Grandpa!!!! ( Embarrassment)

After the cashier check our stuff,she requested for payment. Mom turned to grandpa for his card because he had insisted he would pay so I don't think mom actually came with her card today. Grandpa fumbled with the pocket in his coat and gave the cashier what was supposed to be his bank card.

The cashier's face distorted in confusion as she mopped at whatever was in her hand.

“Excuse me Sir but this isn't a bank card.” She said and showed grandpa what he thought was a his bank card. My breath hitched as I mopped at the card in the lady's hand. I swear everyone in the line up…up to twenty people waiting to pay for their goods saw it. I just hoped my eyes weren't deceiving me.

That wasn't any bank card,it was a voters card.

Heavens!

Mom quickly apologized and asked grandpa to bring out his card. We all waited as grandpa fought with his coat for a while. It was just as if the time suddenly stopped moving and our heartbeats resounded in our ears slowly like a warning signal. We truly prayed that grandpa didn't mistakenly took his voters card instead of his bank card. It would be so so humiliating but even with all our hopefulness,reality hit us so bad.

That was what actually happened, grandpa brought his voters card instead of payment card.

Goodness!

It was really embarrassing. Mom was red faced as she apologized to the cashier with an embarrassing smile and asked for few minutes to help him get his card. Pete,not being able to endure the embarrassing situation disappeared into the crowd in a flash. Iyvonne feigned being on call and left too. Aunty Caroline suddenly saw a friend and left too.

Before I knew what was happening,it was only Josh, grandpa,mom and I still stood and endured the stares and little petty embarrassing whispers from the people around us.

My face was covered in embarrassment to the extent I thought a forge had covered my eyes. Everything and everyone around me seemed to be in a blur. Josh was just there mopping at toys on the shelves without any understanding on what was happening and suddenly he blurted out another embarrassment.

“Mom I want this car fixer man,buy it for me.” 

He said and the people around us exchanged glances and smiles with each other. I glared at Josh and he immediately closed his crab. Mom was so embarrassed,well not more than I was because I had already spotted two of my classmates among the crowd with their parents. The thought of being ridiculed at school next academic session tore deep into my bone. I was almost on the verge of tears. I dragged my fluffy snow a little bit down my face in embarrassing.

With no luck in searching for grandpa's bank card,mom smiled again and told the cashier that she would do a transfer immediately with her phone. She searched through her bag and realized that she didn't bring her phone with her. I could remember I saw when she plugged it to a charger before we left home.

Double embarrassment!

Mom gave the cashier another petty smile and apologized again, telling her that her phone wasn't here with her. I swear I could hear giggles all around me. I really wished the group would do me a favor of swallow me right on the spot but my wish was useless.

Out of curiosity to know whether my two classmates were looking,I slowly turned around to glance at there direction and sweet them mopping in my direction too. Phillipa waved at me with a bright smile on her face. I waved back will an awkward smile too.

I turned back to where mom stood before and saw her walking towards aunt Caroline who was in an endless conversation. I guess mom begged her to come and pay for the things with the promise of paying back once we get home because aunt Caroline seemed to be listing all she wanted to do with her money.

I followed their lips movement and saw that mom was telling her that she wasn't with her phone. Aunt Caroline replied with something that looked like 'i don't do family with my money’ before walking back to the cashier. They had to wait a few minutes because someone had already taken our space before making payment.

Immediately aunt Caroline transferred the money to the cashier, I didn't even wait to help in carrying all the stuff to the car and ran out of the mall and went to cry in our car.

Why must Pay of all people be present at this awful hour. The reknown first class gossip in my school at the young age of fourteen!

Why me?

I was sure she would spread the news even before school begins.

I wasn't interested on how we got home but in the next thirty minutes we were at our garage bringing out stuff without a word.  When we walked into the living room, grandpa went straight to the table were his newspaper was and was busy searching for something for a while and brought out his payment card.

Mom touched her forehead in frustration and was about to go into the kitchen when Pete and It walked into the living room like two prodigal son and daughter with their head bowed because they knew what they did was wrong. 

Abandoning their family in times of trouble!

Wow!

I threw a heartfelt glare at both of them and rolled my eyes.

“We are sorry Mom!” They both said in unison in a tiny whisper I could barely hear them.

Mom placed her two hands on her waist,what grandpa called akimbo and glared at them in anger,

“Seriously!” She said in a low dangerous tone.

“How could you…is this how I trained you.” Mom really scolded them real hard while they sulked.

“I had no money mom. How much does dad give me for upkeep,am really broke. What was I supposed to do?” Pete said.

Aunt Caroline smirked and went to sit on one of the couches without a word.

Mom turned to look at Iyvonne too and she shrieked.

“I.. don't look at me like that mom..a girl have got to have money with her and besides,I don't even have up to three hundred dollars to pay,I donated my widows might.” She said and looked away, sulking.

Mom scuffed, “ is that it? Slashed allowance for both of you next month.” She said and walked into the kitchen.

“Wait…what?” Pete screamed in suprise.

He scurried after mom to plead for mercy but Iyvonne didn't even bother. After all,mom would still give her the secret cash for young girls to avoid temptation even if she cut their allowances into two. So the stuff affected only the pitiful Pete.

     Well,later in the day, we all helped out with the decorations together and that helped in reducing the tension. Dad came back earlier than before just to participate too. Later that night,mom made a delicious dinner and we all ate. Slowly,the venomous encounter faded. Aunt Caroline wouldn't stop talking as we ate. She was really funny as she told us funny stories of her and her neighbor, and also about her nasty co-worker who thought she could deal with the crazy aunt Caroline but ended up being dealt with. It was really fun but that didn't swipe away what would happen when school finally resumes.

This would hunt me for a very long time.