It was a sunny, summer day.
My three kids were hanging out in the den watching TV, and I was dancing around them with the Windex and a roll of paper towels. First, I cleaned the front windows. Done. Then, I cleaned the hallway mirror. Happy. Then, I cleaned the coffee table. 'Oh, my! So many little finger prints!' As I cleaned, I spoke to the kids in a loving but firm tone. Whether or not they listened..who really knows? "Please try to keep your grubby little fingers off the glass coffee table. It looks horrible. Look!" I resumed my cleaning spree.
My son asked me to move out of the way. I must have been blocking his TV viewing. Moving away, I plopped into the corner chair and looked around at my beautiful, sparkling clean house. "I am such a good housekeeper!'' This may sound nutty, but I felt that I was on a roll. I wanted to spray and wipe more stuff! Looking around the room for more things that needed dusting, I saw my precious Coca Cola mirror over the couch.
It was a Vintage Coca Cola picture etched upon a mirror. The soft pastel colors depicted the classical Victorian lady, with her boufant, feathered hat holding a glass of bubbly Coke. She's sitting on a Pharmacy stool, wearing her long dress and ankle high, tie-up shoes. I loved that picture. Trying to remember when was the last time I had dusted it, I flipped off my slippers and got on to the couch...Windex in one hand and roll of towels in the other.
My balance was off, and my glass bottle of Windex, which I was holding in my weaker left hand, tapped the mirrored picture just so.. "C-R-A-C-K!!!!!" The kids turned to look, and I, stood frozen like an icicle. A second or two may have passed, before I was able to find my words. "Oh, my God! I can't believe I broke my favorite piece of artwork!" I got off the couch and stared at the picture. From the point of impact, spider web designs had formed.
There was no way the picture could be salvaged. I was so sad. I started to cry. My kids were curious..probably asking themselves 'why was mom crying? She didn't get hurt.' They came around me and hugged me at the waist. I answered their unspoken question. "Mommy's sad because she broke the mirror. Daddy and I have had that mirror for a really long time. It was very special..and now, I've gone and broken it." I took a deep sigh, and added, "Daddy's going to kill me."
As the older 2 returned to their Monster Movie, my youngest told me that everything would be all right and that I shouldn't worry. I stood staring at the destruction I had caused and decided to remove it from the wall. Carefully, I got on the couch once more, this time in solemn remorse, and lowered the Victorian lady holding her Coke.
I didn't know what to do with it. I sat on the couch and thought about it. "If I throw it in the outside garbage, my husband would only go out there, to see how badly it was cracked. He would think that perhaps he could fix it/glue it back to its original beauty. Where should I put it? In the closet? In the hallway? I know! I will place it carefully under the couch. My children watched me, but said nothing; I slowly slid the Victorian lady into her dark tomb, under the couch.
My plan was to tell my husband about it after dinner, when he was relaxing by the TV. I looked at my kids, who had been watching me the entire time, with curious eyes, but decided not to share my plan with them; after all, they had nothing to do with it. The mirror belonged to Dino and to me, and I had regretfully broken it.
Hours passed. The day turned into early evening. The table was set and dinner was almost ready. I glanced at the kitchen clock. He would be home any minute. I heard the car pull into the driveway. I heard his key go into the lock. I heard the the jiggle of his keys as he pushed open the front door. From the kitchen, I looked at him, as he was about to step into the house. He had one foot in and the other was still outside, when I heard..."DADDY! MOMMY BROKE THE COCA COLA MIRROR AND HID IT UNDER THE COUCH!"
Lesson learned: Your kids will be the first to turn you in...so, make sure you include them in the conspiracy or in the cover-up.
Peace.
