My Son the Business Man

Aleks owed me about $110 and I asked him to pay up.

"Tell ya what, Mom," says my almost-adult son, head cocked sideways, outstretched sales-guy hand, eyes looking directly into mine. "I have a stack of giftcards on my desk. Probably at least eight. I have no idea how much they're worth, but let's play a game, OK?"

I immediately have a flashback... a family game of Monopoly some years ago when Aleks was maybe seven. "Notice how often I roll doubles?" Aleks asked then. "Tell ya what, guys -- for $2 a roll, I'll roll your dice for you." My parents, husband and brother ALL took Aleks up on his offer! And, even crazier, it turned out to be a win/win for ALL of them! My family, because they did actually begin to see more double rolls (really), and Aleks because... well, I don't even need to go into it.

It started young and here we were again -- Carol and the Businessman.

"Are you offering me said gift cards in lieu of your debt?" I ask. "That is precisely what I'm doing, Carol!" says the Businessman. (The "Carol" instead of "Mom" was effective, I must admit.) "It's a risk for both of us, don't you think? A risk, but kind of exciting, too." I believed Aleks that he had no idea how much all his gift cards were worth, and there was a certain intrigue to the whole thing.

I made myself a deal: if there were more than two Starbucks cards in the lot, he had a deal.

"OK," I relented. "Get the cards and I'll take a look at them. But this action does NOT constitute agreement." Can't be to careful with this guy.

Aleks disappeared and came back with the following cards: three Starbucks cards (bingo!), three Borders cards, and two Target cards. I shuffled the cards in my hands, pondering Aleks' offer and intentionally stalling.

"I dunno... this might be too much of a risk on my part."

"Might be," he agreed, and reached for the cards.

"Then again," I added, pulling the cards back, "It might be a really stupid move on your part.

"Gotcha," he agreed.

(Yes, I do see him as either a bad used car salesman or a brilliant attorney and politician.)

"But I'll take the risk," I offered. "Ya got 'cherself a deal."

"Enjoy, Carol," Aleks says as he turned on his heels and walked off. I swear, I could see the smirk on his face even as he walked away from me.

The next day I just happened to be doing errands -- and there just happened to be a Target, a Starbucks (OK, probably more like SIX Starbucks...), and a Borders within a few blocks of my errands. I held my breath and decided to check my wager: Target cards: 1.): $20 and 2.) $3.81; Starbucks cards: 1.) $0 (oh great...), $8.32 and $25 (yes!); and Borders cards: 1.) $0 (this is not going well...) and 2.) .76 (not well at all!) and 3.) $20.

So I have a deal for y'all. He doesn't turn 18 till November, so I still have jurisdiction and can offer this:

.......

.......

Son for sale. Cheap.

(Just kidding. SOOOO kidding!! Hell, not only do I love this great kid, but I have a feeling I'll need him around for a while.)