The Tooth Fairy
I was around six when it happened. The tooth had been loose for a long time but I made the mistake of telling my Mother. I was the first born so every milestone in my childhood was the first for the family. She persuaded me to let her stick her finger in my mouth to test how loose it really was.
“Why, that’s almost ready to fall out!” she exclaimed. “Just let me pull it out. The tooth fairy will come if you put it under your pillow and leave a dime!”
I was very skeptical. It still hurt when I wiggled it. It would also bleed a little. That didn’t matter; she was relentless in her pursuit. Finally she came up with a plan I could buy into. She would open a door and position me on a stool so I could reach the edge of the door to shut it. Then she would tie a string on the door knob and then to my tooth. All I had to do then was slam the door and the tooth would come flying out of my mouth and I would have a whole dime. I could buy an Ice cream with that much money the next time we went to town! My greed got the best of me.
Mom busied herself with finding the string and cutting it to just the right length and positioning the stool just right. I sat down on the stool just as she said I should. I was so preoccupied with her tying the string to the doorknob and then to my tooth I didn’t notice my younger brother taking it all in from a few feet away. I love my brother, but my way of showing it was to pick on him constantly. I was much bigger than him and I used that to my advantage all the time.
“MOMMY, he’s bugging me!” Or just letting go with a Mom-curdling scream to get me in hot water, was his best defense. I was never smart enough to just leave him alone.
It might have been the time I threw his little red wagon in the wood stove, or held his head under the covers, or punched him in the arm till he bruised, or any number of things I’d done in the name of love that I have long since forgotten. Whatever the reason, or compilation of reasons, I saw a blur out of the corner of my eye as soon as Mommy stepped back. The door slammed and my tooth went flying out of my head just as promised only I didn’t shut the door!
It took a moment for it to sink in. I put my tongue in the empty place that used to be occupied by my tooth. I tasted the copper taste of the blood in now the empty cavity. The light went on! Richard had thrown caution to the wind and pulled his big brother’s tooth! I came off that stool with fire in my eyes ready to do him grievous bodily harm! But once again Mommy stood in between me and my vigilante justice! She physically restrained me till my little teapot quit boiling. She kept reminding me about the ice cream and that shiny dime till I relaxed. He was saved by the tooth fairy! I’d been bested again. When would I ever learn!
Loved it!