The Work Of Angels? Maybe Not!

My hand, holding a flesh coloured piece of plastic material.

I had to stay home and finish up some work while Joe and Mike drove up to pick up the girls who were to spend the weekend with us. Luckily, I was just finishing when I heard the key in the lock and turned to see Joe come through the door. I didn't see anyone else and as I was about to ask where everyone was, I was 'hug attacked' from behind by two little stealthy girls who had sneaked up behind my wheelchair. They love startling me like this and, though I should be, I'm never used to it and my 'startle response' always provides ample reinforcement for their prank!

The evening was a really pleasant one. We reviewed the options for the weekends and gave the girls a chance for input as to what they'd like to do. All seemed good with the plan: build a volcano out of a volcano kit; colour some eggs from an egg colouring kit; get a manicure; go to the museum; go shopping for a magic 8 ball and practise ball room dancing. Doing homework was something, the girls figured, that they could fit in somewhere along the way.

I always am the first off to bed and I wished them all a good night and headed off to bed. I thought I saw the girls glance at each other conspiratorially but put it down to a simple misreading - they are angels after all. I lay in bed reading for a few minutes and heard the tinkle of laughter coming from the living room. The ball room dancing had begun and I missed, as Joe breathlessly informed me when he came to bed, Joe's turns around the dance floor polka after polka after polka.

Lights off. I'm snuggling into my pillow and I reach up to pull up the blankets and I feel something shift or move on my neck. I tentatively touched it and I found something warm and a bit damp at the end of my fingertips and before I could prod it to see what it was, it came off in my fingers. I dropped it in shock and it fell off and into the bed. I was up like a shot, wide awake, what the hell just happened. Is my skin just falling off? Had my ear been torn off and landed on my neck? I snapped on the light, my heart pounding, and I found a piece of flesh coloured Plasticine kind of material laying innocently on the sheets.

The girls, or one of them, had stuck it to the side of my neck when they hugged me on arrival. I put it on the side table, shut off the light and fell back into bed.

The next morning, I said nothing.

Then just before going out I called everyone together and said, "I have a story to tell." Ruby and Sadie sat on my front room chair, Ruby on the arm and Sadie peeking over the top. I told them about two angels who came to visit, with tinkly laughter and charming smiles. I talked about going to bed and snuggling in. When I mentioned touching the thing on my neck, the girls, fell about laughing, it was hard to finish the story. Both were wiping tears from their face and then bursting in laughter again.

When we were at the Royal Ontario Museum, Ruby pulled me over to see a statue of the King of Hell:

Statue of Yanluo, King of Hell, in a fighting pose and looking angry.

She said, "Know why he's so mad? It's because he had Plasticine on his neck all night."

HBH (Ha Bloody Ha)

The long con.

The girls have now developed the patience and skill to go for the long con.

We're doomed!