Coins and People

Trent finished the cardboard sign for his older brother, holding it up to reread it one last time before handing it to him. His brother, Gabriel, looked it over once and propped it up against the wooden table. Stacks of plastic cups and pitchers of lemonade had already been set up aesthetically. "Now we're gettin' down t' business!" Gabriel took a few steps back to admire their work.

The youngest awkwardly shuffled to stand beside his brother, "Why'd ya put only a quarter on the sign? Don't lemonade sell for more than that in the store?" he looked up at him incredulously.

Putting on a feign air of wisdom, his brother held up a hand in a gesture to the sign, "Pops ain't never told ya 'bout the store he used t' run, did he?" Trent shook his head. "Well, back in them days everythin' was at least a quarter. Pops always said to me when I was littler that lots of change add up to a whole bunch!" he spread his arms wide in emphasis.

"How so?"

Gabriel seemed to think for a moment before shrugging, "D'know. Pops said to me one day, he said, 'Now ya see the people that walk in this store? Them people are what keep it runnin'. They buy my stuff and I get money from it. So long as we got plenty o' people, we'll have us a store to work at.'"

Poor Trent still gave him a curious look, "But you could have all the people in the world come t' the store and still get barely anythin' out of it!"

"Are ya'll sellin' lemonade?" a voice cut them off. They turned to see an older gentleman walking up to them.

Forgetting the conversation with his brother, Gabriel brightened and hurried behind the stand, "Yes, sir! One cup for a quarter!"

The man smiled and dug in his pocket, pulling out two shiny coins, "I'll take two of 'em then." He handed Gabriel the change and Trent grabbed two cups to fill. Not trusting the younger to not spill it, he took the cups and poured the drink in them himself. He handed the man the two cups who went ahead and gulped down one, "Man, ya'll will have people all over the world comin' here t' get a drink," he sighed once he finished.

Still having not forgotten what he and his brother discussed, Trent crossed his arms with a pout, "Yeah and we'd still barely get any money from it."

Gabriel sighed and looked up to the man who gave his younger sibling a curious look, "I told 'im we're sellin' lemonade for a quarter and he thinks we won't make no money for such a small price," he jabbed a thumb proudly to his chest, "but our pops told me one day that a little bit o' change adds up to a bunch o' change!"

The older man laughed, "And your pops is right, son." He saw the confused look on Trent's face and kneeled down in front of him, "Ever wonder why the small coins are called change?" Trent shook his head, "well, think of it as people. There's a whole bunch of us and each person can make a difference; a change. When every person does something t' change the world, it all adds up to a big change. We're worth a lot more when we come together. That make sense?"

Trent thought over what he had said for a moment, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," he looked back up at the man, "but then why does our pops tell us bad things are happenin' in the world?"

"Well," the man's face fell as he regarded the boy's question, "have ya ever seen a rusty coin before?" Trent nodded again, "think o' that as the bad people in the world. No one wants a rusty penny, they like shiny pennies. The same goes for any coin, really. And the only way to clean a rusty coin is to soak it, scrub it, and polish it. That's what ya have to do to the bad people. Some of 'em have t' be soaked and scrubbed before they can be used for somethin' good. Once they can, they can be a part o' the change."

The boy's face brightened then, "Am I a shiny coin?"

The man laughed, "You sure are! One o' the shiniest coins in the bank. Both of ya are," he winked at Gabriel. He grabbed his other cup and waved to both of them, "Thank ya'll again for the lemonade. Remember what I told ya," he pointed to Trent with mocking seriousness.

Trent laughed and Gabriel waved him a farewell, "Thank you, sir!" He then turned to his younger brother, "So are ya ready to get down to business, 'cause we might need more lemonade if it's that good."

The child nodded vigorously and rushed to the house, "I'll get plenty more lemons and pitchers!" He stopped suddenly at the door and looked back to Gabriel, "Will we need a bigger cup for the coins?"

Gabriel looked at what he was referring to and nodded to his brother, "I think so. Get a bowl!" he called out as the youngest rushed inside.

As Trent rushed through the house and into the kitchen, he ran past his father who gave a curious smile, "Whatcha up to, son?" He watched the boy struggle trying to climb up the kitchen counter to get to the cabinet. He walked over and lifted his boy up and the child pulled a bowl and pitcher down.

"We're makin' change!" he beamed as he pulled a few lemons out of the decorated bowl beside him. "Gabriel's sellin' lemonade for a quarter each. An' if we got a lot o' people, we'll need plenty o' drink to give 'em."

His father smiled warmly, "I'm glad you boys are understandin' the value o' money."

Trent nodded and slipped down from the counter, holding everything in his arms shakily. "I got it, pop," he shook his head when his father reached down to help him. Trent walked off slowly with his supplies, stopping to turn back to his father, "Hey pop," his father acknowledged him, "you're a shiny coin!" he beamed and stepped out the door.

His father looked out the door with a bewildered smile before shaking his head, "Boys."