Once upon a time in a land called St. Louis there lived a mommy, daddy, boy and dog.

One night the daddy was feeling a bit randy. The mom? Not so much being that it was 2 a.m. But she struck a deal with the daddy.

“I’m game but only if you wake up with the boy in the morning,” she said.

He readily agreed. As they got down to business, the door swung open. A bleary-eyed moppet appeared. He was looking for his Cookie Monster stuffed animal.

The mommy freaked out and did some rapid maneuvering in hopes of concealing not only certain body parts but also where they were in relation to each other.

The daddy remained stoic saying, “Go back to bed and we’ll find your Cookie Monster.”

The boy stood still in his sleep-induced fog. He did not understand what he walked in on. But at this point he didn’t care. He just wanted his beloved bedtime buddy.

“Go back to bed,” his daddy repeated.

Without a response or reaction, the boy went back to bed.

The mom quickly dressed then retrieved and delivered Cookie Monster to the boy. Within seconds he was asleep.

The mom re-entered the master bedroom. The dad, still laying in bed, had a smirk on his face. Despite the intrusion, he remained undaunted and ready for action. The mom was ok with this, as by now it was 2:35 a.m. The boy was again sleeping, at least for now. And the idea of sleeping in held even greater appeal.

The mom and dad agreed that the minute they get back from their vacation, they would re-hang the master bedroom door, as that is the reason the door won’t lock.

The next morning, the boy spoke not a word of the incident. Nor did the parents. The mommy and daddy figure the image is probably buried deep within the boy’s memory files. And that one day when the boy is an adult, that particular memory will probably resurface at the most inopportune time — like in the middle of a very important meeting, job interview or sales pitch. But by then he’ll be living on his own and will be able to pay for his own therapy sessions.

So the parents alternated between living happily ever after and wondering whether or not they’ve emotionally scarred their child for life.

The END