> ”Nathan, Ryan- *c’mon*,” the teenage girl groaned. “Quit playing with the-”
> A smashing of metal frames rang through the entrance to the pristine grocery store, the heaving girl desperately wrangling her two younger twin brothers away from the shopping carts
> Franny busy with several dozen other chores, the onus of getting dinner was left to the Flagg family’s oldest and, with the boys too young to be left home alone (at least in terms of what insurance would cover), the two were to tag along
> ”Can we *please* just do this quickly, I have homework and- NATHAN!”
> Grabbing the one boy by the arm she yanked him out of the way of a tottering old man on his scooter, the sister smiling at his scowling face as he passed
> ”Aw c’mon sis, how’s about we split up and then we meet back up… and put all our stuff in one cart?”
> ”Ryan, I- I cannot put into words how little time I have to deal with this, and Nath- Nathan?!?”
> The other boy was already slipping off with a small cart, the list deftly torn in half as he slipped away
> ”Wait u-*oop!*”
> With a shivering hand the young lady wiped the strands of red hair from her face, the flocks of people brushing and pushing past them
> ”Ryan, look here,” she said, stabbing a finger into the new, delux atomic watch he’d gotten for his birthday. “You both get forty minutes, okay? When it says four forty-five, we meet back *right* *here*. Am I understood?”
> ”Y-Yeah,” he gulped. “Seeya in a bit sis!”
> ”What am I gonna do with those boys…”
> Pulling the list back up she realized all the ‘boring’ things were left in her hands, the boys slipped loose through the aisles to pick up some candy, a card and more for her parents’ anniversary
> Sighing she stuffed the torn paper in her shirt pocket and took off