sat with patient, but glazed eyes. “…and then I found $5!” Kate
ended triumphantly.
“What?!”
Mister replied.
Kate held
up the four crisp bills and the crumpled one. “Five. Dollars.” Kate said.
Mister
laughed and shook his head, “And then you found $5,” he repeated. “Nice! Good story!”  |
| We did, in fact, get to go to the beach. But it was March, and low 70s outside, with a breeze, which "Kate" enjoyed very much. But "Kate" did NOT use the boogie board. |
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