Helpful Children
Ms. Graham was 70 years old. She was active for an old lady she’d tell her friends. She didn’t live in a retirement home, or a coffin waiting room as she called it. She lived in the same house she had when Walter was alive. That good for nothing man had given her two good for nothing children. From those two children came her real joy in life. Her daughter Nancy gave birth to two twin boys. These boys were the reason she hadn’t gone insane when Walter left her all alone. Nancy wasn’t well off, the man who knocked her up had left as soon as he found out she was pregnant. She ended up living with Ms. Graham, which was fine by her, but only because of the boys. Nancy she could do without. She wondered if anyone else’s daughter complained as much as this girl did. But she secured a decent day job, and that left her and the boys plenty of alone time, especially in the summer.
The boys learned so quickly. They were instantly drawn to their grandmother’s hobby. You see, Walter wasn’t a very rich man, and he’d often go out and drink and forget to leave Ms. Graham enough money to get by on. So things had to be done, even if the useless lump that used to snore next to her after stumbling in at 2:30 in the morning couldn’t provide for it.
The boys started at about 8 years old. Still young enough to look innocent, but old enough to be given directions. They’d practice in the basement. Ms. Graham didn’t have a very big basement, but it was large enough to construct two shelves that stood in the middle, and she stocked these with various grocery items. On either side there was a shelf built into the wall, so they had two mock aisle ways to parade around in and get used to. She had two bright lights installed over each aisle to give it the proper lighting.
Getting the shopping cart down the stairs was the tricky part, and she dented one of the wheels on the way down, so it never rolled straight. She would push her cart in a constant circle, going down one aisle and up the next, the boys staying faithfully by her side. She would pause and look at a few items, and this is when the boys would take their leave. They would dance around in the aisle as young boys would do, and she would smile at them. They each had on their favorite backpack, and one would often stand still while the other would open his backpack and rummage around in there for a minute. They loved to play their fake games.
Within two months the boys were ready to go to the real store on the corner with her. It wasn’t like those big 24-hour stores with their fancy security cameras. This store had probably been there as long as Ms. Graham had. It was the reason she stayed in this location. It was perfect.
She dressed the boys up to look as cute as possible, which wasn’t hard with their bright blue eyes and long blonde hair. They looked like a pair of dolls once she was finished with them.
The store was no more than two blocks from her house, so they would all walk there. The tiny sign still stood by the side of the road, though a little faded through the years. The building had a yellowish tint to it, but it was clean enough. There were no carts outside, because people didn’t have to worry about their own carts. There was a nice young boy who worked by the door, and when you walked in he would give you a cart, and when you walked out he would hold the door open for you and help you unload your groceries into your car, and then take the cart back. Since Ms. Graham didn’t have a car he would let her just take the cart home and drop it off again whenever she had the time.
They entered the store, greeted by the young boy who handed them a cart and said good morning to Ms. Graham. The store was laid out like any normal grocery store; it had about 10 aisles, with milk and dairy on the back wall. The boys never lost a step, but she could see they were amazed at the size of the real thing.
She turned down the first aisle for a practice run, a little test for the boys. She never stopped once, and the boys stayed right next to her. She smiled and reached down to pat them on their heads. A young woman in the same aisle walked over and remarked what angels she had. The boys walked over to shake her hand, which the woman was also impressed with. One of the boys was asking her about items in her cart, which she was carefully explaining to him, the other was playing with his backpack.
They left the young woman and turned down the next aisle. Ms. Graham went about halfway down and stopped to inspect something on the right shelf. The boys danced happily up and down the aisle, looking at the many items and playing with each other’s backpacks.
She finally decided on a few cans of soup and continued down the next aisle, where she stopped again and the boys ran off to play.
She skipped the third and fourth aisles, and stopped again on the fifth and sixth. Aisle seven was on no interest; aisle eight gave her a moment’s pause where she grabbed a package of toilet paper. The last two she stopped for as well, and then turned down the back aisle to get some milk and cheese. The boys were busy playing with their backpacks while she was selecting a milk with a good expiration date, and once she was ready they fell right back into line next to her. She went straight to the checkout, paid for her goods, 17 dollars and 37 cents. She went by the young boy at the door, explaining that she would return the cart later, and he held the door open for her, bidding her good day.
The boys skipped home next to her, both very happy with their first experience at the store, but she waited to congratulate them until they got home. They helped her carry the two bags into the house and set them on the kitchen table. She then asked the boys to show her their backpacks. Inside one she found the purse of the lady that had complimented them in the first aisle, as well as some random grocery items. The other had two wallets and some candy, which she happily let them keep.
Nancy arrived home a few hours later; the boys were out of their nice clothes and in the backyard playing. Ms. Graham told Nancy how the boys had helped her shop today, and Nancy complained about her long day at work, commenting afterwards that she was glad the boys helped her and was free to take them with her when she went again. She said they needed to start doing their part, and Ms. Graham assured her that they were.