Chapter 24

God, Suzie hated shopping with kids. It had been much easier when they were babies. Strap them into a stroller and off they went. But they were too big for strollers now, and unfortunately, their new grocery store had only the single-seater carts, so she spent a good portion of her time chasing down giggling monsters. The rest of the time she spent pulling out groceries she hadn't put in the cart - Lucky Charms, double fudge cookies, chips. All the healthy stuff, of course. The kids whined when she put them back and replaced their choices with Corn Bran, rice crackers, and - shudder - yogurt. Yucky, slimy stuff. She wouldn't touch it, but all the kids books and magazines swore by it.

Finally, the groceries and other errands done, they piled in the car with their purchases to head back home. They were pulling out of the parking lot when Jared said, "Mommy, why is da man wooking at uth?"

"Hmm," she said, only half listening. "What man?"