The Jar
Jeremy strained on the tips of his toes, trying his hardest to see over the counter to the shelf that held the jar. Mr. Adams stood behind the cash register finishing up with another customer, his smile plastered firmly in place, and his crisp green apron tied primly around his waist.
"Can I help you young man?" asked Mr. Adams in his kindliest voice. His tone belied the look on his face as the proprietor scowled down at the diminutive four year old.
"I was just trying to see the jar better, Mr. Adams" said Jeremy brightly.
"Were you now? Well why don't you walk around to the back and take a closer look?" said Mr. Adams, his face relaxing into an amused look seen often inside the confines of his store.
Jeremy walked slowly around the end of the counter and to the base of the shelf that held the enormous jar filled with pinto beans. His jaw dropped as he stared at the contents of the jar, his mind swirling in an attempt to come up with a number.
Above the jar there was a sign posted which read: "Guess the number of beans and any item in the store is free (One guess per customer please)." Jeremy couldn't read yet, but he knew what it said because his mom had told him so.
"Well son, how many beans do you think are in that jar?" said Mr. Adams.
"Eleventeen hundred an forty seventeen" said little Jeremy proudly, his smile exposing the gaps where his baby teeth had been.
"That many?" said Mr. Adams to the accompaniment of laughter from the other side of the counter.
It seemed that their spirited exchange had drawn a crowd, and as Jeremy turned he saw his mother and older brother standing there among the onlookers. His mother smiled and shook her head in a knowing fashion, but his brother pointed and laughed loudly."
"Eleventeen hundred and forty seventeen?" said his ten year old brother Colin, "What a dummy!"
His mother gave Colin a stern glare, then looked back toward Jeremy, and held out her right hand to him. "Come here Jeremy, we can't have you bothering Mr. Adams. He's a busy man."
"That's alright Sarah," said Mr. Adams, "I'm never too busy to help a child."
Jeremy stomped his feet loudly and walked back to his mother, his face flushed brightly as he paused to give his brother an angry look. "You'll see, I'm right." He said, "It is too that many, and you'll be sorry when I'm riding around on my new bike!" Jeremy was referring to the shiny new red Schwinn racer that was displayed in the window of the store.
Jeremy's family could never afford something as extravagant as a bicycle for their children. They had to be content to play on homemade swings, and spend their free time between chores with games of hide and seek, and swimming in the pond behind their simple house.
Jeremy held his mother's hand as they walked toward the door, and when she stopped to look at a pretty dress that was displayed he closed his eyes and imagined himself riding on his new bike. It didn't matter to him that the bicycle was far too big for him. In his mind he could see himself jumping over ruts and sliding sideways, throwing a cloud of dirt over his brother.
"Hey Jeremy, wake up!" said Colin, "It's not time for bed yet, it's only eleventeen thirty. Ha, Ha, Ha."
Jeremy opened his eyes and gave Colin another withering look as his mother sighed and tore her gaze from the dress she was admiring.
"That will be enough, Colin." She said as she gripped Jeremy's hand and led them from the store. "Jeremy has a right to dream just like you do, and I seem to remember when you were having trouble with your numbers as well. Which reminds me, did you ever finish that math homework?"
The rest of the walk home was spent in idle chatter about how nice the day was, and what it would be like to win the prize. Oh, to be able to have anything in the store you wanted! Colin said he would pick the pocket knife with the buckhorn handle which was under glass in the display case by the fishing gear. His mom knew there was no danger of that because he had already made his guess and it had proven to be incorrect. Not that she would have allowed him to have a knife anyway.
Since there was no mystery as to what Jeremy wanted, Sarah took her turn at the wishing game. "I think I'd get you both a new pair of shoes." she said.
"That's no fair mom," said Colin, "The sign says you only get one item."
"Then I guess I'd have to get the new shoes for my favorite son." she said with a smile, "Let's see; whose turn is it this week?"
"Oh mom," said Colin "Everyone knows that I'm your favorite."
They all laughed because this was a game they played often. During serious times she would always assure them that she loved them equally and thought of them both as the most precious of gifts.
Later that night after dinner, the events of the day were discussed, and the boys once again brought up the subject of the jar and the contest. Their father sat listening silently, tired from his day in the field and the preparation for the annual harvest. He somewhat regretted his inability to provide all that his family desired, but knew that he and his wife were providing a good foundation for their sons.
"So, Jeremy," his father said from his seat on the end of the table, "What was that number again?"
