Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound Chapter 4

We walked into town in deadly silence due to the fact that I was fuming at her. How could she let the bungalow get into the state it was and how was she not embarrassed to have over guests? I tried to walk behind her feeling like a teenager all over again, as mum had insisted that we take her granny trolly, as I called it, because of her back. I thought that it was an awful contraption and had an argument with her about using carrier bags, which I had of course lost.

Once in town I decided that we were going to drop in at the co-op to stock up on cleaning products, as I expected that mum didn't have any that were good enough, and food essentials. The co-op was how I remembered it as a child when I used to come in here to buy junk food. I began to chuck in a packet of Cornflakes when mum decided that it was time for her to start speaking again.

'I don't like Cornflakes; they mess with my stomach.'

I eternally rolled my eyes as she was now onto her hernia but I expected that she would be back to complaining about her back and various other ailments before lunch. I ignored her as I began to place ingredients for different meals like macaroni cheese. If I was going to be forced into staying with mum, I would make sure that I actually had something to eat that was not rice cakes.

I had picked up everything that I thought I would need for at least a week of meals and was heading towards the till when mum suddenly piped up.

'I need some cat feed.'

'Oh alright,' I sighed before picking up the cheapest cat food that I could see before turning to leave.

'Tibble doesn't like that one she acked up the last time,' she informed me.

Thoroughly disturbed to hear about the cat's eating habits, I muttered, 'The cat will eat what it is given and lump it.'

'A,' mum queried.

'Nothing,' I said grabbing the whiskers cat food that I knew mum gave Tibbles, putting it back for something far cheaper.

'No, she can't have that brand either,' she argued with me.

'Mum the cat feed is exactly the same but this one is cheaper,' I began gesticulating with the cat feed trying to put my point across, 'The cat won't mind what it eats as long as it's being fed! Anyway eight out of ten cats love this one,' not letting mum get a word in edgeways, as I found out from an early age that the best way to get my point across was to.

What I had forgotten while ranting on about the different cat feed was that I was in a public space. As I gesticulated, I knocked into a man that was passing us by. He went careering into the cat food on special offer, with an almighty crash sending pouches of pussy galore, or whatever it was called, across the store.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there,' I gabbled out, hurrying to help him to his feet knowing that I needed to think quickly to get out of the situation.

'Its fine Missy.' The man grinned, as to my dawning horror I recognised him as being the postman from this morning.

'Oh, oh,' I choked out, not knowing what to do.

'Nice nightwear,' he muttered, giving me a lecherous winked, while I thought, you dirty old man.

Thoroughly humiliated, I grabbed the whiskers cat feed, from his hands, and hightailed it out of the store as fast as I could, leaving mum to finish up and pay. she waddling with her granny trolly which served to be even more embarrassing.

'You could have stayed and helped me back,' she scolded me.

'You were doing perfectly fine,' I retorted, wishing I could lose her and her trolly, but she had other ideas.