Clara Grace Earns Her Keep

It happened that Clara Grace’s Mommy was not feeling well on Sunday, the twelfth of December, so Clara Grace’s Daddy took the baby along with him to get his tires aligned. “You’ve got a slow leak in your back tire,” the burly mechanic informed him. “You can fix it but it’ll be an extra twenty dollars.” “Well,” Clara Grace’s Daddy shrugged, “I guess we’ll just have to, then.” When the car was brought down from the lift, Clara Grace and her Daddy made their way to the counter to pay. The same mechanic held out his rippling, hairy arms and asked, “Can I hold your baby?” Gazing down at the little girl he remarked, “It’s been twenty-seven years since I’ve held a girl this little. After he handed Clara Grace back to her Daddy he reached for the receipt on the counter and tore it in two. “No charge,” he said, “Thanks for letting me hold the baby.”