Called Bluff

Me Mom is always anxious for lunch when we're out on Sundays. Sometimes just for fun, when asked if we're going to eat, I'll throw out an outlandish suggestion. "I know a place where the bread is fresh and the water's cold," is a frequent response which gets the cold shoulder. "I can get that at home," she'll say.

Yesterday she wanted to know where and when we'd eat. "There's a Chinese place I know. We can get octopus." I presumed she would scoff derisively.

"That sounds just fine," she unexpectedly replied. Turning to look at me with a big grin on her face she demanded, "Now what are you going to do?"

She called my playful bluff perfectly. Pointing off to the right I said, properly cowed, "I believe we'll just go to that McDonald's there."

"That'll work too," she responded triumphantly. Mom knows how to get her way.