“Oh Memere! Look at the fishes!!” My little flea was gazing up at the small aquariums on the counter. She had accompanied me to the pet shop where I buy the food for the dogs and parrot. I stopped beside her, so she turned to look at me, and I still haven’t figured out how her eyes can dance and plead at the same time.
I have to admit it was a pretty sight, little bits of assorted colours flitting around in those glass bowls. She put her hand in mine to pull me closer.
“That one!” she pronounced while pointing. “The pink one. It’s so cute!!”
“Very cute” I agreed, although it’s not a term I would ordinarily use for a goldfish.
“Can I have one? I don’t have any at home.” I seriously thought about buying one until I saw the price of the large aquariums. Oof!
“They’re very expensive, sweetheart. And lots of work to clean. Maybe we better ask Daddy first.” The salesperson advised us there were smaller models on another shelf, and I had no choice but to follow my granddaughter, who was on the lady’s heels, as she led us to said shelf. The hopeful expression was back and I was directing an evil eye at the helpful (?) person, who thankfully got the message.
“But there are no tops for these versions, so if you have cats…”
BINGO!
“Yes Mimi, You have 2 cats. When you are at school and Daddy and Mommy are at work, the cats will see their chance and bye-bye fish!”
It took some convincing, but she finally agreed to wait because maybe Daddy would buy a bigger aquarium eventually so that both fish and cats would be able to coexist in her house safely.
I was belting her into her booster seat when the salesperson, who was loading the dog food into the back of my truck, realized that she had the wrong bag.
“I brought out lamb, but you wanted fish, right?” she asked me. When I agreed, she ran back into the store and emerged with the right kind.
“There you go! This is the fish” She did the exchange and waved goodbye.
We were a few minutes into the ride home when my little flea broke her unusual silence.
“Memere” she asked, her tone worried. “Why did that lady put my little fish in that bag?” It took some self-control to explain the difference between cute little goldfish and what was in the bag without laughing.
You have to love the innocence of a little child, and the way it can make you SMILE. And you know that I’m sharing it with you!
LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC.T
Tales from the Bush in Quebec 