“When really smart people can’t get everything they want, they make a choice. That choice makes everything they do more special.”
“Special?” He started blinking.
Almost there. “Yeah, bud. Special. When you can’t get everything you want, that makes what you can get much more special. So here’s what I want you to do. Think about the candy you want. Which candy would feel the most special if you got it right now?”
He looked at the peanut butter cups and then the lollipop. Then back. Without saying anything, he put the peanut butter cups back and held up the lollipop to his mother. “This one.”
“Then I’ll get you that one,” the mother said. She looked up at me; it was the same look that so many Amazonian parents had flashed at me over the years. “Thank you!” she mouthed.
I nodded and followed Bert. In the time it had taken me to butt in and diffuse that situation, he’d already paid for everything.
