“Here you are, Odin.”
I jerked my chin toward him and tossed the meat into my basket then headed toward the sliced cheese.
I knew it was better for me to get the real shit, but there was just something about Kraft Singles that I fucking liked.
It reminded me of when my mom used to make them for me as a child when we’d been out on the lake all day.
There was nothing better than a turkey sandwich and a cold Coke after a sunburn.
A pang of sadness squeezed my heart at the thought of never getting one of my mom’s sandwiches again.
I missed her.
She’d passed away when I was in prison, and my father had followed suit shortly thereafter. Though, he’d done it the suicide way, and not the natural way like my mom.
I couldn’t fault him, though.
He and my mom had always been tight.
Why would you want to live on this planet without your other half?
Sure, he could’ve stayed for me.
He should’ve stayed for me.
But my dad and mom had always been so close. They worked out together. They went to bed together at the same time every night. They showered together. They went to doctor appointments together. They worked together.
Literally, there was never a moment in time that my mother was there without my dad near.
“Mama, we’re out of apples.”
I stopped when a tiny redhead ran in front of me and snatched an apple off the display to my right.
The apples all started to go.
Every last one of them.
They all rolled off the display and then hit the floor at the little girl’s and my feet.
She looked at me, eyes super wide, and said, “Oh, shit.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.
Kids had always been a soft spot for me.
Adults? I could take them or leave them.
But kids? They were so fucking innocent.
It was actually freeing to be in a kid’s presence. There were no pretenses, no false platitudes. No anger or hidden agendas.
They were just kids.
“Oh my god, Wendy!” the redhead groaned as she started to pick up apples.
“Whoopsie!” Wendy, the redhead’s little redhead, bent down and grabbed up several. “Sorry, Constance!”
“What have I told you about calling me by my first name?” Constance growled. “You’re my baby girl forever, remember?”
