21)

Marv’s mart looked like it once been a small town grocery store, up until someone decided to start building on add-ons and managed to fill up the what must have been all of the original parking lot before anyone could stop them. Now it was sort of a combination grocery, discount, and used goods store.

They also had a entire aisle, a short one but still a whole isle, just for discounted food and other items.

And of course a massive meat department with signs for deer and other game processing, I gave a polite nod to the young werewolf manning the counter. Decent prices, but the Redd’Smart was cheaper, on the other hand the big box store didn’t have six different varieties of specialty sausages.

I did a quick walk through of the side room labeled odds and ends that seems to hold a couple of garage sales worth of stuff, but no child’s seat.

I got the sun dried tomatoes, horseradish and Extra cheesy sausages on the way back, Sara would hate them but she didn’t have to eat them.

Then I got started on the list.

Skinless chicken breasts, and turkey hamburger, check, and pretty much what I had been eating myself for the last ten years, but low sodium lunch meat, no sign of it.

Multi grain bread, sounds good to me, I grabbed two loaves.

Brown rice, never tried it, grabbed a three pound bag. Whole grain noodles...no...didn’t fine any, sorry Sara, maybe at another store…

Olive oil for cooking, got it, multi grain cheerios...ugh, okay. Canned tuna in water, done, albacore of course.

Frozen isle. Frozen vegetables, nope, I'll get fresh instead, whole grain waffles, huh, they do have them, toss one in the cart.

Low fat milk, some more eggs, low fat yogurt, tofu, hope it’s a good brand because I got no clue, low fat cheese, not happening, cheese isn’t supposed to healthy. Non hydrogenated oil margarine, hummus, a couple of varieties because I liked it when I saw it on sale in the past and gave it a try.

Dried fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds, dark chocolate, nice to know she has at least some kind of sweet tooth.

All sorts of fresh veggies and fruits. Fortified orange juice and low sugar apple juice.

The I filled up the rest the cart with some lunch meat, chips, cereals with cartoon mascots and normal milk for the other two, and me.

Then I headed back to get buns for the sausages, even a package of wheat ones for the brat.

I’m sure most of the locals know my name by now, but I still paid in cash just because I hated when people held up the line trying to run their cards.

The clerk, Carlos, handed me my change, he didn’t ask me for my phone number or area code, didn’t ask me for a membership card or try to sign me up for one.

Think I'll stick with this store most of time for now on, get your stuff, find out how much you owe, pay it and leave without making everyone behind wait even long, no questions, like it should be. Cost a bit more, but the place was also a lot closer as well.

The Micky D’s line looked short, so three number ones, super sized and a number eight for Sara, she can pick off the breading if she wants, and anything the kids don’t finish I’m sure I can find room for.

I got home with no sign of trouble, no one following me, nothing and no one as my front gate, but then again no one showed up as I pulled up to the side porch veranda area outside the kitchen to help me carry anything in either.

Disappointing, but maybe they just didn’t hear the car. I guess that might be one of the disadvantages of owning a big house.

Don’t want to make any extra trips of course, so five of the five lighter bags went in one hand and three of the heavier ones in the others, I had to set those down to unlock and open the door since no one could be bothered to even do that the for guy bringing their special order food for them.

After cracking the door open I could smell a faint whiff of smoke.

I did take the time to lock the door from the inside before I tore off to track down the smell, but I also left the food sitting on the patio tiles outside the door rather then take a moment to carry them inside.

The smell got stronger as I headed to the game room to find Sara standing shamed face just outside the door, with a teary eyed Ami behind her and Aran sound asleep on the couch.

The eldest stepped up like she was trying to block me from going into the room. “Please it was my fault, don’t blame Ami, we were arguing because I was messing around with the Ko Naginata and then I hit the light fixture and it scared her.” she looked down at the ground.

I reached out and laid my hands on her shoulders, as she peeked up with a look of hope in her eyes I shuffled her to the side without too much resistance, laid a finger in front of my lips to shush Ami as she started to speak and headed in to see the damage.

My TV, the big flat screen, which cost more then I used to make in a week, was crushed right in the middle and smashed up against the wall, with a crack in the wall behind it.

I looked up at the ceiling fan with the light bulb shining brightly now that it had been freed of the tinted white glass globe which looked to have been hastily cleaned up with the remains dumped in the waste paper basket next to the broom and dustpan from the kitchen.

Looked like they cleaned up the parts of the screen that had busted off the TV as well.

I must have made some sort of sound since Aran woke up from were he was sleeping on the couch under my grandmother’s knitted throw. “Food?”

Kid gots his priorities.

“Soon.”

I looked at the two scared little girls, the ones who had to run away from their home, from their own families, and had to rely on a complete stranger while not knowing what had happened to their parents or what was going to happen to them.

“Sara, where’s the naginata.”

She looked up for a moment then back to her feet as she muttered “I put it back in the library.”

“Ami...no, don’t start crying, you are in trouble, but...”

I stepped over and went down to one knee to grab her as she began shaking, she stepped forward to meet me with her arms half raised and I pulled her in for a hug.. “In the morning, we’re going to start working on your control. For right now, just take your brother downstairs.”

I patted her back. “I can just order a new TV with the kiddie’s seat.”

Great that just made her cry harder. I rocked her back and forth for a bit, stood up and patted her head.

Sara’s turn, not too harsh since she looked on the edge of crying herself.