To Mom, with Love (and Money)

To Mom, with Love (and Money)

by Lyn Godfrey

“Hey, Dad, I wanna walk to the market and buy Mom some flowers for Valentines, but I don’t have any way to pay for them. Can I have some money?”

“Flowers are expensive, Bobby. Not now, okay.”

Seven-year old Bobby Randolph sighed and nodded. As he walked away from his father, he muttered something about how, one day, after he became a professional dog-trainer, he’d make his own money.

As Mr Randolph finished his morning coffee, Bobby and his Jack Russell Terrier, Otis, started their daily game of what Bobby called “Find and Fetch” where Bobby would point somewhere saying, “Find me something, boy!” and Otis would bring back whatever caught his eye. Mr Randolph shook his head, gathered his coat and briefcase, and waved goodbye to his son on his way out for a business meeting.

When he came home, he noticed Bobby’s backpack by the door, stuffed with a massive bouquet of yellow and pink roses. He removed the flowers, admired the arrangement, and spotted the receipt at the bottom of the back.

The total read $99.47.

“What in the world?!”

Then, Bobby’s father noticed a sticky note on the kitchen counter that read “Change” along with fifty-three cents in coins.

“Bobby, what’s this about?” He yelled toward the boy’s room.

Bouncing into the kitchen with his shoulders squared and chest puffed out, Bobby appeared before his father to explain, with Otis heeling at his side, of course.

“While you were gone, I taught Otis to jump from your bed to the nightstand and then to the top of your dresser. He fetched some money. It was only one bill, but it covered the big bouquet I found at the store just down the street. I guess flowers don’t cost as much as you thought!”

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Lyn Godfrey
Lyn Godfrey is a small-town, American southwestern, book-hoarding, animal-loving kind of girl. She writes in most “genre” genres (including science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, horror, YA) and is a self-described Geek of All Trades. If it’s nerdy, she loves it. Lyn began writing her first book (a Star Wars sequel) at age eleven. She has been making plans to write ever since but is often distracted by reading or looking for shiny things, like spaceships and robots. Her recent short stories are available in various anthologies, including: Ain’t Superstitious, In Memory: A Tribute to Terry Pratchett, Misunderstood, Sproutlings, and UNICORNADO! www.facebook.com/authorlyngodfrey

4 thoughts on “To Mom, with Love (and Money)

  1. Good one! Wouldn’t a seven-year-old know it was a $100 bill, and not to take money without permission? Bobby sounds like Dennis the Menace.

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