I used to be
a rule-abiding citizen then, in an act of desperation, I did the unthinkable. I
snuck past the power clad door people at Costco…without my card. Even worse, I
made my son an accessory to the crime.
It all
started out so innocently. I was taking my son to lunch. He wanted pizza. We
drove talking and laughing, unaware that we were on our way to a slippery slope
of criminal choices. We pulled into the
crowded parking lot and found a parking spot.
It was at that exact moment that I remembered that I had seen my Costco
card on my dresser and it all came back to me. I’d taken the card out and
forgotten to put it back in my wallet.
I was in
trouble. My son is teenager and must eat nearly every hour of the day. He had that
look in his eyes. Feed me Seymor,
it said and I knew there was no turning back.
I turned to
my son. “We have two choices, we can go
home or try to sneak into to Costco.”
His eyes
never wavered. He would get his pizza at
all costs. We climbed out of the car,
walking side by side making our plan. We would have carefully and stealthy.
Pizza was at stake.
“Wait until
the guys at the door have a long of carts,” I whispered just loud enough for
him to hear, “When they are distracted, we use the return entrance.” He nodded. He was fully on board with our
criminal activity. In my head, I could
hear the mission impossible music propelling me forward.
We waited
until a screaming child created a distraction, then quickly darted through the
return door and past the receipt checkers. My heart was pounding but no on at
the return desk seemed to notice us slip by.
We were in.
We slowed to a casual stroll. We had no
food, no cart, we had to keep a low profile. After we ordered our pizza and sat
down, my son kept a lookout. What if they’d started random card checks. We had
to watch out backs.
When the
pizza was gone, there was only one thing left to do, get out without being
notice. Again the music in my head.
“Walk with the flow of carts,” I said to my son, “Don’t let em catch
your eye.”
We blended,
carefully maneuvering between carts of food and unnecessary clothes and book.
It was the perfect cover and soon we were breaking out into the sunlight.
On the way
home, we cleaned the greasy evidence from our hands with wet wipes. No one
could ever know about our lawless behavior. Now that you know, you must tell no
one.
That was
last week. I’ve gone straight since then. I have a family to think about and
readers who may or may not respect me.
The question I leave, is what have you had to sneak into…No never mind.
I don’t want to be accountable.
