A little boy and his mom are at the grocery store. He picks up a red Fanta bottle.
“No gassy drinks!” she said.
Little boy puts it back. Mom and him queue up next to me as I pay for my groceries. Little boy picks up a chocolate bar at the counter.
“No! I already got you ice creams!” she said.
“I’m just looking!” he said.
I notice she had three different ice cream bars on the counter. Little boy proceeds to pick up another candy bar.
“No. Put that back.” This time she sounded calmer, as though they had been through this scenario many times before.
“But I’m just looking, Ma!” he said, maintaining a feigned look of innocence.
I grinned at the little boy, as a sign of approval of his determination, but of course it was hidden by my face mask.
Some days I struggle to grasp the absurdity of life, but little moments like this warm me in ways I don’t completely understand yet. Also, it finally dawned on me why they put candy bars at checkout counters at a child’s eye level…