"Cameron, would you like to go with
me to pick up some fish and chips for tea tonight?" his dad asked.
Cameron jumped up and down. "Yes,
Daddy, I’d love to go. Can I help carry them home? Can we stop and get
lemonade on the way home? Can we get an extra order of chips? Can I give
the man the money?" he rambled.
"Calm down, laddie. We’ll see about
all that. Grab your jacket and gloves. There’s a nip in the air tonight,"
his dad said. They walked down the hill towards the chip shop.
Double-decker busses rode past, blowing their exhaust into the otherwise
clean air. Cameron coughed. "They’re smelly things, aren’t they?"
Cameron coughed again. "They do
smell, but they’re fun to ride in. Mummy and I went for a ride today. We
sat on the top. I looked out the window. I saw a Scotty dog. It was on a
leash and had a coat on. I laughed."
"Dogs feel the cold too," his dad
smiled. A taxi drove past them. It stopped in front of them and two people
climbed out. They walked into one of the fancy restaurants that lined the
street. "They’ll be spending a lot of money tonight," he mumbled.
"Why don’t we go to that place?"
Cameron asked.
"Would you like to eat octopus and
chopped squid?" his dad responded.
"No, Daddy. That sounds horrible,"
Cameron frowned.
"That’s why we go to the fish and
chip shop. We like that much better!" he explained.
"Well, here we are." He opened the
door and the two walked in.
"It smells lovely in here, Daddy. I
can smell the chips! I want lots of them tonight. I’m starving," Cameron
said. He walked over to the glass windows. Inside were mounds of pieces of
fish, all covered with golden brown batter.
The man behind the counter asked,
"What will it be for you tonight?"
"We’ll have six pieces of haddock,
three large batches of chips, a blood pudding too," Dad said. "Be sure and
give us quite a few packets of vinegar and tomato sauce," he added.
Cameron stood and sniffed the air.
It smelled delicious. His mouth began to water and he was getting hungrier
by the minute. Soon the man came back and handed Cameron’s dad a package,
wrapped in newspaper. "Here’s your vinegar and tomato sauce," he said,
handing him a small bag.
"Let’s hurry home," Cameron said.
"I’m hungry. We don’t even have to stop for lemonade. Can I carry it,
Daddy? I know it’s warm and I want to smell it."
His dad handed him the package.
"Here you go lad."
When they got home, Cameron and his
mum and dad, sat down at the table and ate their tea. Mum fixed them some
hot tea with milk and sugar. Cameron felt warm inside and full. Each chip
tasted delicious and salty. The fish was smothered in vinegar and he
poured tomato sauce all over the chips. "Delicious," he said, wiping his
mouth. He gulped down his tea. "Can we have a sweetie, Mum?"
"Of course, Cameron. Go into the
kitchen and bring through the plate. I put a few things on it for us," his
mum said.
Cameron grabbed the plate. It was
covered with chocolates and pastries and biscuits. He picked one of each.
"That was the best meal I’ve ever had. It was much better than octopus and
chopped up squid," he chuckled. "I’d much rather have fish and chips than
that!"
"Me too," his dad said. "Me too!" |