#dinosaur train

Sonny (entering): Sorry I didn't knock, but I had to drop something off for Din.

Thurston (still cooking dinner (soup and spaghetti with meat balls)): What was it?

Sonny (placing the bag on the table): It's just that he fixed the pipe in the kitchen yesterday, and if it weren't for him, the whole house would have flooded. And I wanted to thank him.

(Thurston paused from cooking, turned off the stove, and peered into the bag. It contained:

15 bags of potato chips (bacon, green onion, sour cream-onion, and salmon in cream sauce),

15 cans of juice (multifruit, apple, cherry, watermelon, orange, grape),

26 lollipops (orange, watermelon, banana, lingonberry, grape, cherry, blueberry, grapefruit, pear, cantaloupe, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry, mango, passion fruit, peach, blackcurrant, bilberry, apple, mint, tutti-frutti, lime, lemon, cola, bubble gum).

Thurston: Isn't that a bit much, Sonny? Din gets embarrassed when people thank him, give him gifts, or give him awards.

Sonny: Not at all. He deserved it. By the way, where is he?

Thurston: He's just out for a walk, he said he'd be back for dinner.

Sonny (looking out the window): Isn't that him coming now? And dragging someone along, too.

(Indeed. Stepping outside, Sonny and Thurston saw Din dragging a man by the hind legs, the kid covered in mud and muck.)

Thurston (looking at Din): What do you call that? What happened to you?

Din (falling to the ground): It's like I have nothing better to do than pull various members of the Security Bureau out of the water. Sycamore started screaming, "Help! Save me! I'm drowning!" and I just lost it. Then he completely fainted, so I dragged him along.

Sycamore (coming to): I didn't ask to be pulled out. I wasn't even drowning. Or maybe I was scuba diving. Anyway, I've got to go.

(Having given Din a 10 dollars, Sycamore left.)

Din (calling after him): Hey! You could at least say "Thanks." People are like that sometimes.

Sonny: Yeah… The Security Bureau certainly knows how to be grateful.

Thurston gave him a stern look, but a glimmer of laughter danced in his eyes.

Thurston: Don't add fuel to the fire, (he said quietly, then turned back to Din.) You know, son, some people just don't know how to say thank you. Not because they don't care, but because… well, that's just how they are. Proud, awkward, or just don't understand what it's like to be indebted to someone.

Din: But I wasn't trying to be grateful! (Dean exclaimed indignantly, throwing up his hands, and then winced as a drop of dirt fell from his sleeve onto the ground.) He was yelling "help," so I thought I should…

Thurston: You did the right thing, (Thurston interrupted him calmly and placed his hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly so Din would feel his action was important, even if no one appreciated it.) You didn't pass by. That's the most important thing.

Din froze for a second, then nodded slowly, as if trying to wrap his head around the thought, where resentment was still seething.

Din (muttering): Okay… But it still hurts.

Sonny stepped into the house, picked up the same gift bag from the table, and returned outside.

Sonny: You know, Din, sometimes gratitude comes from the wrong place. I, for one, am very grateful to you. If it weren't for you, my kitchen would look like a swimming pool right now. So these chips, juices, and candies aren't just for fun. They're from the heart.

He handed the bag to Din. Din glanced at it, as if expecting a trick, then took it cautiously.

Din (quietly asking): Really?

Sonny (smiling): Really.

Din smiled faintly, and it was so genuine that something warm stirred in Thurston's chest.

Din (clutching the pact): Okay,

Thurston: Just a shower and lunch first. And no more rescuing Bureau Security members until dinner, okay?

Din (chuckling): I promise.

Din, no longer glancing back at Sycamore as he left, strode briskly toward the house, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind him.

Sonny (watching him go, then quietly speaking to Thurston): You've got a good guy.

Thurston (smiled, watching his son disappear through the door): I know. And I'm very glad about that.