Grandma arrived with two compelling arguments.
Two Strong Arguments
Grandma arrived with an ice cream cone and a box of pink shoes.
Molly remained on the sofa with her arms folded. She looked at the shoes, then at the ice cream, then at Grandma.
“Will either of those go home and fetch my picture?” she asked.
Grandma glanced at the cone. A strawberry-coloured drip was already making its way towards her fingers.
“I’m afraid this one hasn’t learned to walk,” she said.
Molly turned back towards the window.
They were visiting Aunt Rose that afternoon for her birthday. Molly had spent the morning drawing a picture to give her: a garden with six enormous flowers, a small house, and a cat who had accidentally become taller than the house.
Now the picture was still at home, on the table by the front door.
The Picture on the Table
“I thought you were cross about leaving your toys,” Grandma said. “You were enjoying your game.”
“I wasn’t cross then.”
Grandma set the shoe box on the coffee table and sat beside her. “When did it start?”
“When I saw the empty seat in the car.”
“The empty seat?”
“My picture was supposed to sit there. I put it by the door so I wouldn’t forget it, but everybody was looking for their coats and keys.”
Grandma remembered the hurried departure. She had found her glasses in her cardigan pocket after asking three people to look for them.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You wanted us to see how important the picture was.”
Molly nodded. “Aunt Rose likes the flowers I draw. She puts them on her fridge.”
“Even the very tall cat?”
“He’s her favourite part.”
Grandma considered the two offerings she had brought. “I may have started these negotiations without knowing what we were negotiating.”
Molly looked at the ice cream again. Another drip had appeared.
A Call and a Melting Cone
“Let’s see what we can do,” Grandma said. She took out her phone and called Grandpa, who was still at the house.
Molly edged closer as the phone rang.
“George? Is there a picture on the table by the front door?”
Grandpa found it beneath a scarf. He was coming to Aunt Rose’s later and could bring it with him.
“Please ask him not to fold it,” Molly said.
Grandma passed on the instruction. Grandpa promised to carry the picture flat.
“And tell him the cat is supposed to be that big.”
Grandma smiled. “He says he wouldn’t dream of making the cat smaller.”
When the call ended, Molly let out a long breath. Grandma handed her a napkin and then the cone.
“You’d better take this,” she said. “I’m losing my grip on the situation.”
Molly caught a drip with the napkin. She took a careful lick, then moved the box of shoes closer with her free hand.
Terms of Agreement
The shoes had silver stars on the sides. Molly touched one with a fingertip.
“Can I try them now?”
“Of course.” Grandma knelt to help loosen the laces, while Molly balanced the cone and slipped her feet into the shoes.
She stood and took three steps across the rug. The shoes made a pleasing little sound on the wooden floor.
“They’re good for walking,” she announced.
“And the ice cream?”
Molly considered it. “Good for waiting.”
Grandma put the empty box aside. “Then I believe we have an agreement.”
“Almost,” Molly said. “Is the ice cream still included?”
“I should think so. You’ve already eaten the top.”
Molly looked down at the cone. “We had to settle that part quickly. It was making a mess of its argument.”
Livora Gracely ♥
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