Half a cup of coffee

This afternoon when I came in from work I noticed I had left a mug, half full of black coffee, on the kitchen table. I was quite surprised, as I rarely leave a coffee unfinished. (I wish I could have written....I rarely leave a mug on the table, but that would be disingenuous.) I should have been suspicious when the coffee took longer to reach my mouth than it normally does but by the time I'd taken a swig of the cold gravy that my husband had left on the table, it was too late.                 It reminded me of the time my brother bit the ear off a chocolate bear and then surprised me by asking me if I wanted to finish it off. I bit off the bear's head.  So who would make brown soap in the shape of a bear? I swallowed it. My brother was not going to have the satisfaction of thinking he'd beaten me. When I was about eight years old, I learned an important lesson about truth,  I had gone to my friend's house for tea and we had macaroni cheese. My Father had always taught us to "eat what's set before you" (Luke 10 verse 8) so I ate the macaroni cheese. I then excused myself from the table, ran upstairs and vomited the meal down the toilet. When I came down, Mrs Simmons said, "Did you enjoy your meal Shirley?" I smiled and said, "Oh yes thank you Mrs Simmons, it was lovely."  About two months later I went round to Katie's house again. Mrs Simmons served the meal. "I've made macaroni cheese for you dear, I remembered it was your favourite."  I ate what was set before me and then rushed off to the bathroom. I don't remember ever accepting an  invitation to Katie Simmons' house after that.  I do however remember, that telling lies can have dreadful consequences.