Two bucks -- or 20

Dad asked if I'd stop at the bank and get some cash. The next day I left him two $20s on the kitchen counter.

We've been so busy, and he works such long hours, that we never talked about the 40 bucks on the counter. That's typical for us.

I noticed the money was gone when I woke up at 6:30 the next morning (he was already off to work) so that was that.

When he came home that night, he asked, "Did you have a chance to get to the bank?"

I started looking frantically through the piles that inevitably form on every kitchen surface. Dug through the bills, homework, junk mail, newspapers, edited pages of my latest project. Still no money.

Mo's been interested in money lately, especially when it comes to padding his piggy bank (remember Valentine's Day?). So I asked if he'd taken the 40 bucks on the counter.

"Nope," he said immediately. But then he paused and I could see him thinking hard. "Well, I did take two dollars off the counter yesterday."

We trailed him to his piggy bank and sure enough, he'd stuffed two $20s - or as Mo saw it, two dollar bills - right on top.