Birthday's and Growing-up

Flash Fiction

Birthdays and Growing Up

Dad and Gina had wandered through the whole store. Gina needed a birthday present for a friend’s party. The party was today; she’d forgotten about it.

“OK, I guess this is good,” she held up a very lovely coin bank. As she handed it to Dad, he looked at the cost and almost choked.

“Are you kidding?” he exploded, “This cost fifty-seven bucks!”

“Well, it’s nice…”

“And so are many other things you picked up, you hardly even know Ellen. I think it’s time for you to start paying for things yourself. You get a hefty allowance every week.”

“But I’ve spent it all! I need a present today!”

“Well, if it’s important, I’ll pay for it. But you will pay me back. You won’t get you’re allowance again until this money has been repaid to me.”

“What?!?”

“You’re not a child anymore. You need to start learning things. Money is not something you just spread around. You need to earn it, and you need to use it wisely.”

“Dad! So, I won’t get any allowance for a long time if I get this for Ellen’s birthday?”

“Exactly…”

“What if I get something cheaper?”

“Then you’ll get your allowance faster… I’ll give you twenty bucks, today’s allowance. You buy what you find, and the rest is your allowance this week. Deal?”

“Deal!”

“I’ll wait in the car.”

Finally, she came out with a bag.

“So, what’d you get for Ellen?”

“Cookies! I’ll wrap them up in paper and ribbons! Ellen loves cookies! And only five bucks for giant ones! I wish I had time to make some myself…’

Dad was a tad confused, but went along with it.

Twenty years later, Gina had her own TV show, she called “Cookie Crumbles” Dad, of course, always took the credit.