Friday, July 14, 2006

Lemonade Stand, Part 2

The same adorable little dumplings who had the lemonade stand were back out today, in the same spot. The little boy who told me I was pretty was missing, but his friend was there with the same little girl (I'm guessing they're all siblings). They had become a bit more savvy as they grew more experienced in the lemonade business. The bright children had upgraded their lemonade stand to short ironing board and two chairs. One of the chairs held a enormous blue cooler, and the other chair held a cardboard box with a dollar bill and a few coins.

The little girl was standing by the ironing board importantly, while the little boy was speaking into his small radio. He was clutching one of those small radio/ walkie talkies that families use on vacation or on ski trips to communicate.

"Ok, ok!" he screeched, holding down the wrong button. "Do you know what I'm talking about? Mom, do you know what I'm talking about? Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?"

Seeing he was only about five or six, I'm guessing Daddy is a businessman who spends a lot of time on the cell phone. Apparently, the child was on a important conference call and could not take my order.

The little girl hopped up when I pulled over and started to pour my drink. I asked her how much it was, and she told me it was a 25 cents. I gave her 40 cents and asked her what she was saving up for.

"A car," she said. I was surprised, because she didn't look more than six or seven.

"You're saving up for a car?" I said with a smile. "Like a go-cart or a real car?"

"Yea," she said. "One of those. Our other one broke- the batteries died or something so now we need a new one."

I thanked her and got back in my car, the drink splashing all over my lap. She had filled it really high. The little boy was still pouncing around yelling aggrievedly into the phone: "Do you know what I'm talking about? I have a meeting at 2!"

So as I drove home with sticky thighs, I couldn't help smiling. Maybe I should go out there and join them. They've got to me making some good money if they're going to buy a car.

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