Three: Five-Finger Discount
Rebecca was in an exceptionally good mood.
She had sorted through all the due paperwork, gone on a relaxing, child-free grocery run for the upcoming weekend, and the newspaper clipping in her back pocket would make her little girl squeal in delight.
With the key still in the lock, she took in the comforting sight of their apartment.
The evening sun illuminated the clean and spacious living room; the soft gurgle of the waterfall, and an almost ever present rainbow right in front of the window made it look like something from a fairy-tale.
It was a dream come true.
It was home.
The sound of laughter, softened by the closed nursery door, tickled her ears and warmed her heart.
It wasn't just Molly's high-pitched giggles, which she was privileged to hear every day, but also slightly deeper, boyish laughter.
A sound she didn't hear often.
More proof that Kit had grown up too soon; she knew. It had been a necessity, integral to his survival. And although she valued his collected, punctual and attentive demeanor, it saddened her, too.
He never had the chance to be a child, and that time wasn't coming back for him.
She briefly considered stepping back out, letting them play for a few more minutes. But it was getting late, and she knew Kit would want to finish his homework tonight to have the weekend off.
She smiled, thinking of how, every Saturday morning, he would hop along the pier in excitement for his "long visit at Louie's" a.k.a. illegal flying lessons – of which she certainly had no knowledge of whatsoever! And it did her a world of good to see him all chipper and with that excited glint in his eyes. This love for flying he and Baloo shared was something she would never understand.
She softly shook her head with a fond eye-rolling. She didn't have to get it to appreciate the effects it had on him.
It had been weeks since the school had voiced a complaint, and she felt fiercely proud of the boy.
She was also proud of Baloo for handling the whole affair surprisingly well and efficiently, but would rather eat pickles than tell him so – his ego was dangerously big, as it was.
With all this in mind, she gently knocked on the door to announce her arrival.
The nursery was tidy, with only a few toys and a blanket fort to put away later.
"Mommy!" Molly shouted, wrestling out of the fort, eliciting a pained 'Uff!' from her companion, and leaped into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly around the neck. "Did you bring me anything?" the girl asked eagerly, her voice filled with anticipation.
"Later, Pumpkin. Let's eat first; I brought your favorite."
Molly's face lit up with joy. "Whoo hoo, mac and cheese for dinner!"
Meanwhile, Kit struggled with a stubborn sheet entangled around his foot. With a triumphant grin, he finally freed himself and turned his attention to the lady of the house.
"Good evening, Miss Cunningham. Did you find everything you needed?" he asked politely.
"Yes, I did, thank you. And thank you for watching her on such short notice. Did she behave herself?"
A secretive smile played on his lips.
"Absolutely. No problems at all."
His eyes shifted to Molly, who wasn't very successful in muffling her giggles from her place behind her mother.
'The less I know' , Rebecca thought, handing out the money she owed.
He lifted his cap in farewell to her. "Goodbye, Ma'am," he said respectfully, before bowing to Molly with a playful wink. "Milady."
He was almost through the threshold of the door when Rebecca remembered something with a jolt and called out to him.
"Kit, wait!"
She smiled at his confused expression, and held a picture card of a brand new airplane model out to him.
The jaw-drop expression made her laugh.
"Keep up the good work," she said, allowing him to interpret her words however he pleased.
He smiled up at her shyly, thanking her profoundly, before heading home.
Molly had watched the exchange with a knowing little grin. She prided herself on being way more perceptive than people gave her credit for; just how she liked it best.
As she shuffled through the four remaining cards of the set in curiosity, her fingertips grazed the smooth texture, and she felt a faint whisper of excitement.
"When are you gonna give him the other ones?"
Rebecca turned to her daughter, her expression a mix of confusion and surprise at seeing Molly playing with the cards.
"Those were in my purse," she reprimanded, her voice tinged with annoyance.
"No, they were in your inner coat pocket," Molly replied, her voice laced with innocence.
Clutching her coat tightly, Rebecca frowned at her, her mind trying to make sense of the situation. "But I'm still wearing my coat…"
Molly giggled. "I know. Isn't that super fun? I also got this!" she exclaimed, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
Smugly, she held up a thin golden chain with a half-moon pendant, the delicate ornament glinting in the light.
