Vanishing Alley

-4-

    A week had already gone by way too fast! We spent the week settling in and relaxing. Amy and Philip said they'd be there that coming Monday, while Jamie and Sara said they'd be there the last week of July. I looked forward to hanging out with them and thought of telling them about the watch and the story the store owner told us. I mean, I wanted to tell them, but what would they think? We do all have a lot of the same interests in common, so maybe they would find it interesting too. At least I still had time to decide. Speaking of that watch, it had been a week since my family and I went to that antique shop, and I had not been able to forget about it! Not the store... The watch! I imagined that this is how Helen must have felt when she put it away and tried to forget about it. At least I didn't have it with me, but still, I found myself thinking about it, wondering if the story was true, or if either the owner of the store, or the owner of the watch, made it all up. I wanted to ask my parents if they believed the story, but I had a strong feeling of what they were going to say. Still, I was curious to know what they thought.

"Mom, Dad, could I ask you guys something?"

"Sure Sweetie", answered my dad.

"You know you can ask anything," added my mom.

"So, I already know what you're going to think, and say but let me finish before you say anything."

"Ok.", they both promised.

"Ok. You guys remember the story of that watch the owner of the antique store told us."

They both nodded with that 'oh no' expression I was expecting.

"Well, I've been thinking about it, and, well, I'm wondering if somehow, maybe, it could be true. I mean, there have been many people with out-of-this-world stories. I'm not saying I believe them, or even this one, but I'm just... I don't know... Did you believe the story?"

I could see them trying to figure out the nicest way to tell me there is no way it could be true, but I was ready for it. My dad was first.

"Well, Clara, here's the thing. I think it's important to remember that we can't believe everything we hear."

"Honey", my mom was next to share her thoughts on the subject, "you do have an active imagination, which isn't a bad thing. It's just that maybe it makes you want to believe it. So, to answer your question, no, your dad and I don't believe the story is true. We're not sure who we think made it up, but we do think it's a fantasy story."

"Well, for the record, I had a feeling you'd say something like that. Also, to be clear, I never said that I believed the story. I just think about it since it was a really cool story,!And the watch was really nice, wasn't it."

"Yes, it was." My mom agreed, but she also really likes jewellery, especially vintage and antique jewellery.

"If I wanted to go back to the store to buy the watch, if it's still there, would you guys be ok with it?"

"Umm..." My mom thought about it. "I guess if it's not too expensive." She then asked my dad what he thought.

"I agree. As long as you buy it because you want the watch and not for the story."

"Oh yeah, of course. I'd definitely be buying it for the watch.", and a bit because of the story. What would be the harm in buying it for both reasons?, I wondered to myself, but of course I didn't tell my parents that. I think that they already knew though, that the story was part of the reason why I wanted it.

"Ok, you can go get it."

"Great! I'll go after lunch if it's ok."

"Sure, why not." My dad gave me their approval.