I was at the local hardware store with my dad, looking at saws. My dad(who was the 'fun' parent) put two quarters in my hand and whispered in my ear, "Daughter, go pick yourself out a candy bar. Here's fifty cents to pay for it. Don't tell your mother".
I ran up to the counter and picked out a snickers bar. I had never had a candy bar before and I was super excited about it. I had seen my friends eat them and knew it was supposed to be the best candy bar out there.
As I approached the counter, I froze. The man behind the counter looked so tall and scary. I had never been allowed to buy something by myself and I didn't know what to do. As he turned to speak to someone, I slipped the money in my pocket. I ran back to where my dad was and opened the candy bar and took a bite. It was so good!
As we left, I realized that I had forgotten to tell my dad that I didn't pay for the candy bar. The man behind the counter didn't seem to notice.
When we got into the station wagon, I pretended to be looking for something and slipped the two quarters underneath the carpet in the backseat.
As we drove home, I tried to figure out a way to dispose of the two quarters without being found out. We weren't allowed to be in the garage unless we were in the car, and I knew I couldn't move them when my parents were in the car. I was terrified they would find the quarters and know they were supposed to be meant for that candy bar.
For the next three years, I was nervous every time we rode in that car.
When my mom put groceries in the backseat every week, I almost made myself sick worrying that she would find the quarters. When we went to Grandma's, I was scared one of my cousins would peek in the car, spot the money, and alert my parents.
I wasn't allowed to have money or to know anything about it(yes, I was VERY sheltered) so it didn't occur to me that my parents would just assume they had found a misplaced quarter if they found one of them. I was convinced they would know it was me who hid the quarters in the car.
A few weeks after I turned nine, my mom came home driving a different car. A few days after that, an older couple came and looked at it and took it for a test drive. They handed my dad a handful of bills and he gave them the keys.
As they drove away, I breathed a silent sigh of relief. At last I was free of those two quarters, and nobody would ever find out I was a thief.
2 comments:
That perfectly describes the guilt of childhood!
You know.... I'm 35 and I still have never told my dad that I didn't pay for that candy bar.
I have a feeling if I told him he would go to Orschelens(the hardware store) and give them fifty cents.
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