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When I was a little girl, my mother used to spend Friday afternoons making fry bakes for dinner and breakfast the next morning. When everyone went to bed, I would sneak into the kitchen, open the bucket where my mother kept the fry bakes, and I would take out one or two. In the morning, when it was time for breakfast, my mother would notice that there were fewer bakes than the day before. She would say, “I thought I left more bakes in the bucket.” She wasn’t 100 percent sure, so she never accused me or my siblings. Every Friday, when my mother made bakes, I continued to take the bakes. I don’t remember how long it went on.

One Saturday morning, when it was time for breakfast, my mother was sure that someone was taking the bakes because she had counted them. When she said that, I got scared. She was very angry. She said, “I knew someone was taking the bakes all this time.” She was determined to get the truth. Then, my mother said, “God does not like a lying tongue, and our town will catch on fire.” I confessed, and my siblings were happy because they would not get punished. I only got half of one bake that morning because my mother said I had my portion the night before. My brothers and sisters got three bakes each. My mother said, “You should never take something if it doesn’t belong to you, and you should always tell the truth.” I’m very grateful to my mother because her lesson made me the better parent I am today.
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Veda Jack-Kydd was born in Lowmans Hill, St. Vincent, and came to the United States in 1993. She is a student at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Bedford Adult Learning Center, where she works with volunteer Elizabeth English, and Susan Knott is the site supervisor. Veda Jack-Kydd writes, “I like to work with kids. It makes my day. I enjoy reading and helping other people.”