the value of a dollar

i love my grandmother
i want nothing bad to happen to her
she is terminally ill with cancer
she may die at any moment...
i dont visit that often
my mother told me that i was written
out of her will
because i dont visit.
i am not after her money.
it wasn't always that way.

when i was less than 13
and greater than 5
i visited my grandmother with my parents.
mt grandmother sent me to her bedroom
to retrieve some odd thing
i stole 1 dollar from her dresser...

i spent that 1 dollar
on candy
it seemed like a lot of money to me
i was not used to having money to spend on candy
such a little thing to me
at the time

my grandmother called me on the phone
about one week later
asking about a rare print dollar
that was missing
from her dresser.
i denied all knowledge.

my grandmother sent me a letter
one week later
apolgizing for her accusations
that were aimed at me.
i cried.

up to and including today
i have never admitted to stealing that one dollar.
instead
i have used that dollar
as a reason not to lie or steal.
even if you get away with it,
what is it really worth?