plastic monkeys

i went to the lake a few months ago with carmen and my parents, just before carmen left for africa. my mom had these plastic monkeys that sit on the rim of your cocktail that i had never seen before, and she was utterly astonished that i said so.

"you've never seen these plastic monkeys?"

her disbelief bordered on disdain.

"we used to love these monkeys when we were little. we would get so excited if we got one on our drink."

"um, well mom, no. i've never seen these plastic monkeys. i think i would remember."

on the way home from the lake, i would find a red monkey in the hidden pocket of my purse. a few hours later while unpacking, i would find a green one at the bottom of my bag. a blue one at the bottom of the leftovers she had packed for us. and a few weeks later, after carmen had left, i found the orange one in my makeup bag.

it's hard to say what makes my mom do things like this. i imagine that she really tickled herself by hiding a full set of plastic monkeys in my luggage. i can't think about it without getting a little tickled myself. she always gets a bigger kick out of her jokes than anyone else does.