Yesterday I lost my lighter and it felt like the end of the world. The lighter itself is nothing special, it's one of those you can find at any convenience store counter. The silver lighter case, however, is one of my most beloved possessions. I bought it during a trip to Bali in '98 and it is pretty much irreplaceable.

I turned my cubicle upside down looking for my lighter. The last I'd seen it, it was on my desk next to my pack of marlboro lights. Have you seen my lighter? I asked everyone in the office. You lost your lighter? The one you've had forever? they all asked. No one had seen it.

So for the rest of the afternoon I was in a foul mood, stealing suspicious glances at co-workers to see if I could pick up on anyone's guilty scent. Who among them was most likely to steal? I mentally put everyone in order from most likely to least likely. Everyone but Symone, an 11 month old baby, was most likely, but I wasn't even so sure about her.

When I got home that night and began to undress, something fell hard on the floor. I looked down and, sweet baby Jesus, it was my lighter! It had been nestled against my left boob all afternoon. Sorry, co-workers, for thinking all of you were low-down dirty lying thieves.

Especially you, Symone.