What follows is a piece inspired by the prompt over at Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner. The key elements were the photo below, the opening sentence/phrase and no more than 200 words.
The Fine Art of Negotiation – 145 words
Nothing is ever as easy as it looks, I thought, watching my son Sam’s face turn red and then a shiny plum almost the color of an eggplant.
“You…can’t…throw…away…my…barn!” he cried between heaving sobs.
I started by commiserating: “Sweetheart, I understand how hard it is to say goodbye to an old toy.”
I appealed to his mature almost-six-year-old self: “Honey, you’re too grown up to play with that barn.”
I attempted reason: “Little one, just think of the room you’ll have for other toys you play with more.”
Eventually, I resorted to bargaining: “Baby, if we throw away the barn, I’ll buy you a new toy.”
Sam hugged the barn. He sniffled. He looked up at me with betrayal in his eyes.
“Okay, fine. Keep the barn,” I said, sneaking a broken firetruck into the trash bag.
It’s amazing what parents can get away with bargaining, loved it, the last sentence put a smile on my face.
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Thanks for the visit! I had no idea negotiation skills were required for parenting, but I’m learning! 🙂
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My daughter still has most of her baby toys because she keeps insisting that she can still use them to play. She argues her case very convincingly, as well (her most recent argument: ‘They are now toys for my friend the baby dragon.’). Lovely story 🙂
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That sounds very familiar! We just did the big room-cleaning adventure, so this was fresh in mind. I managed to sneak a handful of broken toys away, but I mostly conceded defeat!
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Even the broken ones can be special… Well told!
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Ha! Nicer than my parents sneaking in when I was asleep and throwing away old toys. I’m still angry! 🙂 I love this story.
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I’m guilty of waiting until the kids go to school and throwing things away, so I’m afraid I’m not any better than your parents! In my defense, my kids never notice the things are gone. I only sneak away what they won’t miss anyway! 🙂
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Ha! I don’t blame you.
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