Sunday, September 18, 2011

A cry in the supermarket

At the supermarket last night:

The Helper and I were selecting fresh produce while The Husband went off with Anya in the trolley to pick up dried goods and dairy products. Just like any other typical weekend evening, the isles are packed with families, many with small children and toddlers like Anya.

I was browsing through the meat selection with The Helper when I heard a shrill wailing cutting through the bustling of the crowd. Immediately, I recognised the voice as my daughter's. "Anya!", I said as The Helper and I pricked our ears, trying to ascertain the direction of her cries.

Even though I knew that The Husband was with her, I was worried. The cry was different from the usual ones. There was extra urgency (or God forbid, pain) to it. A flurry of ominous thoughts were running through my mind. Did she fall off the trolley? Is she badly hurt? Is there blood?

A nano-second later, The Helper pointed out, "Next isle, mdm."

Both of us rushed toward the next isle. There they were, The Husband had Anya in his arms, comforting her while she continued bawling. But there was something that was not right with the picture. Something that threw me into slight confusion. - The expression on The Husband's face conveyed both sympathy and exasperation.

"What happened?", I asked as I rushed up to The Husband's side.

Hearing my voice, Anya's bawl turned into a piteous sob as she threw herself upon me.

The Husband: "I knew she would cry lah! But I had to do it. I let her hold the Yakult. I didn't notice she bit through one bottle. Had to take it away from her."

I scanned through the contents of our trolley, and sure enough, lying on top of the pile was a string of Yakult and the grape-flavoured one had a puncture on the foil. Phew! I heaved a sigh of relief knowing that she was not physically hurt. Slowly, it dawned upon me how funny the situation was.

As I comforted my tod in my arms, I could not help but start giggling. The Huband added, with a sour note in his voice, "And she had to taste the best flavour one somemore!".

Yeah, no wonder she had to cry her eyes out.

Never underestimate the lure of Yakult.

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