Max

David earned a reward of a fish.

It was not lost on David how significant this was. At one point, he exclaimed, "I am so happy to have a fish! A fish is a pet, and I've never had a pet before."

So we went to the pet store and the cute employee really played it up. In a very serious tone, he asked David if he wanted a small fish, a medium fish, or a big fish. Very matter of factly, David replied, "A medium fish." So they pulled a wee gold fish from the middle tank, where the medium fish were held.

I will have to admit that I was wondering how long this fish would last. Sam held in a laugh when the cashier said, "We have a 30 day guarantee on this pet if it doesn't work out." Sam asked, "You mean if it dies?" The cashier replied, "Yes, if it doesn't work out."

On the way home in the car, I wondered what they would say if we returned with a dead fish within 30 minutes of leaving their store. David was in the back seat, holding the water and air filled bag, declaring the name of his fish to be "Max" and every now and then he would give the lucky creature a little squeeze. Through the bag, through the water, his fingers couldn't help but pinch the new pet. He liked the way Max felt when he wriggled.

My other favorite moment in the car was when David put on his sweet sing songy voice that he usually saves for Alina and he said, "Oh, Max! You're so cute and so medium!" Clearly David did not have buyer's remorse over his medium size choice.

Max has lived with us for the last 10 days. David watches him swim from one side of the bowl to the other, and often remarks on how fast Max could swim.

But alas, Max's swimming days are over. David took him out of the water to pet him, and Max doesn't swim anymore. He floats. Then sinks. Then floats again.

I wonder if we should go get back our 15 cents for the 30 day guarantee. Now they're going to have to get technical and define what it means to "not work out." If a fish is removed from the water, does it still fall under the realm of "didn't work out?" 

I guess we could ask to take home another one of Max's medium size playmates as the warranty, but I don't know if I could inflict the fate of four year old curiosity on another tiny fish.

RIP, Max. Here flushes a fish that was truly loved by a little boy.