Rebecca's hand moved to her neck, startled to find her new jewelry, indeed, missing. She looked at Molly, her eyes widening in realization. "How… when did you…?"
"When you came in. It's easy when you know what to look for." Molly giggled, her excitement evident.
She was so enraptured by the day's adventure that she didn't pick up on her mother's suspicious tone.
"And who told you what to look for, sweetie?"
"Kit! We went outside, and he showed me. Then he taught me how to…" she tapered off, seeing her mother's angry expression.
"Kit sent you out to pickpocket?!"
Rebecca didn't wait for a reply. She stormed out towards the front door, grumbling about a certain boy and his shady ways. How could he do that to her? She trusted him with her greatest treasure, and he betrayed her like this!
"What? Noooooo!" Molly quickly backpedaled, her little feet moving swiftly as she ran ahead of her mother. With outstretched arms and determination, she blocked the door. "Mommy, no! I wanted to try it, but Kit wouldn't let me! He said it wasn't nice, and Danger Woman would never apo–approve of it!"
Running out of steam fast at the insistent defense of the boy, Rebecca stooped down to be at eye-level with her cub, trying to understand.
"Then what happened? How did you two even come up with this?"
"It was from a book. The new one you gave me last week. Kit read it to me, and I said it was prop-wash because there is no way people won't notice if a thief takes their stuff so easily. How would anyone even know where others kept their stuff?!"
Her tiny face conveyed her conviction and confusion masterfully.
"He laughed and said 'It's not that hard when you know your stuff'," Molly continued, her voice animated, "So I begged him to show me. It was weird. He really didn't want to at first, but when we went to the corner store – and no further, Kit's very strict about that! He pointed things out to me. Like what shapes wallets, pocket-watches and keys made under different layers of clothes. I had never noticed before!"
The pieces slowly came together, thankfully revealing a vastly different picture from what the bearess had expected at first.
"And after that?"
With relief, the girl noticed her mother had calmed down considerately. Just to be sure, she continued to stress her friend's reluctance on the whole matter.
"I wanted Kit to teach me how to take things undetected, even though he kept making excuses. Mommy, I had to beg him for hours! "
The woman chuckled, feeling sorry for the boy-cub. Molly was an expert in getting what she wanted, as she knew all too well.
"Then he finally agreed..." She was the very image of the exhaustion this feat had caused her, leaning heavily against her mother's legs, and mopping the non-existing sweat off her brow in an over-dramatic gesture.
After almost ten seconds, the display ended and her energy returned, causing her eyes to shine with wonder and excitement.
"It was like magic, Mommy! I got to hide things in my pockets, wearing a jacket and whatever else I wanted. Then he asked me something random, like the time or whatever, just real quick! And when he turned around, everything I had on me was in his hands! Just 'Tadaaa!'"
"And then he let you try it?"
"Yup-yup!" Her head bobbed up and down in excitement. "And I'm super good at it! Kit said so!"
Sighing, Rebecca put a gentle hand on the little one's shoulder. "I'm not happy he showed you, even if you begged him to."
Her daughter cocked her head to the side in confusion. "But Mommy, you always say I should learn everything I get the chance to, because one never knows when a skill can become handy."
Proud her daughter had taken at least one of her lessons to heart, Rebecca still winced at how literally the "hand-y" part had ended up.
"Ah, yes… but I don't think pick-pocketing is a skill you will ever need, Honey," Rebecca replied, her voice gentle yet firm.
Molly shrugged.
"Kit isn't in trouble, is he?" she asked, worriedly gnawing on her bottom lip. "It really, really was my idea!"
"Hmm. No," Rebecca decided, glad to have listened to the full story before confronting the boy.
The guilt of her harsh and hasty judgment resonated in her stern tone. "But Molly, you shouldn't have made him show you. He said no, and that was his answer. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Mommy…" The girl-cub possessed the wisdom to look sufficiently chided. She reached for her mother, who readily picked her up in a loving hold as they slowly made their way towards the kitchen. "Oh, by the way, when were you going to tell me they're broadcasting Danger Woman ALL DAY TOMORROW?!"
The bearess raised her eyebrow as she noticed the newspaper clipping in the tiny, honey-colored hand.
"After dinner." Rebecca huffed, dropped her little rascal unceremoniously on the couch, and retrieved the paper she had so craftily picked out of her back pocket.