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Jase waved Cliff and Cara into his room. He held a finger to his mouth and whispered, “Shhhh.” Once he shut the door, he sat at his desk. They took their customary positions on his twin bed. Cara, the youngest, always curious, asked, “What’s going on?” Jase smiled. “We’re going to rob a bank!” Cliff frowned. “No way!” “Totally serious. Mom’s busy getting ready for the barbecue tomorrow. We can sneak in her room, steal all the change from her piggy bank, head to the store and buy enough candy to keep us happy all summer! Plus, I heard they just stocked those cute gummy kittens Cara wants, and those bubblegum lollipops you want, Cliff. They also have the chocolate guns I want.” Cliff’s eyes narrowed. As the middle child, he always tried to keep them out of trouble, but Jase always had some kind of plan. “That’s just wrong, that pig is too big, Mom loves it and would be really made if we broke it, and we’d never make it to town and back before she noticed we were gone.” Jase raised one finger in the air. “It’s not really wrong. She hasn’t paid us our allowance in months. I checked out the pig already and there’s a stopper at the bottom. We can get the coins out without breaking it. Best of all, we can borrow Dad’s speedboat and get across the lake, buy the candy, and get back in no time.” Cliff shook his head sideways. “No way. We haven’t been paid because she said she’s not doing allowances anymore. She doesn’t ‘owe’ us. Plus, she’d definitely hear the speedboat.” Cara had been imagining eating all her favorite candy, and she really wanted those gummy kitties, so she decided to side with Jase. “We could take the canoe. It’d still be faster than walking or biking around the lake, and Mom wouldn’t hear us.” Cliff frowned. Jase knew they had him. “You don’t have to come with us. You can stay here.” Cliff didn’t like getting in trouble, but even more, he didn’t like being left out. “I guess someone has to make sure you don’t drown yourselves. At least can we all wear life jackets?” Cara nodded. “Yes!” Jase added, “Sure, kid. Though we all swim just fine.” Cliff hated it when Jase called him a kid. They were only one year apart, at eleven and twelve. He wanted one more thing before he agreed. “We’ll put the money back in Mom’s bank when we can?” Jase didn’t really want to do that, but he needed his younger brother to come along. He meant well, but would probably squeal and blow their plan if he was left behind. “Of course. Your birthday’s next week. I’m sure you’ll get some money then.” Cliff realized that meant he’d be funding this candy expedition, but he didn’t really mind that. He usually spent his birthday money on stuff they all shared anyway. In fact, he decided, putting it back would make it more of a loan than a heist. That made him feel better about the whole thing. “Okay.” Jase stood up. “I’ll get the money from the bank and put it in socks that we can stuff in our pockets. Cliff, you look out for Mom and start coughing if she comes up here. Cara, you can help me stuff the socks.” Their robbery of their Mom’s prized piggy bank went smoothly, though the change ended up filling six of their dad’s sweat socks and weighed more than they expected. They decided to go get the candy after lunch, so they’d have the maximum time with their Mom figuring they were amusing themselves at home. Once they ate lunch, when she was busy, she usually didn’t call for them until dinnertime. After lunch, they made a show of going upstairs to play video games, then snuck outside. They walked as fast as they could with the heavy coins in their pockets to the beach to get the canoe. Jase walked the fastest. Jase reached it first and saw that it was padlocked to the wooden frame. It’d never been padlocked before. He was still staring at the lock when his siblings arrived. Cara said, “I guess we could sneak back in and look for the key?” Cliff frowned. “I think we should scrap the plan. All this change might sink the canoe anyway.” Jase scowled. "That's ridiculous. This canoe can hold three adults. I heard Dad say so." Just then, their Mom called out, “Kids! Where are you?” Jase hollered. “It’s a surprise! We’ll be right there!” He looked around and pointed to the white daisies that grew around the fence by the canoe. They all quickly picked a bunch of daisies, then ran back home, going as fast as they could with their socks full of change stuffed in their pockets. Sweet as an angel, Jase presented the first bunch of flowers to his Mom. “We love you, Mom!” She accepted Jase’s floral offering, noting the bulges in his pockets and figuring they'd collected stones or shells on the beach. They weren't supposed to go down there without permission first, but she'd save that talk for another time. Even if she hadn't noticed their stuffed pockets, by Cliff’s guilty facial expression, she would have known that they’d been up to something, but decided to just enjoy the sweet gesture as Cara and Cliff presented their impromptu bouquets. She gave them each a hug. “Thank you so much! I know I’ve been busy getting ready for the barbecue, so I made a batch of brownies just for you. Come on in and have some while they’re still warm from the oven.” The kids ran into the kitchen, thinking their Mom had no idea they'd been misbehaving. After they washed their hands and sat at the table, their Mom served them each a big brownie and then brought them each a glass of milk. As Cliff took his first bite, he said, “This is better than candy anyway.” His Mom furrowed an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t know you wanted candy.” Jase rolled his eyes. “All kids want candy.” “Well, you’ll get some at the barbecue tomorrow.” She looked them each in the eye. “If you behave.” Jase didn’t really want to wait that long, but decided to just enjoy the brownies and stay out of trouble for now. “Okay.” Cara nodded. “We’ll be good!” Cliff smiled, relieved that they hadn’t actually spent any of the money. He’d put his share back right away and hoped his siblings would too. “We will.” Word count 1,146 |
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