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| Story ID: | 1949 |
| Written by: | Kathleene S Baker (bio, link, contact, other stories) |
| Story type: | Story |
| Writers Conference: | $100 Best Inspirational Post Contest |
| Location: | Plano Tx. USA |
| Year: | 1999 |
| Person: | Jeff & The Tooth Fairy |
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THE FORGETFUL TOOTH FAIRY By, Kathleene S. Baker Jeff wiggled it. Then he pushed and pulled on it—and he didn’t stop until he winced in pain. Once the throbbing eased, he repeated the process, day in and day out for a week. Success finally came in math class! The baby tooth popped out, bounced off his desktop and landed at his feet. Sporting a huge smile, he snatched it up and stuffed it into his jean’s pocket. Jeff’s “tooth extraction” was the topic of dinner conversation that evening. “I was tryin’ hard to get that tooth out ‘cause I’m saving up for a new baseball glove,” he told his parents and siblings. “You look really funny with that gap in your mouth! I’d rather have a tooth than an old baseball glove,” taunted his older sister, Maggie. Maggie continued to tease and torment her little brother but Jeff took it all in stride. He planned to go to bed early, tuck the tooth under his pillow, and fall asleep. Come morning, when barely awake, his fingers would crawl under the pillow to see how generous the Tooth Fairy had been. Hopefully, he’d then have enough money to purchase the baseball glove he’d been dreaming about. With dinner finished, the busy clan scattered in all directions; kids retired to their bedrooms to complete homework assignments and Mom cleaned up the kitchen while Dad tackled a stack of bills. Everyone tumbled into bed exhausted from another busy day in a hectic household. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sometime later, Jeff’s mom was on a cleaning frenzy in his cluttered bedroom. She gathered up a stack of loose papers on his desk; one sheet escaped the pile and fluttered to the floor. Mom gasped when she gazed at it! Dear Tooth Fairy Why don’t you ever come and take my tooth? It’s been more than 3 or 4 months. Leave a note to tell me. Jeff О←Tooth (drawing by Jeff) P.S. On Johnny Bravo the Tooth Fairy is a man. Further down the page he had tried communicating with the fairy yet again. Dear Tooth Fairy I’ve lost my tooth! I hope you believe me. Jeff Brosowske A mortified Mother chuckled just prior to her tears gushing. She couldn’t remember exactly when Jeff lost the tooth, although she did recall being exhausted and stressed that evening. Mercy, had it really been several months ago? And, why hadn’t Jeff mentioned such an unusual predicament to his parents? Instead, he had chosen to negotiate with the Tooth Fairy on his own terms and surely he felt dejected! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That evening his parents discussed the dilemma long and hard. Just how bewildered and hurt had their young son been? All childhood fantasies eventually come to an end—but not this way and not at Jeff’s age. They were heartbroken for Jeff, and ashamed of their forgetfulness. A vow was made to never mention finding the letter, although Mom made a copy and placed it in a box of treasured keepsakes. Early the next morning Jeff bounded down the stairs. “Mom, Dad! Mom, Dad… where are you?” “In the kitchen,” Mom called and winked at her husband. Jeff scurried into the kitchen and screeched to a halt. Giggling, he threw his hands into the air and let go—one-dollar bills landed helter-skelter atop the kitchen table. “Have you ever seen so much money? And I thought the Tooth Fairy forgot about me! Now I’m gonna get to buy the best baseball glove ever. I figured I’d be old by the time I had enough money! Yippee…” “Forgot about you?” asked his dad, “why would you think the Tooth Fairy forgot you, son?” “It took that fairy forever to come—I know it was a couple of months! Maybe it’s gettin’ old and can’t get around very fast anymore. Hhhmmm—‘spose they have to get new fairies when the old ones slow down and start forgetting where they are going?” “You might be right, Jeff! And I bet they go through training, too—you know, so burglar alarms won’t sound off in houses at night and scare people,” his Mom countered with a smile. “I wonder if the old Fairy came last night and left this extra money ‘cause I had to wait so long? Or, maybe it was a new one that doesn’t know all the rules yet? Oh, well!” The youngster seemed satisfied that even a Tooth Fairy might have reason to be late—but would always show up sooner or later. Both parents felt their angst begin to ease. After breakfast Jeff and his dad threw on their clothes and headed to the local sporting goods store. Jeff marched directly to the Rawlings glove he’d been yearning for, and paid for it with his wad of one-dollar bills. He immediately slipped the glove on—then skipped circles around his dad all the way back to the car. “That’s a handsome glove, Jeff. We’ll play catch when we get home to help break it in.” Jeff beamed. “I can’t wait! Dad, you know what? It’s not so bad to wait for something you really, really want. If I’d have bought this glove, say…last month, I wouldn’t be all this happy today.” “Jeff, have I ever told you what a wise young man you are?” Dad was proud of his son’s attitude! After thinking for a few moments Jeff answered, “Dad, I think you’re the wisest person I know. So, did I get my wise from you?” Dad reached over and tousled Jeff’s hair…then forced his words around the lump that bulged in his throat. “No, I don’t think so—actually I haven’t been feeling very wise lately at all! As for you being wise—it was definitely a gift from God.” (After raising two adoptive children into their teens, Jeff was born. The Dr. could only say to my close friend, "How'd you do that?" Jeff and was truly a gift from God for a couple that had been told they could never have a child of their own.) ©2007 Kathleene S. Baker Lnstrlady@aol.com www.txyellowrose.com |
