My mother broke me from stealing. It’s just as well. I wasn’t any good at it anyway. She was having coffee with her friend, Miss Frankie. I was bored and used my ingenious ruse. “I gotta go to the bathroom.”
Mother warned me. “Okay, but don’t meddle and don’t touch anything!” No wonder I took a wrong turn. She never trusted me. I dawdled as I made my way to the bathroom off Miss Frankie’s bedroom. This was the 1950s. This wasn’t the master bathroom. It was the only bathroom in her Quonset hut with an add on in the back. Delightfully, for me, Miss Frankie was a relaxed housekeeper so I could see a lot without meddling. Clothes and shoes covered the floor. The open closet doors displayed shoe boxes, handbags, dresses, and nighties. I walked around in her red high heels while I surveyed the lipsticks, lotions, scarves, and a hairbrush decorating her dresser. I considered trying her lipstick when I spied an open pack of Dentyne Gum. Immediately, I peeled a piece and popped it in my mouth.
I shed the shoes. Chomping my gum happily, I strolled back in to join Mother and Miss Frankie at coffee. “What is that in your mouth?”
“‘Uh…..gum.”
“Where’d you get it?”
“Uh…I found it….on Miss Frankie’s dresser.”
“You are not allowed to take things. That is stealing. Take it out of your mouth and tell Miss Frankie you’re sorry.”
i took the gooey wad out of my mouth and held it out to Miss Frankie. Reluctantly, she accepted it. “I’m sorry, Miss Frankie.” I’m sure she was, too.
“That’s okay , Honey.
That was the end of my stealing. I have never even wanted to steal again.
Heinous crime! And a confession with an eaten gum. Oops! Heheee!
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I love the title and the story!
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Thanks. Haven’t cared to steal since.
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haha I am sure!
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I swiped a candy bar when I was that age. Had an unquenchable sweet tooth. My big brother ratted me out and I had to go back and apologize to the store owner.
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Wonder if there is a kid anywhere who never swiped something. Thank God for all the good mothers who sent them back to apologize.
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Oh, it was always so tempting to go snooping around in someone’s house especially when you were told not to. So much more fun than sitting around listening to the grown ups talk.
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One of life’s greatest pleasures!
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Thanks so much.
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Thanks.
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Dentyne had such a specific fragrance. You were dead in the water. ☺
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Yep! I didn’t have a prayer.
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Haha… I felt like walking with you in that intriguing bathroom. I think I would have been similar.
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I was set up! It wasn’t my fault.
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Yes, that was a mean trick!!!
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Haaaaa, caught you there. Great disciplinarian
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She caught me a lot!
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Hahaha! I thought it was going to end up being laxative in gum form. LOL!
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I’m glad I didn’t have Ex-lax. I forgot about that laxative gum!
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Hahaha! I thought I remembered that X-Lax had a gum as well as chocolate. Remember the chocolate X-lax?
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Oh, I sampled it. Excuse me, I have to run!
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LOL!!
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So your life of crime was cut short. 😀 — Suzanne
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I could have done a prison memoir!
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You are a quick learner. It would have taken being caught several times for me to finally realize the futility of stealing!
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I didn’t like confessing. After that I just hinted broadly. “Miss Frankie, you have gum on your dresser. Do you want me to get you some?”
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Lesson learnt. I wonder what she would have done if you walked in wearing the lipstick ?!
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I had already gotten caught with lipstick a time or two. That’s all that saved me.
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Ha! A repeat offender 🙂
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Good for Miss Frankie, deflecting you from a life of crime! Cute story ❤️
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Yeah, I look bad in stripes.
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Aww! Is that you in the picture? What a cutie ☺.
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Yep, first grade.
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