20 Days To Fall In Love

#4 - Campbell's Soup

Chapter 4 - Campbell's Soup
published: Saturday, 2 May 2020

Matthew practically towered over his mother and James, so he was always dragged along for supermarket runs.

Technically, his mother had people she usually delegated menial tasks like this to, but whenever she decided to bake with her sons, she insisted on doing all of it by hand.

"Self-rising flour," James read off the shopping list. "Caster sugar. Icing sugar."

"Done, done and done," Matthew voiced as he tossed each item into the metal cart. When they were younger, he used to put James on his shoulders to reach the top shelf.

James pulled out a bag of assorted decorations. "Can we get sprinkles?"

Matthew turned to his mum, who clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "It's a cake, James."

"Which is why we can definitely get sprinkles," Matthew insisted, directing James' hand into the cart.

"You coddle him too much," his mother said disdainfully as James ran up and down the aisle looking for chocolate sprinkles.

"He's 12," Matthew said fondly. "He could use some coddling." James' unruly hair disappeared into the next aisle.

"I found the milk!" came a triumphant shout.

Unable to help the smile growing on his face, Matthew left the cart and his mother to find James, who was shivering in front of the refrigerated section.

James shot his brother a furtive look. "Will Mum notice if we put ice cream in the cart?" He held out the Magnum box questioningly.

Matthew sighed. "Do it quickly." As he leaned down to grab the fresh milk, he stopped short, catching a glimpse of curly brown hair in the corner of his eye.

No way.

"Elizabeth!" he called out.

The head peeked out from the canned food section. It was Elizabeth.

Matthew waved good-naturedly, receiving a reluctant one in return.

"Who's that?" James asked curiously.

"A friend," Matthew replied cryptically.

Maya appeared at Elizabeth's side, pulling her by the hand. "Matthew!" she exclaimed, like they were old friends. Her beaming smile was contagious as she high-fives James. "Hello, you must be his brother."

Matthew's gaze flickered to the Business Insider magazine in Elizabeth's cart.

"Maya got it as a joke," Elizabeth informed him, pulling it up with a mischievous grin.

Matthew winced when he saw his own face on the front cover. It had been a family shoot, and his neck had ached after being angled in the same position for almost an hour.

His hair was ruffled in what Freya called 'the "after-sex" style', and he was perched on a stool next to the couch his parents occupied. James sat on the ground, beaming at the camera.

"Also this," Maya said helpfully, handing him a can of Campbell's soup.

"Yes, we did make our fortune from mushroom and tomato soup," Matthew said, straight-faced as he handed the can back to her. Nudging his brother in the side, Matthew introduced him, "James, this is Elizabeth and Maya."

James waved at them uncertainly. Growing up with wealthy parents and fame messed with his ability to make friends, and normal kids his age didn't usually include him.