I've been spending a lot of time sitting on the short couch since my Unfortunate HospitVALzation. It has two cushions. The right side cushion is piled with a couple square pillows we don't use. They match the couches. My gambling purse sits perched atop these pillows. Before our casino trip on Tuesday, I was counting through my casino bankroll, and changing out some bigger bills for twenties. Farmer H is my moneychanger. He likes to use the bigger bills, but takes in a lot of smaller ones at his Storage Unit Store.
Thursday night, as I was shifting around to get more comfortable on the short couch, my hand went down between the cushions. Huh. I felt something. Paper. What could THAT be? I don't have wrappers on the couch. It wasn't a birthday card, of which I have several under the pillows. I pulled out that paper, and saw...
THREE TWENTY DOLLAR BILLS!
Sweet Gummi Mary! I hit the jackpot! Where did THAT come from? Did I drop it when counting my money? Not sure. I knew how much I handed Farmer H, and how much he gave me back. All was accounted for. Maybe I had laid it down on my negligible lap while counting. I sometimes have an odd couple bills in a small pocket of my gambling purse, for buying scratchers on the way home.
Wait a minute! The Pony said he sits on the short couch in the morning before work, putting on his shoes. Maybe that money fell out of The Pony's jacket pocket. Although I don't know if he carries money in his jacket pocket.
Friday evening, I asked The Pony if he'd recently lost anything.
"I don't know. Like what?"
"I found three twenties in the crack between the cushions on the short couch! I don't know if they're mine from my gambling purse, or if you might have dropped them out of a pocket."
"I don't think it's mine. I don't usually carry money in my pocket. But I DO have twenties laying all around. Like on the coffee table, in that little tub that you gave me so it wouldn't be scattered all over. And I DO sit there in the mornings to tie my shoes. But I don't know that I've lost any money."
"I feel bad for keeping it. Even though it might be mine. I can give you ONE of the twenties."
"You don't have to. I don't know if it's mine. But I'll take it if you want to give it to me."
So I gave The Pony a twenty, and kept the other two for myself. It's a terrible problem to have...
Who knows how long it was there before you found it? Any one of you could have lost it months ago. It was nice of you to share with The Pony.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure it was recent. I've been sitting there a lot since I can't get down to my OPC (Old People Chair). My hand slips between the cushions, and I usually end up flipping the little zipper on the cushion so it doesn't hurt my hand. Nothing has been between the cushions until that money.
I shared, because The Pony is so careless with his cash all over the house. I'd hate to think that I took $60 of his hard-earned money. $40 is acceptable, though!
Finders Keepers! I was hanging laundry on the line when the twins worked at the Olive Garden. Jeff was in the kitchen, but Jill was a server. As I was hanging her uniform pants two twenties fell out. I felt no guilt whatsoever about pocketing that cash! I told them that they should empty their pockets BEFORE putting clothes in the hamper. I suppose it was 20 years later when I confessed this to Jill. She stuck her hand out for the money! I reminded her that she was a frequent "borrower" who was known to forget about her debts!
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteAs the laundress, you were entitled! Farmer H is quick to get reimbursement from The Pony for items such as the pair of chairs for Pony House. The Pony has no objection to paying, but is lackadaisical about the timeline. Farmer H asked three times in an hour to get his chair money.