bubble tape thief

my little guy is a thief! the other day i took the beckster grocery shopping with me. as i was loading the car with our bags, i noticed the little dude was covering something bright pink with his hands. "what's that?" i asked. "nothing!" beck said. i peeled his little hands away. my little dude stole bubble tape! i took him by the hand and marched beck right up to the service desk. "i'm SO sorry. we just finished paying for our groceries and i noticed my son stole this gum and we need to pay for it. he also has something to say to you." beck apologized to the lady. then i tell her we are going to pay for the gum, but since beck already opened it i would like her to throw it out because i didn't want to reward him with it. what does the crazy lady say right in front of my son who i am trying to teach a valuable lesson to? "uh, are you sure?!" "YES, i'm sure!" i say. "i'm not going to reward him after he stole from your store." she then looked at beck "that doesn't seem fair now does it?" then back at me. "are you sure, mom?" i wanted to reach over the counter and strangle the women for ruining my parenting moment. grrrrrrrr! darn, bubble tape. i hate gum.