Who Needs Coats?

Recently, I went to a Mexican restaurant with some of my family. During the meal, my aunt was talking about how she stopped by her church the other day, and saw a jacket in one of the rooms.

"Huh, that's interesting." she thought. "It looks just like mine."

Then she began to wonder, "Wait, is it mine? I don't recall if I brought it home with me the other day."

As it turned out, the jacket was hers. She had left it there two weeks ago, and it had been sitting there, lonely and forgotten, for all that time. She hadn't even realized she had lost it until that moment.

We finished eating, and left the restaurant. Mom was going to my aunt's house to play card games and hang out, and I had an appointment later that day, so we went our separate ways.

Well, sort of. Upon arriving home, my brother and I saw that Mom had stopped by the house to pick up some books she was going to give to my aunt. She had forgotten to put them in the car before we left to eat. When I went over to chat with her, Mom commented, "You know, I think I left my jacket at the restaurant." I found that rather amusing, since my aunt had just told a story about the same thing.

Mom didn't want to go back for the jacket, so she just went to my aunt's house. She played cards for a few hours, during which time I read some of my book, went to my appointment, built a better mousetrap, ended world hunger... okay, not really. We just looked at TV and books, and then made a comedy routine out of driving to my appointment. The place is tucked away in a weird, nonsensical location with multiple parking lots and nine million buildings. The only things missing from it are minotaurs or wild-haired goblin kings.

My brother and I were in the middle of a movie when Mom came home. We discussed our days, ate dinner, and watched 'Kiki's Delivery Service'. Then at some point, Mom said, "Where did I put my phone?"
"Did you leave it in the car? Or maybe at my aunt's?" I asked as Mom searched through her purse. I decided to call her phone, on the off-chance it was in the house somewhere. No ringtone, which meant it couldn't be inside.

Then, to my surprise, someone answered the phone. The voice didn't sound like anyone in the family, though. "Where is this phone?" I said in confusion. As it turned out, Mom left her jacket and her phone at the Mexican place. The person who answered was the guy who worked there.

"So, want me to swing by the restaurant and pick up your things?" my brother asked.

"Yes, please." Mom said, exasperated.

What can I say, forgetting things and leaving them behind seems to be a family trait. Speaking of which, my aunt likes to kid me about leaving stuff at her house. Just because I've walked out the door a few hundred times without my purse, or my drink, or...