The child's eyes never stopped laughing, her feet never stopped swinging. Her big smile and bright eyes lit up the corner of
the restaurant. She was enjoying have lunch with her Nana and Papa. The young daddy watching her was reminded of his small
daughter at home.
An uncle, who had stopped in for a cup of coffee, watched the
three of them as they laughed their way through lunch. The child's playfulness reminded him of his sister's nephew, who had dubbed him "My favorite uncle."
Everyone returned to their lunch. The two men returned their attention to the child when they heard her Nana tease her, "I'm going to get your nose!"
The little girl grabbed her nose and leaned as far away as possible. After a few minutes of playful teasing, Nana prevailed and triumphantly announced, "I got
it! See? It's right here!"
Laughing so hard she was unable to speak the child finally
choked out, "No, Nana, you don't have my nose. See, it's right
here," and lifted her small hand just enough to show Nana her
nose was still on her face.
"No," Nana said. "Your nose is right here!
See it?"
The young daddy couldn't help himself, "I'll give you a dollar
for that nose!" he called to the child.
"What! Did you hear that? We can sell your nose
for a dollar! I think we should do it. A dollar's a lot of
money," Nana teased.
The little girl looked at the man who had bid a dollar for her nose
and, still laughing and still covering her nose, shook her head and said, "No".
Nana said, "Maybe we should. What do you think?"
"I'll give you five dollars for that nose!" the
Uncle chimed in, wanting to be a part of this bit of playacting.
"Five dollars! O my goodness! We have a bidding
war going on for your nose!"
After a brief pause, Nana continued, "What do you think? Five dollars is a LOT more than a dollar.
You might want to do this."
The little girl was laughing so hard that all she could do was
shake her head "No."
"Five dollars! That's a lot of money." Nana insisted.
Still laughing, the little girl continued to shake her head.
"I don't think this little girl is going to sell
her nose," Nana said as she gave the two men a sorrowful glance.
The restaurant seemed very quiet after the bidding on the child's nose stopped.
The little girl finished her lunch. The young daddy prepared to leave. On his way out, he leaned
into the little girl and said, "I'll still give you a dollar for that
nose!"
Giggling, the little girl shook her head,
"No." Disappointed, the young daddy shook his head sadly, giving the young child a sorrowful look as he trudged sadly away.
As the grandparents and the child were leaving, Nana noticed the Uncle smiling and tapping his nose. "He would still buy your nose if you let him," she whispered to her granddaughter. Her granddaughter quickly put her hand over her nose and shook her head vigorously.
Sighing, Nana told the Uncle, “I just don’t think she’s going to sell her nose!” as they left the restaurant.
The Uncle shook his head and began to plan a trip to California to visit his nephew.
And all was right with the world.
© Gail Truax 3262016
