Excerpt from the story

"WAR BETWEEN THE STATES"

At dinner I was thinking about my baseball glove, thinking hard about its oldness and badness, and how much better I’d play with a new one like the one for $44.99 in the Playtime store.  I needed that glove more than anything.  It was as good as mine, except Dad was angry at me.  He’d say “No” like nothing.  He wouldn’t forget, either, which meant no glove for a long time.  Jose Alvarez was sure to beat me out for second base by then.

          I had a good idea about Grandpa, though.  If I made Grandpa pay me $10 for each kiss I gave him, five kisses would be enough to buy my new glove.  Still, it would be awful.  I hated his greasy whiskers scraping my face.  But I wanted my glove so bad I’d do it.  Sometimes he tried to get more than his money’s worth by holding me and giving smelly kisses. But that meant he’d have to pay another five bucks.

          “Mom?” I said.

          “Yes. What?”

          “When are we going to Grandpa’s again?”

          “Three weeks,” Dad answered, not looking up from his book.  He sounded mad to me.