“Sounds like fun,” Grandpop chuckled. “But the Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower. Christopher Columbus was the guy with the Nemo, the Santa Claus, and the Piñata. That was last month.”

“Aw, you know what I mean!” Grabbing Grandpop’s hand, Manny tried to tug him out of his chair. “C’mon. Let’s go get the stuffin’ stuff.”

After groaning and creaking as granddads often do when getting up out of recliners, Grandpop asked, “How much cash ya’ got, kid?”

“My ‘llowance: a dollar.”

“The Dollar Store it is, then!” Grandpop rattled the keys in his pocket as Manny raced ahead of him out to the garage. Seat belted in, Grandpop backed the car down the driveway. “Already got your piñata, do ya’?”

Manny nodded, his smile stretched into a closed-mouth grin.

“Yer’ gonna’ make me ask, aren’t ya, kid?”

Manny nodded again, eyes dancing with delight.

Stopping at the end of the street, Grandpop turned toward his favorite, and only, grandson. “Okay, kid, what kinda’ piñata are we gonna’ stuff?”

Giggling, Manny slapped his knee just the way he’d learned from Grandpop. “A turkey!”

© 2008 Ric Hardson. Original for CCF. Hardson grants CCF first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).