Goofy Groceries & Fuzzy People

“How was your eye appointment, Emily?” Jeremy asked as Emily got into the car.

“Oh, it was fine,” Emily told her older brother. “The doctor put eye drops in my eyes, and now I can’t see very well. Everything looks fuzzy.”

“That should wear off soon,” Mom assured Emily. “Right now, I have to get groceries so we can eat dinner tonight.” Mom started the car and drove down the street to the grocery store.

Emily followed her mom and brother around the store, trying to focus on the food items on the shelves around her. She peered through foggy eyes at the cereal boxes. “Where’s the kind I like?” she asked.

“You mean the Fruity Sparkles?” asked Mom.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, Emily, you don’t need any more of those. I just bought some last time we were here.”

“And they were dee-licious,” Jeremy interrupted, licking his lips and rubbing his belly.

“See, Mom,” said Emily, “I only got one bowlful out of the whole box.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “Alright, get one box,” she said.

Emily shuffled close to the shelves, trying to read the labels on the boxes. “Hmm, what are these?” She peered at the box. “Nope.” Finally, she saw a pink and yellow box. “Ah-ha!” Emily snatched the box off the shelf and tossed it into the cart.

“What is that?” Jeremy snickered. “How come you’re getting Nutritious Nuggets? Those are gross!”

“Oh! I thought it was the right box,” Emily said, sighing. “Will you help me, Jeremy, please?”

“Alright, but I get at least one bowl to eat.” Jeremy pulled a box of Fruity Sparkles from the shelf then swapped them for the Nutritious Nuggets in the grocery cart.

As they passed the bakery, Emily breathed in the yummy smells of cakes and pies. “Mom,” she asked, “may we go get our free kids’ cookie?”

“Sure, Dear,” Mom replied. “But stay together and meet me in aisle 5.”

“Okay! Come on Jeremy,” Emily grabbed her brother’s sleeve, and the two raced off, dodging grocery carts in their way. After the kids got their cookies, they went to find Mom.

“Here it is, aisle 5,” Emily announced as she took a sharp left turn.

Jeremy reached out and grabbed his sister’s arm. “Uh, I don’t think Mom’s here,” he said, staring at the packages of baby diapers and bottles that filled the shelves. He looked at the aisle number on the sign and said, “Emily, this is aisle 3, not 5. Wow! I hope your eyes clear up soon.” He turned around and dragged Emily down two aisles where Mom was busily collecting cans of vegetables off the shelf.

“Hi, you two,” she greeted them. “Would you please grab two more cans of green beans?” Emily turned and grabbed two cans. But just as she was about to place them into the cart, she heard Mom squeal, “No! Those are pickled beets. I said green beans.”

“Sorry.” Emily set the cans back on the shelf. Then something caught her attention at the end of the aisle. She reached out for her brother’s arm again. “Come with me,” she commanded and dragged him down the aisle behind her. As Emily got closer to the colorful stack of boxes, she gasped. “Are those what I think they are?”

“I have no idea. But I think you’re crazy,” said a voice behind her.

Emily turned to look at Jeremy, but to her surprise, the person standing behind her wasn’t Jeremy at all. It was some other boy she never saw before in her life! “Who are you? Where’s Jeremy?” she asked.

The boy shrugged. “I’m Jack, and I don’t know any Jeremy. But can I please have my arm back?”

Emily quickly let go of his arm and couldn’t stop her face from turning red. She couldn’t believe she had grabbed the wrong person and dragged him all the way down the aisle with her. “I’m sorry,” she said in a small, shrill voice. “I thought you were my brother.”

“It’s fine,” said the boy. “Those snacks do look good.” He looked closer at the boxes of snack cakes that Emily came to see. “I’m going to see if my mom will let me get some, too. Thanks!” The boy bounded off to find his mom.

Emily looked at the snack cakes and licked her lips. But then the thought hit her—if that wasn’t Jeremy, then where was Jeremy? And where was Mom? Uh-oh. Emily’s heart beat a little faster. She gulped and looked around. Her eyes weren’t back to normal yet, so all the people looked kind of fuzzy. “Umm, Mom?” Her voice quivered. Emily was just about to panic when she heard someone say, “I haven’t had these in forever.”

Emily spun around. “Jeremy? Is that you?”

“Of course, it’s me,” Jeremy replied. “I saw you drag that other kid over here and figured I better make sure you didn’t do anything crazy like scream or bite him or something.”

Emily giggled nervously. “Thanks, Jeremy.”

Jeremy laughed. “You’re welcome, Little Sis.” Then he gazed at the boxes of cakes. “Earlier, you sure tried to add some goofy groceries to the cart, but these snack cakes are the best—nice find!” Jeremy grabbed a box of snack cakes then firmly took Emily’s hand. “Okay, I got the cakes. Now, let’s go get Mom before you take off with anyone else.”

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