By Amy Price

She totters alongside her Dad, sandals clacking on the supermarket floor as her summer dress flops around her chubby legs.  Kindergarten was fun today.  She didn’t wear an apron at painting time and dropped her paintbrush on her lap.  As long as she holds Mr Cuddly (her most important teddy bear) over it, hopefully Dad won’t see.

Snack time was fruit kebabs, again.  Why can’t they have lamingtons like last week… or was that the week before?  She spies the happy faces of Freddos beaming back at her from the bottom shelf.  Box upon colourful box of tantalising shiny wrappers stretch into the distance.  She looks up.  Dad is squinting at the categorised shopping list from Mum, softly naming words as they’re checked off…. ”Grapes… jonathans… cordial… check if ham is still on special.”

The moment she’s waiting for.  She squats down and grabs the strawberry Freddo, concealing it in her small baby hands.  Clutching it tightly she feels it soften in her grasp.  Dad turns to peruse the cereal boxes.  She reaches over the shopping cart and drops her loot into the bag of bananas.  Success.

.