"Mom, I have $300, I have $350!"
"When did you get $300???" I was fully aware of the roughly $50 in his possession stashed around his room (mostly in small change and a few dollar bills).
"I'll show you Mom, it's right here..."
Then he quickly disappears into his bedroom and reemerges just as quickly with a little leather change purse.
"That's not big enough for $300" I tell him.
"Look, they say $100 and I have 3 of them."
It was dark on the stairs as I tried to examine the coins he handed me...I knew they didn't look familiar and I had no idea where he had gotten them.
"Where did you get these?"
I knew something was fishy when he started stalling...
"Who did you get these from?"
"Umm..."
"Who did you steal these from???"
Despite his best efforts, his face collapses into a guilty grin...
"From the neighbor boy you had over the other day?"
"No, I found them on our hike this morning, on the side of the trail..."
"You didn't have pockets"
"I picked them up while we were waiting for you (and Quarter-pint) and put them in my pack..."
I'm not buying his story at all, and it's just about this time that I recognize the coins for what they really are...
"You stole these from Dad's car!"
"Yes!" He can barely get the word out because of the laughing that's just begun in earnest.
"These aren't money...these are car wash tokens..."
Now we're both laughing...pretty hard.
"Oh... (laughing)...I thought I was RICH!!!...(more laughing) don't tell Dad...."
We both disintegrated into giggles until Dad heard us and finally sent Half-pint to bed.
I was looking at the one in Spanish---in the dim light---no wonder it took me so long to figure out what it was!
