Enclosed part 5(short story)

"Do you want to go straight home, or is there another stop you want to make?" Mitch asked as he pulled out of the parking lot, my ex-people watching in disbelief as we drove off. "We have board games at home, right?" Vi asked. Mitch laughed, "I believe so. A closet full." She shrugged, "Then I don't see why else we would need to stop." Mitch looked in the mirror at me, "How 'bout you, Jamie? You need anything?" I looked up into his soft, light blue eyes. "Uh...could we stop at Vons?"

"What for?"

"A toothbrush?" Mitch smiled and Vi laughed. "Ok," Mitch said, turning on the street Vons was on, "Here we are."

"Should we buy disposable napkins?" Vi asked as she walked up to Mitch and I. I was standing in the toiletry aisle trying to find a good toothbrush as Mitch sat on the ground behind me, leaning his head against the rack of bed covers behind him and closing his eyes. Violet, meanwhile, was running around the store trying to find every pointless appliance your heart could desire and asking us if she should buy them. Mitch opened his eyes and rose an eyebrow at Violet, and I laughed at her as she as she stood there jumping up and down. "Aren't all napkins disposable?" Mitch asked. Violet stopped bouncing. She was silent for a minute as we watched her, waiting for her response. "Oh," she said finally. She shrugged, "Ok, whatever. I'm gonna go look in the toy aisle." Mitch chuckled as Vi ran off again and I smiled and turned back to the toothbrushes.

As Mitch and I walked up to the check-out, Violet ran up behind us cradling a basketful of pointless crud. "VI-o-letttt," Mitch groaned. "What?" she asked. "These are the simple necessary ingredients of an all-nighter in the pitch black."

"You didn't seem to need any of those things for tonight before we came here."

"Yes, well, my ignorance was disturbed by my realization of what I had not thought of." I looked at her, confused, as I gave a ten to the cashier. The cashier looked at her strangely too. She dumped all her crud on the counter and Mitch groaned again as she pulled two twenties out of her wallet.

Mitch closed the garage and pulled out a pack of matches from his pocket, relighting all the candles. By now it was at least seven forty five, and it was pouring rain outside. "We should watch a movie," Violet suggested as she sorted through all her Vons junk on the couch. "The power, Vi," Mitch said, rolling his eyes. "On the lap top, Mitch," Violet replied, sitting on the ground and sorting all her stuff on the table. "What did you buy, anyway?" Mitch asked, taking off his ball cap and pushing it onto her head. She whacked it off, and it landed on the couch. "I bought candy, a yo-yo-"

"We already have a yo-yo."

"Whatever. Walky-talkies,"

"How much were those?"

"They're cheap. They'll probably be broken by tomorrow."

"Than why'd you buy them?!"

"We won't need them tomorrow, dumbhead. Anyway, I bought two discs of the original Betty Boop show,"

"NO POWER, VI!"

"LAP TOP, MITCH! ANYway, I bought two magazines, to make collages with, glitter, to decorate the collages with, safety scissors, for the collages, and construction paper and glue sticks. Also for the collages."

"Oh, is that all?"

"No. I also bought gummy worms."

"I think that fits in the category of 'candy'."

"Well, I don't. I also bought some other stuff, but that stuff was mostly just stuff I forgot I needed."

"Like what?!"

"Like shampoo, smart guy!" Mitch threw his hands up in frustration and lay down on the couch. I looked from him, to her, to him, to her, to him, and then once again to her, and burst out laughing.

© 2010