I was equal parts embarrassed and impressed.
My 10-year-old son Augie and one of his best mates, Luc, have pulled off the scam of the year.
We flew to Sydney to visit one of my best friends of 30 years, who is also Luc’s mum.
It is very cool that our sons love each other as much as we do: two generations of friendship.
I only hope they do not get up to the mischief my friend and I did in our early 20s.
Anyway, back to our tiny fugitives … Luc and Augie had a sleepover in my hotel room while dressed in their matching red pyjamas and white, hotel-branded free slippers.
There were strict rules: “You cannot eat or drink anything from the minibar as it costs millions of dollars and you cannot order room service.”
But in the morning, I woke to find a note scrawled next to my bed from Augie that read: “Luc and I gone to breakfast buffet.”
I stumbled down to the fancy restaurant and, to my horror and amusement, found two little guys, in their red pyjamas and white slippers and with crazy ‘bed hair’, sitting with a pile of plates around them and their iPad, watching a movie.
In the busy hotel restaurant, I walked up to them and said, “Boys! How did you get in here and why did they let you in?”
Augie turned on his charm offensive and said, “We just said Mumma was having a mental health morning in bed because she drank too many margaritas last night.”
I could have died on the spot.
I marched those boys out of the buffet.
It turns out they ate 12 donuts, had four bowls of Fruit Loops and pocketed two croissants.
Not a bad effort, boys.
As I checked out the next day, my face turned red as I was told the buffet adventure set me back $120.
Augie has agreed to double his household chores for one month to pay back his little debt.
I came home this week to find him putting out the bins, wearing (you guessed it) red PJs and those free hotel slippers.
Maybe it’s his way of saying: ‘It was totally worth it, Mum.
Sami Muirhead is a radio announcer, blogger and commentator. For more from Sami, tune into Mix FM. The opinions expressed are those of the author. These are not the views of Sunshine Coast News publishers.
