He polished off the last vestiges of his dinner, wiping his greasy hands with his napkin and dropping the fat stained cloth beside his plate as he prepared to leave the table. As he pushed his chair back and rose, he was immediately scolded by his Mother, “Tommy! Sit back down! Did you ask my permission to leave the table? You didn’t even clean your face before you got up!”
He looked at her with a surprised expression on his face, she hadn’t spoken to him that way since he had been a child. With a shock he realized that as far as she was concerned he was a child again. He gulped and said he was sorry. She told him he had to behave himself if he expected to watch TV after dinner. Thomas nodded his understanding and asked humbly for permission to leave the table.