“What’s this, Dad?” Eric asked his father.
“Oh that?” Jeff said. “That’s just a memento of my days as a high-stakes gambler when I used to live in Vegas before your mother and I met.”
“But what is it?”
“It’s an antique petard, son,” Jeff said. “It’s a small, bell-shaped bomb filled with explosives that was used for blowing up gates and walls when breaching fortifications. It was an iconic battle device used back five or six hundred years ago.”
“So how is it that it’s a memento of your gambling days in Las Vegas?” Eric asked.
“Well, son,” Jeff said, “shortly after I met your mother, I confided in her that I had floated a loan with some rather unsavory types in order to support my gambling habit. She was really pissed and threatened to stuff a petard up my ass and light the fuse unless I paid off my debt and never gambled again. I stopped gambling immediately because she was the best thing that could ever happen to me and I didn’t want to lose her.”
“But why did you still have the petard?” Eric asked.
Jeff sheepishly smiled. “It’s your mother’s way of keeping me on the straight and narrow. It serves as a reminder for me to think twice about ever gambling again.”
Written for these daily prompts: Word of the Day Challenge (memento), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (gambler), My Vivid Blog (iconic), and Ragtag Daily Prompt (float).
This, That, and the Other 
And now you are the second person to know what a petard actually is.
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Great story, Fandango.
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Thanks, Li.
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You’re welcome.
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Hoist with his own petard!
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Very clever story Fandango
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Thanks, Sadje.
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You’re welcome
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Gosh…….
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Smart woman using just the right threat. LOL
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Lol. I love this one! Very fun story!
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