The sweetest thing

Fri, 15 Aug 2003 19:40:00 +0000

It all began when my brother entered the fourth grade. His new school let out too late for our carpool to the suburbs, so he had to take the city bus. One day he came home carrying a Bubble Burger. The Bubble Burger was a pioneer in the less-than-inspiring category of bubble gum shaped like real-world objects. I was still in the third grade, and I looked at Eric's Bubble Burger with wonder.

"Where did you get it?"

"In a little store called Alban Towers," he said nonchalantly, as if we'd had the freedom to buy whatever candy we wanted every day of our lives.

"How much did it cost?"

"A quarter," he said with his mouth stuffed.

"Will you get me one?"

"Sure."

The next day Eric brought me my first Bubble Burger. I chewed it, probably swallowed it (I always found the concept of gum frustrating), and plopped six allowance quarters down on his rug.

"You want six?"

"Yes," I said. Eric shrugged. It wasn't a total surprise. I had been stealing his Halloween candy for years.

I continued to supply Eric with money for Bubble Burgers until a thought occurred to me.

"At Alban Towers," I asked him, "do they have other kinds of candy?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course they do."

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The sweetest thing