Breaking Sherry
When she was quite sure that her parents weren’t going to come downstairs anymore that night, she quietly opened the cupboard. The bottle of sherry that her mom used for cooking sometimes was at the back of the cupboard. It wasn’t that it tasted good, because to be honest, orange juice mixed with coffee was quite a bit tastier than the cooking sherry. But it was such a nice, warm feeling and she felt completely relaxed after she had a sip or two….or three.
It was only after taking a swig from the bottle that she realized she was having to lift the bottle higher in order to get the liquid to her mouth. In panic she put the bottle on the counter. It was near empty. Only about a tenth of the bottle still had any of the precious sherry in it. This wasn’t going to go unnoticed by her mom. Impossible that her mom would use that much for cooking within a week.
The panic set in. What would she do if her mom found out where the sherry had gone? She thought for a moment and looked around frantically for some other liquid that she could pour into the bottle of sherry as a replacement. Nothing else had a similar color! She looked in the other kitchen cupboards. Nothing. She thought of running away. She might as well if she wanted to avoid the beating she was sure to get from her mom.
Suddenly, the thought struck her. Of course! It was simple and highly believeable. She gathered a few other bottles from the cupboard and held them in her arms. They were all glass bottles. They were sure to break when they hit the floor. She put the bottle of sherry in her arms too.
"I was just looking for the ketchup and accidentally dropped all the bottles! I’m so sorry, mom." She practiced saying it in her head. She smiled at the foolproof plan. With this many liquids and all the glass on the floor, her mom would never know how much sherry there had been in the broken bottle.
She counted to three and dropped them all at once. An amazing crash broke the silence as all the bottle hit the kitchen floor.
She heard her parents door burst open and their feet hurrying down the stairs.
"Sherry, are you all right?" she heard her dad yell.
"What happened, Sherry?" That was her mom.
"I was just looking for the ketchup and accidentally dropped all the bottles. I’m so sorry mom," she tried to say. Sherry hiccuped. "I’m ssssorrry maam," she slurred. Sherry giggled a little bit as her parents came into the kitchen. "I’m sooooorry, mooooom." The words sounded so funny. Sherry wobbled her way to the chair and sat down. Her head was so heavy. But she felt so relaxed. She giggled as her parents looked at each other.
