Friday, December 25, 2009

Crenshaw's Gift

Little Ralphie hugs the package to his chest and shakes it back and forth. The contents rattle, a muted clatter-clatter.

"It's so big," he says, smile beaming.

Mom leans over to Dad and lowers her voice to a whisper. "Legos, right?"

Dad shakes his head while Ralphie strips the paper from the large box.

"Well...it's big. Almost as big as the boy." She frowns. "Tinker Toys?"

Head shake.

"Lincoln Logs?"

Head shake.

"All right...I give."

Ralphie yanks open the end of the box. "Whoa..."

Dad smiles. "Remember old man Crenshaw down the street?"

Ralphie tips the box and the contents tumble to the floor in a noisy, off-white pile. The skull, round and empty, falls out last.

Mom frowns and covers her mouth with one hand. "My god..."

"Don't worry honey. I bleached 'em clean." Dad looks at Ralphie. "Careful boy--there's no spare bits in there. A real one-of-a-kind set."

__________


Have a very pulpy Christmas, everyone.

8 comments:

Alan W. Davidson said...

Yea, back at ya.

That's a good father-son bonding moment...nice one!

Anonymous said...

An educational toy. Every boy should have one!

Brendan P. Myers said...

Crenshaw won't be missed. Hope you took care of his big dog too, used to chase us and bite our ankles as we rode our bikes by.

Fox Lee said...

Aww, that's sweet : )

K.C. Shaw said...

lol, awesome! Very educational too. :)

Katey said...

What a thoughtful gift for an inquisitive young man! Hope your present opening was similarly exciting-- but you know, with less of the macabre. :D

Akasha Savage. said...

Love it!

I've always wanted a human skull; to sit on my writing desk! :)

Jamie Eyberg said...

I wanted to get a set for my children but I kept poking 9mm holes in the ribs. I settled for the legos.