When he left work he made a bee line for the clothes shop before catching the train.
On the train home, sitting with his new jumper in a bag on his lap, he thought about his mother. He was really pleased with it. It was just what he wanted. She knew he was going to buy one and he’d show it to her as soon as he got home. Staring out of the window, his mind meandered back in time, to another jumper. It was one that he had really hated. He remembered how coarse the wool was and how it scratched him whenever he wore it, and how it made him itch. He remembered how it became so bad that he complained about it. He said that he didn’t want to wear it any more. She had got really annoyed. Told him how much it had cost. He was sent to his room early that night.
That night… how he had laid in bed feeling so angry. How he had waited until it was well past midnight, before climbing out of his window, making his way across to the nearby woods, building a small fire and dropping his jumper into the flames. That night, he had seen it as such an adventure! He can remember getting back into bed, laying there, wondering how long it would take before she missed it? He remembered… it didn’t take long.
He thought about it now. It was so wrong and wilful. He wasn’t proud of it. Would she remember? Of course she would! She’s his mother. Thank goodness for a mother’s love.