Page 62 of Pity Present
I point to a chair next to them. “Do you mind if I join you?” I sit down before they can tell me no. “We’re working on adding things to the gift shop that guests might like, and I wonder if you have any suggestions.”
Francie looks totally hassled by my presence, so I am determined to leave quickly. “I haven’t been into the gift shop yet,” she says.
Ward explains, “We’ve been pretty busy since we got here.”
Ben, who looks like he’d like nothing more than to take a nap, briefly perks up and asks, “Do they have any stuffed animals?”
“I don’t think so,” I tell him. “Is that something you’d like them to carry?”
“I left my stuffed beaver at home,” he says sadly. “I don’t sleep good without him.”
I immediately write down his request before asking, “What else do you like about home that you wish they had here?”
“Earbuds,” he says before explaining, “I fall asleep with music but my parents like quiet.”
I write down earbuds before asking Ward and Francie, “Would you mind if I borrowed Ben for a few minutes?” I point across the hall. “I’d love to take him into the gift shop and see if he has any more ideas.”
Ben’s parents look at each other in surprise. “I work here,” I remind them. “I’m not a creeper.”
Francie laughs. “You don’t look like one.” Then she asks Ben, “Would you like to go to the gift shop with Molly?”
His interest is immediate. “Yes!”
“We’ll be here when you’re done,” Ward tells him.
I reach my hand out to Ben, and he takes it easily. As we walk away, I ask him, “How old are you, Ben?”
“Almost seven,” he says.
“That’s a big number,” I tell him. “Have you started losing any teeth?”
He shakes his head. “But I have a loose one.”
“That’ll be exciting when the tooth fairy comes,” I tell him. “My tooth fairy used to give me a whole dollar when I lost a tooth.” Ben starts to giggle, so I ask, “Why is that funny?”
Between snickers, he tells me, “You must be from the olden days like my parents. The tooth fairy gives my friends five dollars.”
“Five dollars?” I feign shock like this is an ungodly amount. “What in the world would you do with that kind of money?”
Ben grows serious before saying, “I’m saving to buy my parents a present.”
Squeezing his hand, I tell him, “You’re a sweet kid, Ben. What do you want to buy for them?”
“I want to hire someone to take a great family picture of us. I want to put it in a nice frame.”
“I bet you’ll be able to do just that after you lose a bunch of teeth.”
His eyes fill with unshed tears. “I don’t have time to lose a bunch of teeth.”
I feel a sharp pain in my heart when I realize what he’s saying. “How about if I take some pictures of you and your parents and then I can order a frame for you to put one in?”
He looks up, surprised. “You’d do that for me?”
“I sure would,” I tell him. That’s when it occurs to me that picture frames might be a nice touch in the gift shop. I make a mental note to add that to my list.
As soon as we walk into the shop, Ben starts to look around. After a few minutes, he says, “My parents like to do puzzles at night. Maybe you could sell some of those.” That’s actually a brilliant idea.
“Anything else?” I ask him.