"Eleventeen hundred and forty seventeen" said Jeremy with relish.
Colin snickered softly, but his father seemed not to notice.
He opened the drawer of the table where they sat and brought out a small tablet and a pencil. "Why don't you write that number down for me?" he said with a smile.
Jeremy took the tablet and the pencil and wrote the numbers; 11,417 on the paper.
"That's better" said his father, "Eleven thousand, four hundred seventeen. I would call that a very good guess." The remainder of the night was spent talking about numbers and some of the other subjects that Jeremy would be learning about soon. He was scheduled to begin school next fall. He couldn't wait for the leaves to start changing so he could finally be able to say he was a big boy by joining his friends in class.
The next day, Jeremy and Colin got permission to go back to the store so that Jeremy could offer his guess of the number of beans in the jar. Jeremy had the paper with the chosen number folded in his pocket. He had laid awake the night before, looking at the scrap of paper in the faint light of the moon, and dreamed once more about the bike that he was sure would soon be his.
When they got to the store, Colin went straight to the glass display to gawk at his beloved knife. Jeremy retrieved the wrinkled yellow paper from his jeans pocket and approached Mr. Adams who was stacking cans of corn on one of the shelves in an aisle near the back.
Mr. Adams saw Jeremy coming from the corner of his eye, and remembering their encounter of the day before, turned to greet him. "Good morning Jeremy, how are you doing today?"
Jeremy held out the paper and in a confident voice said, "I wrote down the number and came down here with my brother to get my prize."
Mr. Adams laughed good naturedly and took it from the little boy's hand. He opened up the stained and wrinkled piece of paper and read the number written there. He was silent for a moment before a wide smile appeared on his face and he laughed once more, raising his eyes to the ceiling.
"Let's go take a look." Mr. Adams said, "Come with me please." By now Mr. Adams and Jeremy had attracted the attention of the other customers, who were drawn to the counter where Mr. Adams led the small boy. Sliding the jar to the left, Mr. Adams uncovered a piece of paper that had been hidden beneath the jar since it had been placed there. He picked up the paper and held it up for all to see. There on the paper was the number 11,417.
"Jeremy wins," declared Mr. Adams, "Eleventeen hundred and forty seventeen!"
The store erupted in laughter and jubilation as customers came up to Jeremy to congratulate him and ask him what he was going to choose for his prize.
With a serious face he informed many of them that the real number was eleven thousand, four hundred seventeen.
Jeremy went to the display window accompanied by Colin, who walked as if in a daze, astounded at his brother's good fortune. Jeremy gazed at the object of his obsession with eager eyes and a smile so wide it made his face hurt.
*
Sarah looked out the screen door of the porch and wondered what was taking her sons so long to get back from the store. She trusted Colin to take care of his brother, but a mother's worry would not be silenced. She removed her apron, placed it on its hook, and put on her only hat to shade her head from the late morning sun. Sarah opened the screen door and set off in the direction of town to retrieve her children.
Before long she saw them off in the distance, walking toward her. Colin had his arm around Jeremy's shoulder who was struggling with a package wrapped in brown paper.
"That's odd," she said to herself, "they didn't have any money to buy anything."
When they finally met beneath the shade of a large oak tree, Jeremy held out the package to his mother.
"Guess what mom, I won!" said Jeremy
Although delighted at the news, Sarah was confused about the package. "If you won, where is your new bike?"
"Aw, that old bike was too big for me anyway, so I picked something else. Open it up and see what I got." He said
Sarah broke the string that tied the package and opened the paper to find the dress she had been admiring the day before, as well as a very nice pair of matching shoes in exactly her size.
"Mr. Adams threw in the shoes as a gift" said Colin
Sarah placed the package carefully on the ground and dropped to her knees before her sons. Tears of pride streamed from her eyes as she enveloped them in her arms, and the realization that her and her husband's efforts were paying off flooded her with a sense of joy and contentment.
"I love you mom." said Jeremy.
"Me too." said Colin.
Sarah released her grasp on her treasured sons and picked up the package as she stood. "That was very generous of you." she said to Jeremy. "Come on; let's go show your dad!" She bent down and tweaked Jeremy's nose, facing him from a distance of a few inches. "And you young man, I love you sixtyteenth more every day."
"Aw mom, cut it out," said Jeremy as they turned to walk back to the house. "Everybody knows that I'm your favorite."
They all laughed and began the short walk back home. In their minds they were all a little more grateful for what they had been given.